Dominion Millennium - Oak Aged - Old Dominion Brewing Company

maximum12

Minnesota

2.45/5  rDev -40.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1

Really enjoyed the regular version, so have been looking forward to this one with more than the usual lip-smacking.

Pours a dark, warm, almost woody red. Contrary to it's non-barrel-aged cousin, this displays no carbonation, no head. The smell, however, is spot-on. Dead-ringer bourbon, vanilla, with a good foundation of malts. Instantly reminds me of the '09 Central Waters Barrel Aged Barleywine, one of my all-time faves. That's a lot to live up to.

Until I smelled this, I assumed it was oak-aged vs. barrel-aged, so this was a surprise. Let's lay this to rest right away: I knew the CW BBBW '09, & this ain't no CW BBBW '09. The bourbon is ascendant, but the base beer seems to have suffered from its rough treatment. It's flat & bitter, & not in a good way, clashing oddly with what's initially a nice blast of bourbon. Oxidation creeps in; I have to wonder if the screw-off cap had something to do with it. Wet cardboard mocks the sweetness & vanilla, rendering it nearly undrinkable.

The base beer, which is so good, has been rendered undrinkable here. Since it never shipped, I have to blame the top. Too bad. The smell was terribly promising.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2010 03:23:43 | More by maximum12

Pencible

Virginia

2.93/5  rDev -28.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Also brewed in an oak barrel, but this is an ale instead of a stout. I think that made the whiskey flavor even more noticeable. Plus, "millennium" means high alcohol content (around 10%), which added to the sense of the drink being whiskey. I could water down some Jack Daniels, add some foam on top, and enjoy that just as well as this beer. Of course, I'm not a big fan of Jack, so that's not necessarily a compliment.

Serving type: on-tap

03-29-2008 20:43:42 | More by Pencible

nogoodreason

Missouri

3.18/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Oak Aged Millennium is the prototypical barley wine amber with a surprisingly vigorous head that fades as quickly as one would expect. There's a little crustiness on the top of the bottle, resembling crystallized sugar.

The nose is of oaken sweetness, vanilla, some cherries and some toffee/raisiny malts jumping out and a slight hint of earthy hops. All in all, the nose is nice and deep if not a little too sweet.

Like the standard Millennium, it's a little thinner than you might like in the body, though nicely carbonated. Not really special, but not lacking.

Oak spice and vanilla at first followed by sticky toffee malts and with some distracting tastes of oxidation... a little star anise and some booze float around with the natural spiciness of oak. It's distractingly sweet and the cherry/vanilla one-two punch of the oak doesn't help. A nice, earthy bitterness later in the palate does what it can to tame the oaky sweetness, but it's washed away by booze and vanilla leaving your mouth with a one dimensional wooden finish.


All in all, it's a nice idea, but the oak simply overpowers the rest of the brew. It's nicely complex, but unbalanced and lacking grace. After a while the Oak became so cloying that I had troiuble finishing. I probably I should've left it age for a while, though the hints of oxidation imply that it might've went south.

Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2004 16:22:23 | More by nogoodreason

mentor

Colorado

3.3/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

July 22, 2004 offering (consumed about 2.5 years later). Purchased at the brewery shortly after release and stored carefully in my cool dark cellar. Pours a finger of tan head over a cloudy bright rust liquid. Smells oak sour sherry oxidation. Vanilla. Pineapple. Touch solventy and meady.

Tastes sherry and caramel. Touch of butter. Pears are one of the many light esters. Vanilla and creamy coconut. Oak is subdued and clean of char. Mouthfeel is md (at best), which I find surprisingly little for the style. Decent carbonation, which is surprising as the bottle was a twist-off.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2007 00:05:42 | More by mentor

BigMcLargeHuge

Arizona

3.3/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Thanks to Jason for opening this brew. Pours orange to clear copper with off white head. The aroma is light with hints of sweetness and oakiness. The taste seems to start off neutral and then becomes smooth and sweet followed by some hints of alcohol and mild tartness. This isn't as chewy or rich as similar barleywines.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2009 12:50:05 | More by BigMcLargeHuge

mikeyv35

New York

3.35/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Date: 01/31/2012
Type: 12oz. Bottle
Vintage: 2009
Glass: Half Acre Tulip

