Griffin's Bow - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

BucannonXC5

California

3.05/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Draft into a pint glass at Todd English PUB in Las Vegas, Nev., on July 23, 2012. One finger of head when I got it. Caramel color. Thick white lacing. Good retention all around the glass.

Smelled a sharp alcohol bite, corn, skunk, wine, bourbon or some other kind of liquor.

Tasted heavy alcohol right away. Wine and honey. Just too much of a sharp, overwhelming alcohol bite.

Medium body. Oily texture. Below average carbonation. Long liquory finish.

Very disappointed with this beer, considering I’ve liked almost every other Sam Adams beer I’ve tried. Just too much alcohol with no flavor to match it.

Serving type: on-tap

07-27-2012 01:09:20 | More by BucannonXC5

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Interesting beer...an oaked, blonde barleywine...good combination and enjoyable. It's a clear, brazed-golden color with a moderately stable white head. It's an attractive beer for sure. The aroma is of hot alcohol, pale malt, earth. There is a woody, oak-like character as well, but it sits behind the other flavors. Some hops in the aroma, but they're restrained. The taste is quite good, however...powerful, sweet, woody, bitter, and mouth-numbing. It's not subtle, but is balanced and enjoyable. The alcohol is notable, but not distracting. Bitterness begins in the foretaste, and doesn't really end. Full in body and extraordinarily heavy. This beer is more heavy-handed than it's appearance foretells.

Serving type: on-tap

05-17-2012 13:58:08 | More by WoodBrew

Reaper16

Alabama

2.68/5  rDev -23.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

served on-tap @ The Alcove, Tuscaloosa, AL into a tasting glass

Pours way, way lighter than I would expect a Barleywine to pour. It's a translucent, honey-gold color. Lager blonde. It's crazy how light this beer's color is. So much clarity too! It's sort of a trip. a decent, one-finger sized off-white head sits on top (also to my surprise).

Whoo. There's some... aromas here to deal with. It's quite boozy, for starters. Quite. Beyond that alcohol, I pick up on honey, dense biscuits, and white grapeskin. Those white grapeskin notes are a tell-tale for New Zealand hops.

The taste follows the nose pretty well. Lots of booze; it spreads all over my tongue and makes me literally frown. Some beers hide their alcohol; this beer embraces it. Honeycomb and grape flavors. Then there is the oak. It's soggy tasting, like it was soaked in grain alcohol until that natural vanilla flavor was just a ghost of what it could be. A lot of awkward and disjointed sips. Unpleasant.

It's slick and heavy on the mouth, and does little but exacerbate the beer's problem with perceptible alcohol. Overall, this is not a good take on the Barleywine style. Too boozy and too awkward.

Serving type: on-tap

05-16-2012 05:31:51 | More by Reaper16

Spiderbeerman

New York

4.94/5  rDev +40.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

My brother-in-law had a bottle at a party he was hosting. I usually don't go for barley wine and like a product with a little less alcohol content but Griffin's Bow was a pleasant surprise. It was smooth and didn't taste like it was strong. I would certainly buy this myself and will enjoy every drop!.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 04:58:38 | More by Spiderbeerman

rhoadsrage

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +27.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

(Served in a snifter)
Batch #2
A- This beer pours a slightly dense woody brown body with a bubbly sticky head of light beige that hung on the glass after each sip. There was a slow motion carbonation pushing to the surface.

S- The green grassy hops have a cream aroma to follow with some fresh raw oak aroma and a slightly sweet malt aroma that grows and grows as it opens.

T- The green grapefruit hops blend with a creamy rich malt flavor that has some buttery character that turns a bit more coconut like as it opens. There is a raw oak finish with some caramel malt sweetness and a sweet flower taste with honey hints. The gentle grassy bitterness of hops lingers cutting the malt flavor very nicely.

M- The medium mouthfeel has a gentle prick of fizz and no real alcohol heat noticed.

O- This beer has lots of nice complexity that is a bit subtle but really grows as does the richness of malt flavor. The green fresh oak blends really nicely with the hops and pale malt flavor. Very good sipper.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2013 16:25:23 | More by rhoadsrage

Bubbalito

Virginia

4.45/5  rDev +26.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Pour = Hazy syrupy bright copper. It has a viscous appearance when you swirl it around. There was a good 2 finger head that died out almost immediately
Smell = I am getting vanilla, pineapple, mango, burnt sugar; with hints of toffee and caramel in the background. It smells like pineapple maple syrup in all the best ways imaginable.
Taste = Exactly like the nose. I get pineapple soaked in vanilla syrup. Super syrupy but fruity at the same time, you get a little tartness on the back of the mouth. A little bit of alcohol as it goes down the throat. This bad boy is 11% ABV and it is hidden very well, if it wasn’t for the warming feeling as it goes down, you would never know.
Overall = This is the very first batch of this beer, I bought it back in late 2011 and have been sitting on it waiting for all the goodness to marinate. I have to say it was worth the wait. I might have to go out and buy another bottle and drink it in 2015!

