Alaskan Barley Wine (Pilot Series) - Alaskan Brewing Co.

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beer review from BA Mag Dec 2007.

With a cry out from their fans, Alaskan Brewing has started bottling their Barley Wine in limited amounts. Look for 22oz bombers in AK, OR and WA this winter.

A thick pillow-top of dense rocky head slowly forms off of a hard pour, the bubbles push through the viscous liquid in slow-motion fashion. Deep but clear brownish chestnut color. Big caramel malt nose with a faint whiff of rum pound cake from the alcohol, brown sugar note and thick malty aroma. The full body is nearly syrupy in thickness, creamy and a little bit smooth as the carbonation tries to break from the liquid. Massive malt backbone never goes too sweet as the alcohol slowly sneaks in with a mildly spicy warmth and the hops drop a balancing hop bitterness that never really cuts through the maltiness all of the way. Dried plums, carob powder, burnt raisins and date sugar come to mind. Finishes sweet with a drawn-out malt complexity and slow alcohol warmth.

There should be very little speculating that this barleywine will age well, the hardest part about it is the amount of willpower you can muster while this beer is in your cellar. A sure pick for the barleywine lover or anyone that is into laying down beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 13:45:37 | More by BeerAdvocate

tbone1384

Wyoming

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%

05-22-2013 04:34:17 | More by tbone1384

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +2.2%

05-22-2013 01:26:07 | More by mikeincharleston

djmichaelk

Florida

4/5  rDev -3.8%

05-21-2013 18:19:55 | More by djmichaelk

DarthGuitarHero

Minnesota

4/5  rDev -3.8%

05-15-2013 12:56:09 | More by DarthGuitarHero

tclang

Wisconsin

4.25/5  rDev +2.2%

05-12-2013 20:51:36 | More by tclang

ejeffer11

New York

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%

05-10-2013 03:57:09 | More by ejeffer11

Heavenisbeer

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%

05-08-2013 03:45:37 | More by Heavenisbeer

pperez38

California

4/5  rDev -3.8%

05-02-2013 10:17:44 | More by pperez38

Kelp

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev -3.8%

04-27-2013 09:03:07 | More by Kelp

Duff27

Illinois

4/5  rDev -3.8%

04-16-2013 23:31:20 | More by Duff27

Zuidman

Illinois

4/5  rDev -3.8%

04-15-2013 03:04:46 | More by Zuidman

nickfl

Florida

3.86/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A - Pours with a small head of off white foam on top of a hazy, amber brown body. The head settles quickly and leaves little lace.

S - A complex combination of dark sugar, faded pine hops, and caramel malt.

T - Sweet caramel and molasses up front. Some pine and clove in the middle with a finish of mustardy hops and brown sugar.

M - Medium thick body, moderate carbonation, and a slightly sweet finish.

D - Not bad, it clearly has some age on it and smells quite nice. The flavor isn't quite as well developed with a sweetness that isn't quite balanced by what reminds of the hops.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2013 02:46:50 | More by nickfl

kylehay2004

Florida

3.93/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A: no head on a murky brown and maroon body. No lacing really.

S: red grapes, red apple, caramel malt, toasted malts

T: breads, oak, caramel, booze are not as strong as I expected but definitely noticeable. Some plum and raisin for dark fruits. Additional notes of milk chocolate, toffee and vanilla.

M: medium body, clean and light to moderate carbonation.

Overall: I like the drinkability, it's flavorful and definitely becomes more drinkable as it is enjoyed. Not too much in the way of hops, with only mild complexity.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2013 02:44:11 | More by kylehay2004

zipper8650

New York

4.48/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

First ever review, time to start drinking down the cellar and figured Id start reviewing the bottles I was holding on to. This was a 2009-2011 vertical.

A - typical copper/amber color you'd expect on a barleywine. Side by side there was a definite graduation from orange/amber (09) to maple syrup (10) to a burgundy/brown (11). Little to no head on the 09/11, thin yellowish head on the 10 with a lot of carbonation throughout..uh oh...