Pours a light brown mahoghany in color w/ a skim coat white head that leaves minimal lacing. Aromas of oak, caramel/toffee, dark fruits, and a touch of bourbon. The taste starts off w/ massive oak up front, leading into caramel/toffeed, and finished w/ mild bourbon and an off putting flavor. I never thought I would say this, but the basement mustiness mixed with the bourbon and thinness of this brew, mixes to make a finish that is offensive to me. Medium bodied and lush. I was struggling to finish half a glass.

Overall, I was very disappointed by this brew that I was looking forward to sampling. Just has an odd finish on the palate! Will not be revisiting this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2012 06:17:44 | More by mikeyv35

ChadQuest

Illinois

3.38/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This was bottled on 11/17/06, more then 5 years old, wowza.
White half finger of head over a dark amber body, some haze going on.
The aroma plays the aged role in full, no alcohol at all, and little hops, both of which are normally in full force for an american barleywine. This makes the aroma simple and composed of dried bread, light faint citrus, and generous oak, it seem so far that the oak is staying around the longest.
The flavors are rounded out and grouped together, and have a slight oxidized note at this point but doesn't hurt this that much so far. There are caramel notes in here but they come across dryer then most barleywines after the years, and again light citrus from the little bit of hop presence hanging on, and the oak is strong on the palate. The alcohol is amazingly absent, i think a little more would be a positive addition for my personal palate, but i like em hot.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2011 06:01:03 | More by ChadQuest

maniac

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance was a hazy dark amber color with a thin fully diminishing off-white head.
Aroma was heavily oaked with some light molassas and caramel hints.
Notably oaked flavor with sweet caramel and vanilla flavors.
A good beer to slowly drink with some nice warming effects.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2006 20:06:49 | More by maniac

ppoitras

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle obtained via trade with meathookjones. Thanks for the opportunity... Bottle was wrapped in a black plastic shrink-wrap before adding the label, interesting.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a minimal head, which quickly disappeared, over the deep amber brew. Minimal to no lacing, not particularly surprising for the style, both a BW and oak-aged. Aroma is deeply of oak notes, vanilla, and alcohol. Taste is dominated by the oak notes upfront, somewhat obscuring the malt characteristics. Mouthfeel and drinkability are good for the style, but the barrel aging seems to have pushed this one in a direction I wasn't quite expecting or looking for. Maybe some cellaring on the other bottle I've obtained will do it some good. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2005 02:00:42 | More by ppoitras

goodbyeohio

Oregon

3.63/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

11.4.05 bottling, thanks hopsaplenty

crystal clear amber with a soapy, light-beige head. lacing looks like sticky burnt scrambled egg outskirts. one finger head comprised of an even balance.. airy spheres and creamy foam density.

smells like vanilla, bourbon, and hoppy amber ale nuances. the barrel essence is first and foremost, and there isn't much else to talk about aromawise.

lighter and more drinkable than i expected. flavor echoes the oaky barrel notes, and presents the slightest speck of bacterial sour funk. almost no hop bitterness except for a dull sting in the finish. vanilla is there in the flavor too, but it has more of that essential sourness of bottled vanilla extract in watery, brown form. the barrel aging provides alot of flavor, but i wonder about this before it hit wood. if you like the taste of barrel aging, this is for you. if you prefer to taste a beer mixed with barrel flavors, you will be underwhelmed. there is little to nothing here that represents the original brew.

overall, a decent elixir, but i wouldn't revisit unless this was a complimentary bottle.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2006 16:29:25 | More by goodbyeohio

Atlas1

Texas

3.65/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Been a while since my last review, so I decided to delve into storage for something nice to get the creative juices flowing again. Pulled out an OD oak-aged Millennium. Not bad. Bottling date on the label says 11/17/06, so this guy is just over a year old.

