John Barleycorn Barleywine Ale - Mad River Brewing Company

aaronh

Pennsylvania

2.58/5  rDev -30.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Pours a cloudy orange amber with minimal head and a fairly good amount of floaties. The aroma is very strong and sweet from a distance, but there's a definite malt smell. Up close, the smell becomes more fruity, having a definite apricot note atop the malty sweetness. The taste is like moldy,wet straw that has been sugar coated and doused with rubbing alcohol. High amounts of fusel type alcohols in this one, even after 4 years. A strong bitterness emerges on the finish. Mouthfeel is average for a barleywine. Drinkability is not good. Drinking this brings to mind cokes' review of Doggie Claws, with his apocolypse now theme and hints of napalm. The strong alcohol in this baby makes it a killer. I may try to light it and use it as a torch. Hoping for a rare gem on this purchase and I got burned.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2003 05:51:57 | More by aaronh

Loki

North Carolina

3.53/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Sampled in a 12 oz bottle from 2001 harvest on May 24th, 2003.

Poured an amber color with a 1/2 inch head that faded to a small covering and left decent lacing.

Aromas of sherry, grapes, sugar, and alcohol from the nose.

Tastes of sherry, buttered kettlecorn, and alcohol. Medium body, but seemed light for the style. Coats the tongue, but not the mouth. Smooth but very sweet and over the top on the alcohol taste.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2003 16:18:11 | More by Loki

RBorsato

Virginia

3.13/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Dark Brown/Copper with a low light brown head, lots of sediment and little-no carbonation. Malty aroma; vineous. Also kind of sprucey or piney (?). Sugary sweet flavor with a light alcohol finish; vineous and winey. Full bodied but very flat with a very sweet malty finish.

Not much better than the 1997 version. If I tried a later year of this beer I'd drink it fresh.

Labelled as 2001 Harvest
Tasted: 05/10/03

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2003 10:00:10 | More by RBorsato

Darkale

Virginia

2.93/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Cloudy butterscotch in color, thick and slow-pouring, with a short, tan head. Lacing is good.

Aroma is candy -- butterscotch and caramel.

Taste is just as sweet, even sweeter. Caramel, toffee, hint of coffee. Slightly burning in the mouth, and thinner than one would expect, only slightly chewy. Aftertaste is an odd combination of hops and malt. Pungent, slightly sour, dry and astringent.

Not the best example of a barleywine. Aftertaste is too sour, taste is too thin and cloying.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2003 11:43:16 | More by Darkale

Jordan

California

4.2/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 3.5

Potent aromas of complex alchohals and candied caramel. Heavy body; creamy mouthfeel. Sugary sweet butterscotch, burnt caramel and complex alchohals make this one of the maltiest beers I have ever sampled. Perhaps TOO sweet!? I would say yes if you plan on sitting back and drinking a sixer, however this is perfect for a nightcap or for a relaxing drink on a cold winters night. Where are the hops the other two BA's have commented on? Maybe it's the age?

Drink this one at room temp.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2003 20:55:17 | More by Jordan

BeerManDan

California

4.5/5  rDev +21%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The color is a medium amber with not a medium head that will cling to the glass sides. The aroma is of malts and spices. The taste was malty, with a hint of spices and caramel. The after taste was creamy smooth with a good balance of sweetness and a hint of bitterness. This is my first time tasting this beer and I like it. Not the best but very passable!

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2002 15:20:05 | More by BeerManDan

Murph

Arizona

3.73/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a slightly hazy ruby/amber color with a nice, creamy, tan head that sinks but leaves a nice lacing down the goblet. A nice rich malty aroma dominates with some subdued alcohol in the background. Intense chewy hoppiness with a slightly harsh alcohol finish to it. Some slight fruit flavors and a little vinous quality as well. Slightly thin for the style and not quite as warming as I would like it to be but not a bad brew either, just nothing special. I was hoping for something that was going to be able to warm me up a little better than this but it isn't bad at all.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2002 01:00:24 | More by Murph

marc77

California

3.68/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Hazy, tawny bronze in hue, topped by a thin, but dense light tan head. Sugar coated nuts and vinous sherry sweetness upfront in aroma, followed by notes of bitterscotch and deep caramel. Hints of leafy tobacco accompany the earthy and slightly woody hop nose. Dark toffeeish sweetness hits the palate at first, then yields immediately to a citrusy hop flavor and sharp bitterness. The muted malt character surfaces as the hop profile fades, and is dominated by butterscotch and well toasted malt. Mild fruity esters eek in, but are nearly lost to the strong hop profile. Lightly bodied for style, but quite dextrinous and smooth in mouthfeel. Finishes w/ a snap of sweetness and quickly fading bready malt and butter. This has the potential to be an excellent barleywine, and is certainly worthy of cellaring. In its current state, the drinkability is already very good-- perhaps dangerously so.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2002 17:30:58 | More by marc77

DOCALYN

Virginia

2.05/5  rDev -44.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Weirdest beer I ever had. the herb used is rosemary and I can't imagine why one would spoil an othrwise good beer with this herb. I dumped my beer down the drain as the taste was too funky for my tastebuds.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2001 15:21:08 | More by DOCALYN