S - for lack of better description the 09 smelled exactly like you'd expect a really good barley wine to smell, the smell I look forward to! 09 came through with the most citrus/orange and the 11 had more banana/sweet. The 10 was metallic, soapy, not much more going on...this is how my sink is going to smell very soon

T - the 09 was very smooth, it was a very consistent flavor straight through, not overly boozy and hot but par for what to expect. Not much complexity throughout but the consistent flavor is excellent . the 10 was oxidized crap, not much of anything going on, just flat through out. the 11 was the sweetest and most complex of the bunch. The boozy heat only came through on the end

M - all three were a nice heavy mouth feel, again, what you'd expect from a really good example

O - this is my second time with this beer, I loved it then and still do (despite 2010). Given the style I think it is spot on. My overall favorite was the 11.
Skol

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2013 22:31:58 | More by zipper8650

JamesQuaff

California

4.29/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

2011 batch. Poured from a bomber into two Sam Adams tulip glasses and a small wine glass and shared with my lady and my best beer geek buddy. We all stood around my kitchen and poked, prodded, inspected, inhaled, swished, and discussed the brew for a solid half hour. Good times.

Pours a beautiful deep copper-red with a taut light-mocha colored 1/2" head. Medium carbonation. It looks 'dense' when held up to the light.

The aroma is a constantly shifting palette of goodness as the temperature changes. It smells MASSIVE. The initial cold pour had a generous amount of hops with mild buttery notes, malts, dried fruits. As the beer warmed the hop aromas gave way to raisins, plums, dark berries, grains and lightly browned butter - at one point it smelled like a berry pastry. Then it started to veer well into port wine territory. The ABV is well masked at all points. I think we huffed our glasses a good 5 minutes before anyone took a sip.

Oooh, this beer is nice and big. At first the hop bitterness was rather prevalent, getting right up to the edge of "whoa, too bitter" before leveling off into rich malty sweetness. As the beer warmed the bitterness faded considerably and the flavors became much more balanced and complex. Reminiscent of a good port wine. Dark, rich sweetness with loads of plum and molasses, and a long malty finish with a little reminder kick of bitterness at the end. A bit of warmth from the high ABV but the alcohol is hidden very well in the flavors. A true sipper.

Mouthfeel was very agreeable. Medium-full body, a tad sharp on the carbonation at first but as the beer warmed the carbonation smoothed out and by the halfway point it was just about where my mind thinks "mmm, barleywine". Oily, sticky, tongue-coating goodness.

Overall we were very impressed with the Pilot Series barleywine and completely enjoyed it wire to wire. It was my lady's very first experience with the style and she was completely blown away. My beer geek pal and I are a tad jaded and weren't exactly blown away, but it was still an excellent representation of the style. He and I both recently had our tongues scraped raw by a fresh 2013 Bigfoot and were very pleased to be able to spend some time enjoying a really good barleywine with a bit of age on it. The rest of the 2013 Bigfoots (Bigfeet? Bigs Foot?) have been sequestered in deep storage to avoid any further unpleasantness and to hopefully achieve the blissful state that others report is possible. But this Pilot Series effectively wiped away the memory. Will definitely be seeking out another bottle or two for safe keeping.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2013 17:31:02 | More by JamesQuaff

HuskyinPDX

Washington

3.96/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

2007 Vintage opened on 3.1.13

A - Pours a verk dark amber-brown with a pretty good dark tan soapy head with good retention.

S - Malty, raisin, carmel, old hops, a touch of alcohol.

T - Subtle toffee, carmel, soft malts, a touch oxidized.

D - Smooth and silky. Decent carbonation and a medium body.

O - Smooth and subdued. A touch oxidized, but still very pleasant.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2013 16:47:34 | More by HuskyinPDX

CheapBeerBuzz

California

4.25/5  rDev +2.2%

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California

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%

03-23-2013 05:08:14 | More by westcoastbeerlvr

thebigredone

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%

03-23-2013 02:13:18 | More by thebigredone

KiMiRaiK

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%

03-18-2013 00:10:33 | More by KiMiRaiK

Zachtheporter

Wisconsin

4.25/5  rDev +2.2%

03-13-2013 06:12:57 | More by Zachtheporter

jenray

Texas

3.25/5  rDev -21.9%

03-12-2013 14:40:19 | More by jenray

SuperCutePanda

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%

03-09-2013 04:49:52 | More by SuperCutePanda

anteater

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%

03-09-2013 04:17:43 | More by anteater