Poured into a belgian style snifter, this beer bears a pretty golden-amber hue with a bubbly, slightly off-white head on top that eventually dissipates and leaves big bubbles in a ring around the sides. Whoa, the nose on this is pungent! Sweet and malty, but with a STRONG oak sensation that basically takes over the entire aroma. Not sure if that's a product of the aging or not, but the wood scent is really powerful. The taste is less aggressive, although it also possesses the heavy oak presence like the aroma. It's slightly sweet up front, but quickly evens out to an orange-tasting oak flavor. Some vanilla and a tart cherry-like flavor near the end. Mouthfeel is firm and smooth.

I can't really say that I've ever had anything like this before. I've consumed plenty of barleywines, but never anything quite as pungent as this one. The oak aging, plus the additional time that I cellared it, really added to the mellowing of the alcohol and lifted the oakiness up to the forefront. Very interesting. I'm not sure it's an every-day kind of a beer (what barleywine is?) but it makes for interesting conversation on a cold night like tonight. Give it a try if you're in the mood for something different.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2007 02:27:40 | More by Atlas1

barleywinebrewer

New Hampshire

3.65/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

label says bottled on 11/1/06.

A - hazy amber / orange color with a whisp of an off white head that quickly dissipates.
S - bourbon, grapefruit, ripe tropical fruit, whisp of oak.
T - similar to the nose. a bit hoppier feeling than expected and a distinct jim beam aspect cutting through the barleywine taste.
M - medium body, softly carbonated, nice soft accross the tongue sharp finish
D - while the abv is hidden well, this one is a little too influenced by the bourbon for my tastes.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2008 16:53:08 | More by barleywinebrewer

BeerSox

Virginia

3.68/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle into snifter.

Slightly hazy ruby red hue with a thin light tan head that settles into a rim around the glass. Stringy lacing forms down the glass.

Light malt aromas covered up by very strong hop aromas. A tiny amount of vanilla can be detected. Stong alochol aromas come in as the beer warms.

The malts are barely tasted as the strong citrusy and bitter hops completely take over. The alcohol makes itself known in the middle, while slowly fading and the hops take over again. Full bodied with good carbonation. Just like the aroma, a faint amount of carbonation can be tasted.

This one is all hops, of course. Basically your middle of the road Barley Wine. It's recommended, just don't expect anything special.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2007 04:26:14 | More by BeerSox

prototypic

Ohio

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottled on November 17, 2006

Appearance: Pours a transparent, dark copper color with a one finger, creamy head. Head dissapeared pretty quickly and left a light coat of lace.

Smell: Initially smells of wood chips and alcohol. It's actually very reminiscent of whiskey. If you stick with it you can pick some vanilla, citrusy grapefruit notes, and a bit of dark fruit aromas. Alcohol scent is rather strong. Interesting.

Taste: Definitely smoked wood chips and alcohol predominate. This is a strong beer. There is a bit of light whiskey taste to it. You can pick up some vanilla and grapefruit flavors in there, along with a raisiny taste.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability: This is a medium bodied beer and it really is surprisingly easy to drink for such a big beer. I'm enjoying it. Drinkability is down a notch due to the 11.4% abv. Overall, it's a really good beer. I couldn't drink more than one. But, I'll drink this again. Definitely try it out.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2007 01:54:49 | More by prototypic

FtownThrowDown

Ohio

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a reddish brown color with absolutely no head to speak of. Smell is sherry like and somewhat floral. Taste is absolutely incredible. Just a slight bit of carbonation. No sense of the alcohol at all in the taste. Only a slight bit of warming as it goes down. This is a damn fine beer. I would love to have this again after its aged for a while. Will have to see if they maintain this as a offering and keep the quality up now.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2007 01:29:34 | More by FtownThrowDown

Bierguy5

Ohio

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle, bottled on 11-17-06, 11.4% ABV. Very clear copper in color, with some red hues. A lot of fizzy carbonation when poured. Thin tan head that trickled down to a small collar quickly.

Huge nose full of oak, vanilla, plums, fig, and some dark fruits. Alcohol stands out in the nose as well.

