Olde Bartholomew - Yards Brewing Co.

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

This brew is golden and pale in color with a thin white head. The smell is boozy, with a sharp grain and fresh hop aroma. It has a very sweet front taste, malty and intense. High bitterness and a lot of fruity esters. Black currant, apricot, and peach. Loads of malt. The beer is very warming, almost hot, with alcohol. Full body. Serious beer, but mediocre for a barley wine.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 03:11:15 | More by Suds

emericanchaos

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Purchased from 1 Stop Beverage in Wyomissing, PA. Packaging is dated 12/07/11 with a sticker gun. I'm guessing this is a purchase date at the distributor as Yard's wouldn't have much need to date their products in this way.

Using a Mad Elf goblet Old Bart gives off a light coppery hue with the slightest hint of ruby red. A small amount of bone white foam develops a cap on top and quickly gives way. Our first hint of some serious ABV. I expected a bit of head retention due to using a glass that tapers towards the top but such is not the case. Mildly effervescent and only tiny, champagne like, bubbles at that.

I get fruit in the nose along with a touch of citrus in the back. There's some spice like qualities developing which I get up front and towards the finish. Maybe licorice? Copious amounts of alcohol.

I'm on my third pour now, about half way through my second 12oz and the hops are really starting to catch me. It's almost pale ale/IPA territory. There's a good amount of malt sweetness up front and a tinge of plum/raisin sorts of things going on but at this point the bitterness is gaining on my taste buds.

Feels slick in the mouth. I tad prickly but more from the hops than the bubbles. Overall body is thin for this style.

I don't know if I would recommend this one. At least not now. With some time the alcohol might mellow out and the hops should subside but at this point it's no bueno. Even with some age I feel other examples may be more indicative of this style. Your mileage may very.

Maybe they parti-gyle this one. A pale ale would certainly make sense behind this beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2012 01:55:56 | More by emericanchaos

mooseo

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into snifter.

A - Pours a clear, amber-orange with a minimal white head.

S - Sweet caramel malt, light plum, mild citrus hops.

T - Caramel malt, plum, brown sugar, and light citrus. Very sweet and bready up front, but spicy citrus hops quickly lend balance with a mild bitterness. Finish has hints of dark fruit, molasses, and spice.

M - Smooth, medium bodied, average carbonation. Warming alcohol, semi-dry finish.

O - Decent barleywine. A nice beer to sip and enjoy slowly. Good flavor and balance, but nothing really stands out to put this ahead of other examples.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2012 03:32:28 | More by mooseo

rodkin

Missouri

3.55/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks alefish

Pours a clear amber color with a decent head and visible carbonation. A little lighter than I'm used to, almost an IPA color.

Smells sugary sweet, honey and caramel. Little hint of hops.

Taste is like the smell, pretty sweet but with more hop bitterness than I expected. Mostly a sugary, caramel sweetness. Not much of the dark fruit flavors I normally expect. Some slight graininess in the back as well. It's pretty tasty, but there's not a ton going on.

Mouthfeel is fine. Medium bodied, creamy carbonation.

Overall a tasty barleywine, if a little simple.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2012 23:49:19 | More by rodkin

jwhancher

Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bought a case back in December. Had about a 6-pack worth from the case. Decided to pop one open to cap off a Thursday night.

A: Pours a clear dark gold color with sufficient head and nice carbonation. Head dissipates after a short while.

S: Smells mostly of honey & light, sweet tasting malts. Reminds me of Yards' Thomas Jefferson Ale - only stronger. Some citrus & lemon notes likely from the hops. Not a lot of complexity - was expecting more.

T: Tastes sweet with the honey-like quality taking front aim at the taste buds. Some other sweet tasting characters as well like slight citrus & lemon notes. A bit of a husky grainy quality.

M: Sweet tasting beer with some good bitterness to not make it cloyingly sweet. Finishes dry - I'm guessing they used a fair amount of simple sugars to bump up the ABV. Feels lighter for a barely wine, but still has enough character to keep this one a sipper. Alcohol notes are somewhat subdued but I can feel the warmness in the back of the throat.

O: A good beer that could improve a bit with more complex malt characters. Seems a little too one-dimensional to me. Better as it warms up. As stated earlier, it seems to share too many qualities as the Thomas Jefferson Ale. Could this be an amped up recipe of that? Would take this anyday over a mass produced beer, but seems to be under par when compared to other craft barely wines.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2012 01:46:25 | More by jwhancher

kawilliams81

Illinois

2.75/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from 12 oz bottle into Alesmith Horny Devil snifter.