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2013 22:21:40 | More by Bubbalito

GregBlatz

Ohio

4.14/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

A - Golden orange with a very white frothy head. It is very clear. Lacing very nicely as the head settles in.

S - Slight metallic note. Sweet. Maybe some light fruits and earthy hops.

T - Wow, how to describe... Sweet, but not quite cloying sweet. Hops are musty and earthy. Malt is nice and biscuity. The oak is there but restrained. A little vanilla and honey. Finishes with a bitter note that I appreciate.

M - Thin but sweet. A bit of alcohol burn. Med carbonation. A bigger beer than it seems at first.

O - Very nice. I really like this. I was afraid of a big malt bomb but this is balanced really well. Pretty complex, the more I drink it, the more I notice. Nice work for Samuel Adams. They are hit and miss with a lot of their creative beers. At least they are trying and they always have something new to check out. This one is a winner in my book.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2013 00:45:49 | More by GregBlatz

Fatehunter

Oregon

3.66/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Into a tulip glass. Three fingers of head on a clear, orange to yellow colored body. Great lacing.
The aroma is lemon, woody and cloves.
the taste is lemon bitterness with caramel and cloves. There’s a woodiness to the whole profile.
The texture is crisp with moderate carbonation and medium body.
The alcohol is well hidden. The flavor is interesting with the “lighter” blond note coupled with the woodiness.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2013 01:37:55 | More by Fatehunter

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Griffin's Bow pours a clear bronze color with a moderate frothy head on top. The foam dissipates quickly leaving behind a few spots and patches of lace on the glass.

The aroma is fruity and sweet with notes of honey, oak and citrus. Somewhat syrupy but definitely in the barelywine family.

Each sip of this medium to full bodied beer is syrupy on the palate with mild carbonation. The flavor is sweet with a taste of honey, oak, vanilla, toffee, caramel, tropical fruit and citrus. It finishes moderately bitter. Once gone the tropical fruit and citrus lingers on the palate.

A lot of flavor in this beer, but it leans towards the sweet side.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2013 00:44:13 | More by WanderingFool

obywan59

Virginia

3.38/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Batch 3. 10% ABV

Crystal clear with fine carbonation bubbles and golden orange in color with a 3 finger+ off white head that became lightly chunky as it receded leaving rather thick lacing.

Woah! I've never smelled such a hoppy barleywine before. Redolent of fruity hops with attributes of light honey weighing in for the malts.

Sweet with fruity cherry, but medicinal. Almost like cough syrup early on. Stand apart bitter, tart, and strong alcohol flavors don't seem to really mesh.

Waaay hot at first, but settling down somewhat to a decent light syrupy finish. Very warming!

Overall, it was decent, if perhaps more than a bit on the raw side. With such a high ABV, though, it may well lend itself to further aging.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2013 02:41:24 | More by obywan59

seand

California

3.73/5  rDev +6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A: Pours a clear amber with a fair amount of off-white head. A film retains on the surface, with a fairly thick rim around the edge of the glass, which leaves thick streaks of lacing.

S: Syrup and alcohol, with a background fruit note. There's a fair amount going on here but it's difficult to pick out specific details.

T: Thickly sweet leading into a mildly hoppy finish. The same fruit note hinted at on the nose is also present in the background throughout.

M: Medium to full body, low carbonation.

Overall, a decent barleywine. The hops balance the sweetness in a way that makes it easy to drink more (perhaps this is a downside at 11.5%). It is not stupendously amazing, but neither is it priced as such.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 02:02:02 | More by seand

Aaron_Ramson

California

3.03/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Tried about 7 different barleywines at a tasting last night with Griffins Bow being the 4th bottle opened. Compared to the dark richness of Aleworks Old Numbskull, the agressiveness of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, or the balanced nuances of Avery Brewing Company's Hog Heaven, Samuel Adams barleywine was completely pedestrian and did nothing to impress us or stand above the competition. It wasn't that it was a bad beer, but Griffins Bow lacked any of the characteristics that I enjoy in a barleywine. Interested in trying it again on it's own; maybe i'd enjoy it more if i didn't have exceptional barleywines to compare it to.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 21:32:11 | More by Aaron_Ramson

metter98

New York

3.63/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is clear golden yellow/orange and has a light to moderate amount of carbonation. It poured with a finger and a half high dense off white head that took a long time to die down and left lots of lacy rings of bubbles down the sides of the glass.
S: There are moderately strong aromas of gooseberries in the nose.
T: Like the smell, the hops impart flavors of citrus and gooseberries and there are also notes of vanilla from the oak barrel aging. Little to no bitterness is present.
M: It feels medium- to full-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The aging on toasted oak and use of Nelson Sauvin hops definitely make this an interesting and unique barleywine. It definitely tastes like an American Barleyine with all of the hop flavors but there isn't that much associated bitterness or stickiness that you see in other beers in this style. It is very easy to drink because the alcohol is well hidden from the taste.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 03:49:14 | More by metter98

cjgator3

Florida

3.65/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

22oz bottle

A- Pours a golden amber color with an off-white head with decent lacing and retention.