Good amount of wood and oak at the beginning. A bit of sweetness follows, with fig, and fruity flavors. Not very much in the way of hops, nothing really stands out.

Lots of warming alcohol, dry finish with lingering oak. Medium body, low carbonation. I loved the nose, but the taste let me down just a bit. This seemed a bit hot, so some time in the cellar may help.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2007 16:50:32 | More by Bierguy5

jeffmonarch

Maryland

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle in a pint glass.

A - A mix of dark orange and medium brown with little head. A little cloudy.

S - Really sweet and spicy. Kind of grainy.

T - Smooth sweet flavors. Very cirtusy with a nice hop finish. Slight bitterness in the finish.

M - Medium bodied with good carbonation.

D - Good beer. I would like to try the regular millennium that's not oak barrel aged because I can't pick up any of the normal characteristics that you find from aging in oak barrels.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2008 00:53:52 | More by jeffmonarch

paco1029384756

Illinois

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle thanks to JISurfer.

Bottled on: 11/04/05

Pours a cloudy turbid brown color with a tiny off white head and a sharp ring of lacing. It looks a little unappealing.

Scent of sweet bourbon, caramel, cherries, sugars, and some oxidation. This has held up pretty well, but the oxidation is a bit too noticeable.

Taste of bourbon, caramel, sugars, earth, and a hint of spice. I would prefer to have the regular product to compare to, but right now this is tasting very bourbon forward. I'm not sure how much longer this will hold up, but it tastes pretty damn good right now.

Mouthfeel is medium heavy bodied and has a very low carbonation, but not flat.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2009 22:57:10 | More by paco1029384756

AleWatcher

Illinois

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle courtesy of 2dogbrew. Thanks Russ! You're the best!
Served in my Founders snifter.

Lightly murky plum-colored body. Thin tan head. Rather weak retention and very little lacing.
Smells pretty boozy... Loads of sweet malts; caramel primarily, and tons of vanilla. The flavor is quite boozy-- rather a bit too much so. The beer goes from overly sweet to high booziness with a big warmth filling my throat and chest. Feels rather syrupy. The booziness seemed to decrease as the beer warmed up-- which I found odd, but welcome.

Overall-- this isn't unpleasant at all, but perhaps I've had too many world class barrel aged barleywines... It feels like I would just take this one for granted.
Good beer, totally worth a try! I could see lots of people making this a regular purchase.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2012 03:10:28 | More by AleWatcher

rhinos00

Colorado

3.88/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled 11/17/06

Big thanks to Jettanbass9 for sending this one my way. Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a snifter.

A- Pours a clear, dark amber / burgundy color. Produced a fingers width of off-white head. Dissipated pretty quickly.

S- Lots of malt candied sweetness. Notes of caramel and citrus type fruits in their as well. Very aromatic.

T- Falls short of the aroma and just never really came together. Upfront the candy sweetness and citrus flavors collide...there's almost a tart, sweet flavor underneath. In the second half, oak definitely comes into play with a slightly alcoholic finish. Just not as cohesive as one would hope and some of the flavors were just off.

M- Medium bodied with good carbonation. Left the palate on the dry side.

D- While this was nearing 12% abv, the alcohol was not that noticeable. A slight burn did develop in the chest throughout consumption.

Overall, a decent barleywine by Dominion. Would have liked to try this one fresh to compare.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2010 02:41:51 | More by rhinos00

CuriousMonk

Virginia

3.88/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a slightly hazy copper amber with mostly no head. Bubbles hug the edge of the glass. The smell is fairly mild actually, some oak, malts, light caramel, andmaybe a little butterscotch. The taste has a profound alcohol presence, alot of sharp malt flavor, some caramel, and the oak was noticeably present as well. A little bit of dark fruits, more on the sweet side, arrive in the finish. Pretty nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2011 18:18:50 | More by CuriousMonk

seeswo

Ohio

3.88/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle says 11/17/06. Thanks again Greg (HopHead101)!