A- pours a dark orange with a 2 finger white head. Has a nice ring of lacingq.

S- not much here. Pilsner malts, some sweetness and slight brown sugar, cinnamon.

T- high alcohol beer with some sweetness and spices.

M- medium body, slight creaminess with some alcohol bite.

O- bad Barleywine, bad beer. Not sure how this is even close to a 3.anything but not a good effort here.
.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2012 03:45:03 | More by kawilliams81

djmichaelk

Florida

2.33/5  rDev -37.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

12oz bottle, courtesy of alefish (thanks David), into a Kate snifter.

A - Pours a clear golden-amber, with a huge three fingers of fluffy off-white head. Plenty of lacing and great retention. Nice start.

S - Sweetness and malt lead off, with a slight nuttiness in the background. It smells more like a nut brown ale than a barleywine.

T - The nut brown theme continues -- it's sweet, but not in the typical English Barleywine way, where you'd expect toffee-like flavors. This is more of an acrid, unpleasant sweetness, more almond than peanut, and a short, bitter finish. I can't help but think this is classified in the wrong style.

M - It's reasonably meaty, but for a barleywine it's thin. Carbonation is a touch too sharp, and it's very drying.

O - Definitely a disappointment. After having some stellar English Barleywines recently, this is certainly a lower-tier offering.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2012 02:53:43 | More by djmichaelk

CuteZombieDoll

New Jersey

3.78/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- Coppery gold, not at all hazy, decent head

S- Fairly hoppy, more so than expected, with a mild undercurrent of fruit, maybe dates?

T- Initially fairly sweet and full flavored, almost toffee like at first, with a floral, hoppy finish. Not bad. Not bad at all.

M- Full with a decent degree of carbonation.

O- A good beer, you can't really taste the alcohol content as much as you usually can with a high ABV beer, which seems odd. Refreshing and tasty, definitely a good beer to have on hand, if not a must have beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2012 03:06:36 | More by CuteZombieDoll

yamar68

Minnesota

3.8/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks alefish for this! Nice surprise.

Pours like a DIPA - bright tangerine with a crisp, white head that shifts out to a ring, minimal beading. Slightly medicinal booze on the nose - evolving with warmth. Sweeter fruit lingering behind the booze, and caramel-centric malt presence. Almost a little cinnamon? Sort of a random note that I just caught. The taste is really different than any Barleywine that I can remember. The booze doesn’t dominate the way that I thought it might either. There’s no smack in the face toffee malt bombing going on here. It’s much closer to the middle of the road - something that I wish more beers of this style could achieve. Surprisingly drinkable. I wish I could get this one in MN.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2012 03:50:38 | More by yamar68

jmdrpi

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle, with bottled on code of 120711.

appears a clear dark golden color with amber highlights. fine white head, good retention and lacing. aroma is sweet, slightly spicey, earthy hops.

taste is a balance of malts - caramel, raisin, with fruity esters and spicey hops. medium thickness, slick mouthfeel, medium carbonatoin.

overall - decent, but I think it could be a bit thicker, and have lower carbonation, to fit better. also, some more malt depth would help.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2012 05:00:44 | More by jmdrpi

mvanaskie13

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +15%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a tulip shaped glass, color is a nice bright gold to light amber, head presents thick but dissipates to a nice 1/4 inch thick with lacing on the glass.

Smell is a mix of resinous malt hints of raisan, plums and light citrus hop quickly followed by some booziness.

Taste is great mix of light caramel sweetness, hints of some fruitiness and light toasted malt with a solid amount of bitterness. A nice estery booziness lingers throughout which works very well with the flavors.

Mouthfeel is a lightly on the cloying side, kind of strong on the tongue, but the lingering sweetness and solid carbonation balance it out.