S- The aroma is loaded with citrus, a lot of citrus. The citrusy hops are mostly grapefruit and pineapple with some sweet malt and a honey-like sweetness to go along with some alcohol in the finish.

T- The taste is sweet malt up front with the citrusy hops coming in very quickly and lingering well into the finish. The finish also has a lot of warmth from the high alcohol content.

M- The mouthfeel is between light and medium bodies with a good amount of carbonation.

O- Overall, I enjoyed this beer more than I expected. Samuel Adams did a great job with this beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2012 04:14:34 | More by cjgator3

jzeilinger

Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A - Pours a medium orange/gold color with a three fingered, sticky white head and mild carbonation.

S - Light candied caramel toffee malt, light tropical fruit, oak.

T - Oak, white raisins, light white toffee malt, boozy, light grapefruit, overall - sweet.

M - Thick, full bodied, slightly frothy and very gentle carbonation pricklies.

O - I tip my hat to Sam Adams for pushing the envelope with a "blonde barley wine", there's nothing else in this genre (that I know of).

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2012 08:32:46 | More by jzeilinger

jsanford

Georgia

3.48/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours cloudy dark gold with a dense white head that settles to a thick cap, leaving lots of soapy lacing. Resinous aromas of sweet caramel malt, tangerine, honey, white wine, and a touch of oak. Taste is really nice, more flavors of honey malt, citrus and tropical hops, with a fairly sticky mouthfeel, medium-full body, and lowish carbonation. Pretty tasty Barleywine, a very unusual interpretation of the style but I like it.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2012 05:24:06 | More by jsanford

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

3.55/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Fresh bottle review from notes.

Typical barleywine amber appearance, light head and mild lacing, medium-heavy body and medium-light carbonation, somewhat clingy and toothsome in texture but not terribly so.

Smells of honey, taffee, toffee, light amounts of toasted oak, and medium levels of tropical fruit (pineapple, mango, papaya, wild flowers). The flavor is a lot more woody than the aroma, and also includes a surprise coconut-vanilla cream pie to the face with a sidebar of rye whiskey burn... Pineapple with charred edges pops out around the mid sip and transforms into a typical pine resin / juicy grapefruit combo by the time the finish rolls out an added spectrum of both leafy herbal raw *and* dried tobacco in equal measure.

Nice, but far too hot and wooden for my preferences fresh. The most memorable aspects of this barleywine are the high level of grilled pineapple and French Vanilla in in the flavor relative to other barleywines, but it fights with the rye booze levels as it is. I'm really intrigued by the tobacco elements, though. In my experience, beers that show nuances of tobacco when fresh often tend to develop additional complexity when aged.

I see this one as another great potential cellaring candidate; to see what can be built out of carefully controlled reduction of the hot booze and hopping levels, and to develop that tobacco stub. I'll probably be getting another one or two bombers at the store for further cellar experimentation, and the price point for this barleywine is more than reasonable enough for this to be an affordable adventure... (My 22oz bomber cost $7 in WI)

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2012 00:26:21 | More by WastingFreetime

DRyan

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bought two bottles in Feb 12. Wasn't using ASTMD back in Feb...

2/21/12
Pours golden-copper with a thick white head that sticks around for a while, and laces nicely. Oak flavor is very noticeable in the forefront, fruity notes in the middle, and alcohol bite on the latter. Good amount of hop flavor to balance what would otherwise be a very sweet, malty beer. Slightly reminiscent of barleywine, but unlike any barleywine I’ve had before.

11/4/12
Poured in a Ranger Creek Tulip glass
A: Golden copper with a very frothy white head of big thick bubbles that recedes slowly and leaves some decent lacing
S: Sweet caramel and malt, some toffee and vanilla
T: Oak is milder now, the alcohol actually seems stronger in the front of the taste now. The hops bitterness still comes in the end, though there is very little of the hops in the aroma anymore. Much less overly sweet. Really doesn’t taste too much like a barleywine though.
M: Smooth and rich, with a little zing in the carbonation.
D: The alcohol is certainly noticeable, and would keep this from being too quick of a drinker. Overall the beer is pretty easy to drink (slowly), but the bite at the end – a mix of hops and alcohol bitterness – keeps it from being too quickly imbibed.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2012 00:32:31 | More by DRyan

kylehay2004

Florida

3.93/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Single finger head with little retention of decent lacing on a hazy amber with orange hues body. Aroma is a bit bland with some caramel and candied fruit, little else. Flavor follows the aroma with some wood, caramel, maple syrup and candied dark fruit notes and is nice and mellow. The body is a little chewy, with medium body and moderate carbonation. The booze however are better hidden than expected. This one is certainly drinkable for the style and ABV with nice fruity notes to be flavorful.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2012 02:57:37 | More by kylehay2004

nickfl

Florida

4/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours with one finger of white foam on top of a clear, dark golden body. The head settles slowly and leaves excellent lace on the glass.

