Serenity - Manzanita Brewing Company

womencantsail

California

3.48/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a copper color with a khaki colored head. The nose starts off with mild vanilla and whiskey. There's some caramel and toffee notes, along with hints of oak and fruit. Mild oxidation is present as well. The flavor is sugary, almost a touch grainy. Carmel and sugar, light toffee and vanilla. Very restrained whiskey, some oak, light oxidation, and a touch of fruit.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2012 03:17:38 | More by womencantsail

UCLABrewN84

California

3.6/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle I brought to share at drewone’s tasting.

Pours a slightly murky copper with a beige head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, brown sugar, citrus zest, whisky, and slight wood aromas. Taste is pretty much the same with there is a subtle tartness I am picking up too. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good barrel aged barleywine but nothing all that exciting in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2012 01:12:27 | More by UCLABrewN84

mdfb79

New York

4/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle sent to me as an extra by Nugganooch; as always, thanks Dane! Bottle says it is whiskey aged; 12 oz. bottle into my Cigar City snifter.

a - Pours a murky, deep reddish brown color with an inch of light tan head that lasts for 1 minute and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of caramel malts, toffee, bready malts, whiskey, coconut, alcohol, wood, and sweet dark fruits. Not a ton of whiskey but nice and a lot of caramel.

t - Tastes of caramel, whiskey, toffee, toasted malts, bready malts, alcohol, oak,sweet dark fruits, molasses, and sugar. More alcohol than the nose and sweeter; still not a ton of whiskey. A touch more wood too.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation, with a touch of heat. Not too heavy, though you can tell it is 12.1% ABV.

o - Overall I thought this was a good barleywine. I don't think the whiskey barrel comes through much, but I still liked the nose and taste so not a big deal. A bit strong and a sipper for sure, but a good barleywine I'd like to have again.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2012 23:57:44 | More by mdfb79

mactrail

California

3.55/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On tap at South Park Abbey, served in a tulip glass. Not much head on the dark amber brew.

Sweet and hot is the main impression. Full of grainy flavors. Spicy tang cuts through the sugars. Huge malt in every dimension. Serious alcohol but it tastes even stronger than wine. Body is on the syrupy side. Flavors are murkier than I like. Not much carbonation in the mouth. Very slow sipping and constantly surprised by the powerful flavors and booziness.

I will have to try the bottled version, which sounds more refined. Maybe this keg has more of the murky yeasty flavors.

Serving type: on-tap

02-15-2012 05:43:19 | More by mactrail

FosterJM

California

3.9/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

1063rd Review on BA
Bottle to Snifter
12 oz

2010 release

Thanks to Johndoe8 for sharing
Shared at MrHirschybars tasting

App- A bit darker than I was thinking. Was almost a brown color but was still inviting and creamy looking in the glass with a small impish medium off white head with very little cling..

Smell- Opens with a nice touch of malt and some brown sugar and then quickly goes into the whiskey treatment. A bit boozy and a bit warm.

Taste- The flavors start small and then envelop quickly. The normal barleywine flavors come in 1st. Malty, chewy and a bit damp, hell that moves quickly to BAM! Whiskey. A little unbalanced but still quite good.

Mouth- A nice light-medium body with a fairly medium carbonation level. Lots of residual malts and whiskey

Drink- I can say I love all types of barleywines. This was quite good and a little unbalanced for me but the barrel treatment was again unique because of the whiskey besides Bourbon.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2012 18:21:14 | More by FosterJM

Rhettroactive

Virginia

3.88/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From 12oz black wax dipped bottle to Bruges hybrid glass on 4/8/12
* From notes

-- Bottle purchased at BottleWorks in San Diego on 10/30/11 --

A: Cloudy cider amber. A decent pour yields a .25 finger head that's loose and fades much too quickly. A white collar rims the glass.

S: If you had asked me if this was barrel aged, then I'd have said no. It's much hoppier then I'd expected, though the hops are really beginning to fade. Not overly memorable.

T: Very nice. Again, those pine-like hops are right there, yet this time they're much more balanced and kept in check. The whiskey characteristics are mild, the beer is more creamy then hot. Pleasant and approachable. Not a lot of smoke or coconut, though as it warms to around room temp, I do get a lot more of the typical vanilla, coconut and toasted wood profiles I look for on BA beers like this.

M: Not bad. It's not overly brash or rough, yet it's not the motor oil consistency I prefer. No complaints here.

O: What a nice find. I'm all about unearthing small breweries and their hidden gems. So ok, this isn't the diamond in the rough I'd hoped for, but I'll be damned if it wasn't an above average entry into the American BA Barleywine category. A bit pricey at or around $10 a 12oz bottle, yet it's certainly a worthwhile tick.