Overall, this is a very tasty barleywine, nose is a little heavy on esters/booze and a little strong on the tongue but the well balanced flavors make up for these things to make it surprisingly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2012 00:11:33 | More by mvanaskie13

IronLover

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bright orange-yellow in color with good clarity. Pouted with a frothy, stiff foam that slowly reduced to ta thick cap that lift sheets of sticky lacings on the glass. Buttery smooth with light carbonation. Sweet caramel and biscuit malt aromas with honey and an earthy undertone. Hints of citrus hop and alcohol in the aroma as this warms. Caramel and biscuit malt flavors with honey undertones from beginning to end. Finished with a boozy, lazy hop bitterness that lingered for a bit. Most certainly a sipper as the alcoholic heat strengthens as you go, but enjoyable nonetheless. This made me think of a pilsener on steroids.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2012 20:54:46 | More by IronLover

muskiesman

New Jersey

3.18/5  rDev -15%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

poured into snifter from bottle

Surprisingly light gold very clear one finger white head and little lacing

Aroma of mild breads and sweet fruits maybe honey too

Taste was light sugars honey caramel and soft ripe fruits pear and apple apricot perhaps

Mouth feel was moderate properly carbonated nice finish with the alcohol

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2012 21:32:25 | More by muskiesman

alefish

New Jersey

3.68/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a snifter.

A: Pours coper amber with 1 finger of white head that dissipates quickly leaving small amount of webbed lacing. Excellent clarity and moderate carbonation.

N: Honey, fruits and caramel. Smells great!

T: Overripe plum, banana and caramel upfront. Mid-palate brings in molasses, honey, concord grape skins and toffee along with some earth and possibly hay. Finishes with huge caramel notes, earth, hay and tobacco. Notes of leather persist to linger.

M: Medium-full bodied, silky, warming, sticky and dry.

O: This is one easy drinking English Barleywine. Beautifully complex and balanced. Starts out fruity, slowly transforms to earthy and never quits. Nice dark fruits, molasses, leather and tobacco flavors. Barleywines are either hit or miss to me and this one is definitely a hit.

I'd buy it again....if I can find more!

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2012 01:47:18 | More by alefish

JerseyKirk

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the brewery winter 2011.
A: deep orange to red. Half finger white head.

S: fruit, some bitterness, subtle and smooth.

T: fruit, bitterness at the end, some alcohol warming. Good stuff.

M: thin and more sweet but drying and alcohol is noticeable.

O: really balanced. Not boozy, nice fruity and slightly complex.

Serving type: on-tap

01-29-2012 20:14:56 | More by JerseyKirk

MONKandTUCK

Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

The heat is well-hidden and this is an American made Barleywine that aspires to be English rather than West Coast, thank God.

A - very light. Nice head at first. Impressed by light hue and clarity.

A - hops, some toffee. Really lively. Nothing else, happily. It doesn't have the burst of a good IPA or Bock, its too neutral.

T - A lot is going on here, not all of it good. Zesty. Solvent. The profile is pronounced, but not endearing. It's not rounded, or perfectly sweet enough. I just feel that in a beer so big something more interesting could be offered.

M - Thin? I dunno if I want syrup, but it feels like it is thin just to drive up ABV.

O - A pallet is temperamental. It is hard to fairly judge a beer. A lot relies on time and place. Having other beers today, I'm slow to criticize. Still, I wanted something to cap the say, and this did not.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2012 23:53:45 | More by MONKandTUCK

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle into a Weyerbacher Tulip.

Bart's color is a hazy orange with light shades of faded amber with a dismal cream colored cap that left minor sticks. Smell is on the English side for real, with English malt, toffee, the lightest spice character, earthy hops, and a minimal fruit character. Taste is on the malty side as well, rich with English essence, caramel, light nut character, earthy hops, a bit of grain and a touch of alcohol. As always, the malt profile is the creme as with most Yards beers. Light fruit character with warming. Feel is a big medium with a good amount, not so much so. After twenty minutes or so, this one just goes down. This is a solid effort. I'll keep an eye for it on draft(even though I've been dodging it for two years) and might even grab a sixer for everyday B-wine drinking in the winter. One at a time though.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2012 05:43:25 | More by onix1agr

TheFightfan1

Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Very happy to see this bottled now. Poured into a snifter. Pours a crystal clear copper color with some lighter golden-yellow highlights. Amazing carbonation that leaves a nice white bubbly cap and legs after every sip.

Mostly lighter citrus fruits bring the nose. Oranges , apricots, honey and slight woody touch as well.

Taste is not what I remembered from old bart on tap 2 years ago at the brewery. Mostly dominated by a thin, hot, boozey alcohol. Slight touch of the citrus fruits detected from the nose.

Light bodied, thin and boozey but it does have great carbonation that tingles the palate.

This seems to be a totally different beer now. I remember a lower ABV and much thicker body.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2012 14:46:56 | More by TheFightfan1

justintcoons

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a snifter.

A: Pours amber with 1 finger of white head that dissipates quickly leaving behind loose webbed lacing. Excellent clarity and moderate carbonation.