S - Vanilla, honey, clove, and assorted other spicy notes.

T - Sugary malt up front with a bit of honey and cloves. Some spicy pepper notes in th middle with a finish of honey, red apple, and clove.

M - Medium body, moderately high carbonation, and a balanced finish.

D - Reasonably well balanced with lots of honey and spices. I feel like it could use some age to really come to together, but there is potential for what is a good beer to become something better here.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2012 02:55:03 | More by nickfl

DIM

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a: Blonde, as advertised. It poured with medium sized, moderately sticky head.

s: Sweet honey, caramel, and some spicy oak.

t: Starts off with sugary caramel that has hints of floral honey. Finish adds a pleasant oaky alcohol bite with some lemon bitterness.

m: Kind of chewy.

o: Nice, sweet b-wine, but kind of one dimensional. The oak doesn't really show itself.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2012 21:55:31 | More by DIM

RickS95

Indiana

3.53/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Batch 2 in a medium-sized snifter.

The appearance is very attractive. Pours a bit thinner than I expected, but it's a clear burnt orange with a bright white head. The head is a finger thick and very foamy looking. Decent retention and a good lacing follows.

For the most part, the smell is pleasant with all the citrus notes, but then the alchol comes through with a vengeance. All things mentioned on the bottled are distinct in the nose...the honeysuckle, pineapple, and the grapefruit. All the while, there's a piney smell in the background. Again though, that alcohol is lurking.

While not awful, the alcohol taste is aggressive. It does allow the grapefruit and oak flavors to make an appearance, but it's a cameo at best because the alcohol takes top billing. If the bottle didn't say 10%, I'd guessed this to be in the 15-18% range. A bit of orange peel in the finish.

Slight acid from the citric fruits, but it's mostly heat from the alcohol. There's so much alcohol that I can't pick up any hoppy bitterness, so on the one hand, it's less bitter than you'd expect form a barleywine. However, on the other hand, the alcohol has an attitude problem and doesn't play nicely with others.

It's not a bad beer, it's actually pretty good. Problem is it's extremely manly and more or less alcohol-forward. It's not an easy beer to drink, clearly a sipper and not entirely out of the question to share it with someone.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2012 04:12:37 | More by RickS95

jwc215

New Jersey

4.03/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into tulip glass:

Pours orange-tinted amber wih a white head that has great retention for the abv and style. Wispy strands of lacing stick.

The smell if of toasted oak, citrus (grapefruit and pineapple) with some toffee and brown sugar. It has a very pleasant aroma.

The taste is of juicy, citrusy hops with marmalade sweetness. As it progresses pineapple and grapefruit dipped in brown sugar comes to mind. A soft toasted damp oak supports it. Warm but not boozy, it has a semi-dry finish.

It is crisp. It could be fuller, but it is far from thin.

It is sweet-ish and oaky with a nice blend of hop support. Alcohol warmth grows as it is sipped. An enjoyable sipper!

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2012 17:25:32 | More by jwc215

raznug

Ohio

3.93/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: This beer pours a dark golden color and is topped with and solid 1” of white head that tends to linger. Belgian lacing lines the glass all the way to the bottom.
Smell: This is quite the bouquet of smells I can smell citrus, malty aromas, something sweet maybe pineapple according to label.
Taste: Oak aging is the first flavor that I taste followed by a malt sweetness that caught my attention. The blend of the oak dryness and sweetness is a tasty touch that makes my like this beer. Toffee and vanilla flavors fill into the background as the beer warms which makes me like this beer even more. There is no alcohol burn to it at all which in a 10% beer doesn’t happen to often.
Mouthfeel: Griffins Bow is a medium bodied beer that is rather easy drinking for a 10% barleywine (this could get a person in trouble if one doesn’t watch out.)

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2012 14:02:31 | More by raznug

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.58/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a mug glass.

A: The beer is a deep amber color, with a large off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains caramelized malts, alcohol, fruit and a good amount of hops.

T: The taste starts out with a hearty malt character and sweet flavors of caramel and fruit. Then a strong hops bitterness comes in along with a bit of an alcohol sting. There’s a decent balance and a background essence of oak aging. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, strong kick, good representation of style, it’s a decent beer but there are others in the style that I would choose first.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 02:55:58 | More by TheManiacalOne