Thumbs up.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2012 21:30:52 | More by Rhettroactive

ChadQuest

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Body is an Amber sunburst with a thin off white ring around the upper edge of the spot where the beer meets the glass.
I like the aroma on this quite a bit, caramel sweetness with some whiskey whispers.
Caramel rolled in brown sugar, whiskey and oak are prominent (<3), not as deep and rich as the aroma indicated but just as sweet and alcoholic, the strong alcohol is nice just needs a bit more richness.
Mouthfeel is granular medium-dense.

C/3 = Average

I liked this beer, if you like alcoholic barleywines you should go buy some.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2012 06:43:15 | More by ChadQuest

badboyrsl84

California

4.35/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer was released at the Manzanita one year anniversary party. Its been sitting in a whiskey barrel for the last year.

Pours a heavy brownish caramel in to the glass with a good fuzzy head that disappears quickly.

Smell - rich caramel and sweet malts. A touch of vanilla and whiskey from sitting in the barrel.

Taste. Very rich with flavors. Lots of thick mouth lacing caramel. It finishes with vanilla and a touch of whskey. Little to no alcohol kick.

Overall- its very smooth and the 12% abv is almost non apparent. I find this one to be very good and would like to have another.

Serving type: on-tap

07-17-2011 00:10:55 | More by badboyrsl84

Kshock

California

4.1/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A- Orange color with a brown hue giving it more of a dark tint. Very bright and good head retention, really nice appearance

S- Hops are very apparent at first but as it warms, lots of caramel whisky characteristics come through. very nice nose.

T- Malt sweetness with a good hop character. Very nice beer. When it warms up the barrel qualities come through very nicely.

M- Med to lite body with a good carb tickle on the palate.

O- Very nice for the first offering.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 00:21:16 | More by Kshock

BdubleEdubleRUN

California

4.33/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle picked up out of curiosity.
The beer pours a very clear brown caramel color with a light tan finger of head that fades somewhat quickly and can be revived to a film. The nose is big of caramel, toffee and whiskey. Thats where the taste is too, the whiskey barrel defenitly makes its presence known and is very welcome along with the caramel and toffee, the alcohol heat is well hidden. The body is a little lighter then I've grown used to with big barleywines but enjoyable with good carbonation. This one definitly is under the radar and pretty good, I would gladly drink more.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2011 13:23:29 | More by BdubleEdubleRUN

djaeon

California

4.28/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Manzanita's first anniversary beer from 2011. Tried on 1/14/2013.

Since I didn't get the chance to try this fresh, I'm not sure what the comparison would be like. But I'm guessing some age has mellowed it out. Pours a hazy light copper with little head. It's pretty smooth for a barleywine, with a nice sticky mouthfeel. The 12.1% ABV isn't very evident. Heavy caramel flavor. Only a light hint of the whiskey barrel aging. I wish I had more than a 12oz bottle! Luckily, I've heard that they're aging this again in barrels currently, and may be doing larger format bombers the next round.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2013 03:06:12 | More by djaeon

ZX6Chris

California

4.43/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12oz poured into my Bruery snifter.

Clear caramel color with a small head that fades quickly. The liquid is clear and inviting.

Nice malt flavors shine through, whisky and barrel. The whisky flavors are light and smooth.

Light to medium bodied with ample carbonation and a clean finish.

A very tasty 12% beer. I have plenty stashed and can't wait for Manzanita's next barrel aged beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2011 23:51:00 | More by ZX6Chris

PatrickSwayze

California

4.8/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A : Poured from a 12oz wax bottle into a 3 oz snifter. Probably the most gorgeous looking beer i have ever poured. A beautiful clear cherry amber with thin lacing at the edges.

S: Intense deep caramel notes perfectly melting into oak and light whiskey bliss. 

T: This beer is banging right off the bat. Delivers rich burnt oak flavors mixed with light cherry and whiskey notes. The heat is barely noticeable
helping you recognize these complex flavors available for your palate.

M: Deep intense complex flavors complemented by a great dryness. 

O: My second beer by Manzanita. The first was average but this one is easily one of my favorite barrel aged barley wines. Well worth the price. Will be buying another.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2012 05:20:16 | More by PatrickSwayze

LadyOfMuchBeer

Texas

4.63/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 ounce bottle, poured to snifter, slightly hazy amber, light shines through beautifully. 1/4 inch of creamy head, slow, steady carbonation.

Nose is sweet, of caramel/toffee/brown sugar. Malts have a strong presence here.

Flavors work hard to shine over the whiskey here. Malts are delicious and caramel. Nice tannic lacing. Interesting, I'd almost swear I taste ginger and orange peel as I reach deep to recognize flavors.

Feels sticky, great aftertaste as well.

Overall, I am very pleased to get to try this one...Much thanks to Mtbbright! Very delicious indeed.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2012 22:23:30 | More by LadyOfMuchBeer