N: Honey, concord grape, plum, banana and caramel. Smells delicious!

T: Overripe plum, banana and caramel upfront. Mid-palate brings in molasses, honey, concord grape skins and toffee along with some earth and possibly hay. Finishes with huge caramel notes, earth, hay and tobacco. Notes of leather persist to linger.

M: Medium-full bodied, silky, warming, sticky and dry.

O: This is one easy drinking English Barleywine. Beautifully complex and balanced. Starts out fruity, slowly transforms to earthy and never quits. Nice dark fruits, molasses, leather and tobacco flavors. Barleywines are either hit or miss to me and this one is definitely a hit.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2012 20:45:45 | More by justintcoons

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served via gravity from a firkin at The P.O.P.E. in Philadelphia, PA.

A-Orange kissed copper with a thin off-white head that reduced to a thin ring of retention and left spotty lace.

S-Woody astringency with orange rind bitterness, honey sweetness and a touch of hop spiciness. All of this is rather subtle but pleasant nonetheless.

T-Spicy, biting orange rind along with moderating honey sweetness. Dry woody bitterness adding some depth in the finish.

M-Medium bodied, quite smooth from the honey sweetness and long lingering spicy bitterness. Dry, astringent finish.

D-Really tasty stuff. Oak orange with moderating honey sweetness. A true sweet/dry battle rages on throughout the entire pint. An eminently approachable and drinkable barleywine.

Serving type: cask

03-26-2011 23:02:33 | More by Deuane

strangefate

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz pour on tap at the Hulmeville Inn on 10/29.

Pours a dark brown with little head and good lacing.

The scent is sweet and fruity - a mashing of fruit smells really, but noticeable was a touch of grapes and oranges.

The taste is sweet and sugary. It retains the fruitiness present on the nose, but with a sweet honey-like malt character. No hop presence here.

It has a medium-to-heavy mouthfeel with medium carbonation. It's somewhat syrupy, but a good feel nonetheless.

This is a solid barleywine - something I will definitely buy again. It's not something I could see myself drinking large quantities of, but it's definitely worthy of my money.

Serving type: on-tap

11-04-2010 11:32:15 | More by strangefate

rfgetz

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours an orangy, light brown, thick with moderate off white head and decent lacing. Smell is of sweet carmel and honey, roasted nuts, dried apricot and oranage zest. Taste is slightly sweet, nice roasted nut and carmel taste backed by honey, dried appricot, orange peel. Booze is noted but does not have a huge impact. Nice body... slightly thick and sticky without overcoating and lingering on the palate. Overall a nice english barleywine that is not as thick, sticky and sweet as others in its class.

Serving type: on-tap

02-15-2010 15:44:31 | More by rfgetz

thequeen711

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Finally a local barleywine worthy of a review. This Yards brew is quite tasty, flavours of mild nuts, hints of chocolate, vanilla and apricots and mild spices make up their best creation. Fruity aroma, fruity taste, flavours of vanilla are in there with the apricots. A very tasty barleywine from Yards!

Serving type: on-tap

02-01-2010 02:03:35 | More by thequeen711

NJpadreFan

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Yards- Old Bart

A- Deep thick orange yellow with a huge thick head. Chunky head and lacing.
S- Heavy syrupy sugary fruit. Orange, apricot, honey, and caramel malt.
T- Thick sugary caramel malt with heavy fruity syrup. Oranges, apricots, and honey really prominant.
M- Thick sticky and sweet. Heavy sugary sweetness with a touch of hot alc.

Overall- A good sipper. Thick and a bit boozy make it good but dangerous.

Serving type: on-tap

01-07-2010 23:35:56 | More by NJpadreFan

sponberg

New York

4/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a dark, orange-copper with a thin, finely-beaded cream colored head. The aroma is earthy and fruity, with hints of brown sugar(?) in the background.

Wow - A lot of things going on in this brew. Flavors range from ground nuts (mild) to brown sugar/honey, hints of chocolate and maybe vanilla, some molasses and apricot, with a decent yet mild spiciness (malt? hop? Hard to tell) joining in near the finish. The alcohol makes itself known as the sip goes on, but it's never to the point of a burn. Really complex flavor - one of those "better have two to figure it all out" brews that keep life interesting. Medium bodied, which seems to allow all of the flavors to play around.

I've yet to try a product from this brewery that I haven't liked.

Serving type: on-tap

01-15-2003 10:15:36 | More by sponberg