Pours a cloudy brownish color with a small amount of tan head. Looks the part. Smells of faded hops, dark fruits and caramel - accompanied by oak barrel. The taste hits right upfront with big oak. The hops are largely faded, leaving only a bit drying the middle and the finish. This beer is surprisingly not all that sweet, with again, the predominant flavor of oak. I rarely say this, but I almost wish they would age a portion in oak and then blend it back down, as it is too pronounced for me. The tempered sweetness, bit of dryness off the barrel, smoothness and the hops really make this a drinkable 11.4% beer. The mouthfeel seems right on with lower carbonation and a medium / thick body. I do not have the original to compare this to, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a totally different beer when fresh. My guess is that the hops balance the oak a bit more than now, because the level of sweetness doesn't. That said, if you are looking for an oak bomb, this is a good bet to make you happy. For me, this was good, but maybe not great.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2011 04:19:37 | More by seeswo

jmarsh123

Indiana

3.88/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pours light cloudy brown with a small off white head fading immediately. No lacing or retention.

Lots of vanilla and bourbon on the nose. Booze forward although sweet caramel is present as well.

Sweet caramel up front. Vanilla is strong throughout and a strong bourbon presence is still there even after some aging although it has rounded out into a smoother flavor.

Light to medium mouthfeel with adequate carbonation. Booze contributes a lot to the flavor, but not really a lot of alcohol burn.

Not sure exactly how old this was ('08 maybe), but it's still pretty solid. A notch below some other commonly available versions of the style, but still something I liked.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2013 13:01:24 | More by jmarsh123

Jeffo

Netherlands

3.9/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle courtesy of Stakem in a recent trade. Thanks for throwing this in the box man!

From a bottle into a snifter
Bottled on 17 November 2006

APPEARANCE: One finger, medium-thinner looking, light, off-white head with good retention. Murky burnt umber brown with medium carbonation. Head quickly recedes to a thin wisp and ring. Ring and splotchy, faint wisp remain but leave no real lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Definite caramel and toffee malt aromas with some light nuts and brown sugar. A good dose of oak barrel on this one, with oak, wood and nice vanilla undertones. A touch of booze in there rounds it out. Pretty good.

TASTE 8/10: Caramel malts, toffee and some earthy tones. Sweet brown sugar and some nuts as well. The oak barrel comes out at the swallow, with some nice oak and vanilla notes accompanying the malty sweet base. Some earthy hop bitterness lingers, but the aftertaste is mostly made of caramel and brown sugary sweetness and some nice oak and wood from the barrel. Flavorful stuff, and the booze is very well hidden.

PALATE: Medium body and medium levels of carbonation. Slightly prickly carbonation but smooth enough on the palate, but goes down fine and finishes slightly mouth-coating on the palate. Only a touch of heat lingers on the palate.

OVERALL: Good beer and proves that barrel aged barleywines work fine for my palate. Though I’m not a huge fan of the style, the oak aging on this one was done really well and I quite enjoyed the bottle. The age has also done this one well I assume, as it is quite smooth and free of heat for the style. Would definitely drink again. Recommended. Thanks again Stakem.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2011 17:59:05 | More by Jeffo

OldFrothingSlosh

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz. amber bottle with a born-on date of 22-Jul-04.

A: Clear copper. An aggressive pour yields a thick off-white head that quickly died off to just a wispy layer. Nice sheeting on the sides of the glass.

S: Heavy oak notes. Very much like Jack Daniels on the nose...lots and LOTS of whiskey. Some chocolate in the background...drizzled with caramel.

T: Hooooiee...complex? Um...yes. Very whiskey-like in the flavor. Quite harsh at first, the flavor was balanced as it warmed by sweet chocolate. Lots of caramel sweetness. Orange rinds. Finishes with some smoky notes. Certainly one of the more interesting beers I;ve had in quite some time.

M: Low levels of carbonation. Super-high level of palate-coating smoothness. Very creamy.

D: A real sipper. Savor each drop of this.

Notes: Huge thanks to ManekiNeko for these two bottles. How will this one taste after some aging?

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2004 01:30:49 | More by OldFrothingSlosh