Three Sheets - Syrah Barrel-Aged
Ballast Point Brewing Company

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From:
Ballast Point Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
English Barleywine
ABV:
9%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.91 | pDev: 15.09%
Reviews:
12
Ratings:
25
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 18, 2014
Added:
Feb 21, 2010
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.5 by The_Jerk from California

Nov 18, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by Hotrod88 from California

Jun 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by mattmarka1 from Minnesota

Jun 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by seangibbs60 from Minnesota

Jun 08, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Mar 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by AlexChillton from Arizona

Apr 02, 2013
Photo of mactrail
Reviewed by mactrail from Washington

4.08/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
On tap at Local Habit in San Diego for Barrel Aged Beer Day and I see it's on the Stone Oakquinox tap list so it should be around for a while. Listed at 10% now. Big vanilla and winey aroma. Great sweet taste of caramel and grapes to start. Such a deep malty flavor with fig fruity mellowness. Tart and spritzy on the tongue.

Not much foam in the glass. Color is like a Tawny Port in the snifter. Woody with a taste of cedar, tart cherries, and cranberries. I am borrowing from someone who mentioned a Flanders Red Ale taste, and that's exactly right. There is an endless sharp edge that is a pleasant foil to the winey, woody taste.

Warm malt keeps some sweetness going. So grapey, and the tartness seems to intensify. It seems to be on the way to being a fabulous sour. A strong tasting, raisiny brew with a surprising acidity.
Mar 20, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by jeff1973 from California

Feb 18, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Tom-Peters from California

Feb 14, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by dksl16 from California

Feb 08, 2013
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Reviewed by brokensail from California

3.9/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
On-tap at Oakquinox

The pour is a dark amber color with an off-white head. The wine gives the beer a very fruity aroma. Lots of grape and red fruit notes with plenty of oak, too. Very sweet from all the wine as well as the natural sweetness of the brown sugar, caramel, and toffee notes. The flavor is slightly oxidized with a hint of chocolate. Good caramel and brown sugar and tons of red wine and red grape flavor.
Jul 26, 2012
Photo of Phelps
Reviewed by Phelps from Arizona

4.12/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Enjoyed in a snifter at Tops.

Deep purple-brown, made opaque through darkness. Half a finger of light tan, fizzy head quickly becomes a thin ring.

Ooh. Very sweet nose, loaded with toffee, buttery oak, fig, red grapes and a little vanilla. Dark fruits are so burly as to lend the beer something nearing sourness. Lots of caramel as well.

More toffee and butterscotch in the flavor, along with a touch of overripe oranges, caramel and red wine. Big, sweet bourbon flavor — very sweet. Maybe even some peach and apple. Things dry out a little at the swallow, but overall it’s rich and sweet throughout. Bitterness on sides of tongue.

Moderate, poking carbonation in a creamy, syrupy medium-full body. Alcohol comes through the nose a bit and gets the tongue numb.

Three Sheets is very tasty. Sweet, with good use of the barrels. And because it's sweet, it's drinkable for its strength.
Jun 03, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by John11486 from California

Feb 21, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by NFMSKRS from California

Feb 17, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by nanobrew from California

Jan 23, 2012
 
Rated: 5 by NickMunford from Wyoming

Jan 22, 2012
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Reviewed by Gueuzedude from Arizona

3.82/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Sampled March 2011
The beer pours with a thin, wispy, tan colored head that sits on top of a lightly hazed, dark amber-brown colored beer. This smells quite oaky up front, but definitely smooth. The oak spiciness is accentuated by some warming alcohol aromatics and there is even a little smokiness here. There is an almost cactus like spiciness here and the beer has a touch of saltiness in the notes as well as some fruity berry notes, caramelized malt character and toasted grain aromatics. There are some hints of toasted coconut and vanillin notes from the Barrel influence and oxidation seems to have contributed a nuttiness as well as some sherry like aromatics. This is really quite woody, it smells of fresh cut oak, with a light buttery character and some spicy oak notes.

The beer tastes lightly sweet and almost has a tequila like flavor to it. It finishes with a bit of tin in the aftertaste too. This is actually fairly dry in the finish; this is brought out by an astringency from the oak, a tannic structure, some peppery spice notes and a Bourbon-like finish that is accentuated by an alcoholic heat. There is a dark fruitiness to this beer and there is also quite a bit of tartness here as well. Rich oxidation notes add a nutty note to the finish and boost the malt complexity a bit. This has a suggestion of salt and a smokiness that also add to the complexity. This is fairly light bodied, but it does have some texture (the oak and tannins certainly add a boost) to it such that it sticks a bit to the palate. The sourness becomes more prominent as the beer warms up; there was definitely some sort of wild bug involved here. This is very interesting, between the tartness and the fact that I can’t shake wanting to describe a cactus / tequila like spiciness.
Aug 03, 2011
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Reviewed by BigMcLargeHuge from Arizona

4.1/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Frikin' Alex scores a growler of this, damn. Thanks buddy. Pours mahogany with tan head. The aroma is oak then dry oak and then moving toward bourbon, some vanilla, and a light amount of dark fruitiness, caramel and then more oak along with a touch of wine. The taste is sweet with dark fruity goodness, aged oak, vanilla and then some wine and caramel notes mixed together. A growing oak note is noticed off in the background as it approaches the finish. Yummy stuff.
Jan 18, 2011
Photo of DIM
Reviewed by DIM from Pennsylvania

4.07/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
a: This was a very dark brown, pretty close to black for a b-wine. It was served to me with a thin, tan film.

s: Vinous is the first word that comes to mind. The wine aromas really come through. I also found oaky tannins, toffee, and chocolate all blanketed by a decent amount of heat. Never smelled anything like this.

t: Very nice combination of vinous warmth, toffee, tobacco, and a surprisingly strong chocolate flavor. More wine than barleywine for sure, but it works well enough.

m: Bigger bodied than many barrel aged beers, but it lacked the heft I appreciate in barleywines. The carbonation was gentle and unobtrusive.

d: It might just be for noveltys sake, but I really enjoyed this. Not all that well balanced, but so what?
Jun 21, 2010
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Reviewed by augustgarage from California

4.42/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
On-tap @ Blue Palms Brewhouse in Hollywood, 5/20/2010. Served in a Coronado snifter.

Opaque, heavy, rusty, bistre complexion with a small head of large bubbles that ercedes to a beige bubble-wrap collar and a small island.

Intoxicating aroma - a massive blend of fruit (prunes, figs, plums, currants, orange-peel), spice (anise, cloves), tobacco, brown sugar, and more.

The flavors are as beguiling as the nose, but remain well integrated even though each sip seems to re-orient the profile around a new set of tastes. In addition to flavors corresponding to the aforementioned smells, the oak adds a superior complexity to the mid-palate, introducing vanilla and a mild red-wine quality balanced by a moderate touch of hops. Finishes very malty, but not particularly roasted.

Full-bodied, but with lively carbonation and a pleasaing tannic quality on the gums.

The best barrel-aged beer I've tried from Ballast-Point; often the barrel and alcohol overwhelm the base ingredients (e.g. Sea Monster), but that is certainly not the case here.

On the other hand, looking over the other reviews, I think it is safe to say you can expect some batch variation, not always for the better...
May 28, 2010
Three Sheets - Syrah Barrel-Aged from Ballast Point Brewing Company
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 25 ratings