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Syndicate No. 1
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
- From:
- Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
- California, United States
- Style:
- American Strong Ale
- ABV:
- 10.5%
- Score:
- 93
- Avg:
- 4.25 | pDev: 6.82%
- Reviews:
- 11
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- May 31, 2017
- Added:
- Dec 06, 2013
- Wants:
- 13
- Gots:
- 12
100% Bourbon Barrel Aged Vintage Ale:
51% Old Godfather Barleywine aged 26 months
15% Black Hand Volume 1 Imperial Stout aged 13 months
14% Two Minutes to Midnight Imperial Stout aged 12 months
11% Betrayal Imperial Red Ale aged 12 months
5% Double Daddy Imperial IPA aged 12 months
3% Payback Robust Porter aged 18 months
51% Old Godfather Barleywine aged 26 months
15% Black Hand Volume 1 Imperial Stout aged 13 months
14% Two Minutes to Midnight Imperial Stout aged 12 months
11% Betrayal Imperial Red Ale aged 12 months
5% Double Daddy Imperial IPA aged 12 months
3% Payback Robust Porter aged 18 months
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington
4.24/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.24/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque in the glass with a fine one finger light brown head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, bourbon, milder influence of dark stone fruit and hops. Flavor is dark toasted malt, bourbon, plums, oak, milk chocolate, mild caramel and a slight tartness and aged hops in the finish. Medium bodied with good mouth feel. A well made strong ale. At this stage in its life, the stout and porter are the dominant flavors, but the fruit from the barleywine lightens the dark malt. I regret not trying this right away as the hops have faded to a dull bitterness with little herbal quality and I'm not getting the intended influence of the IPA and red ale components. Still a flavorful, big and classic American strong ale that has held up to aging very well. I liked this a lot and will try the next iteration on release if the new owners revive this series.
May 31, 2017Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina
3.9/5 rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.9/5 rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Appearance: Pours pitch black and features a beige head that leaves sporadic lace
Smell: Caramel, chocolate, and a hint of vanilla.
Taste: Roasted dark malts, and chocolate, from the stout and rich caramel from the barleywine; a nice blend between the two
Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with low to moderate carbonation; surprisingly thin
Overall: A nice hybrid that makes you wonder why more brewers don't try this
Jun 06, 2016Smell: Caramel, chocolate, and a hint of vanilla.
Taste: Roasted dark malts, and chocolate, from the stout and rich caramel from the barleywine; a nice blend between the two
Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with low to moderate carbonation; surprisingly thin
Overall: A nice hybrid that makes you wonder why more brewers don't try this
Reviewed by Donco from Pennsylvania
4.46/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.46/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
I received this bottle via trade as an "extra". Thanks to my CA trading friend! This one really surprised me and in a good way (based on previous reviews).
The beer pours with a bit of a lacing and close-to-black appearance.
Poured into my trusty tulip glass, I was greeted by the unmistakable smell of bourbon and chocolate. Totally surprised in that I would be hard-pressed to distinguish this smell from that of BCBS. Really nice!
Then a few sips and the semi-BCBS comparison continued. Very bourbon-forward and just a bit more back-end bitterness than BCBS. But extremely enjoyable.
Another difference is that this brew is somewhat more carbonated and cuts the inherent sweetness of the bourbon.
Bottom line: I really enjoyed (or am in the process of enjoying while I write this) this retired blend from Speakeasy. If you can locate a bottle it is highly recommended.
Jan 09, 2015The beer pours with a bit of a lacing and close-to-black appearance.
Poured into my trusty tulip glass, I was greeted by the unmistakable smell of bourbon and chocolate. Totally surprised in that I would be hard-pressed to distinguish this smell from that of BCBS. Really nice!
Then a few sips and the semi-BCBS comparison continued. Very bourbon-forward and just a bit more back-end bitterness than BCBS. But extremely enjoyable.
Another difference is that this brew is somewhat more carbonated and cuts the inherent sweetness of the bourbon.
Bottom line: I really enjoyed (or am in the process of enjoying while I write this) this retired blend from Speakeasy. If you can locate a bottle it is highly recommended.
Reviewed by kaseydad from California
4.36/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.36/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Already consumed a few of these through the months....time to review.
Pours an almost black brew with a nice sized beige foamy head that laces all over the place.
The aroma is great. Barleywine sugars flow alongside the chocolate/cocoa whiffs and some marshmallow. Caramel and brown sugar round it. out. Really nice smelling brew.
The taste is a hybrid BW and Stout. I get all the combos going into this, but the predominate flavors are the BW and stout. Not a ton of booze here even the ABV is big. More BW flavors are present, but overall this is a great blending brew. Nothing off-putting.
Silky mouthfeel. Chewy and big.
Overall this was a fantastic step into the blending series for Speakeasy. They really nailed it as I can attest to (luckily) drinking a half dozen of these. The blends work well especially for the number of brews combined to form this. Somebody knows what they are doing there and I look forward to #2. Very good beer!
Jul 20, 2014Pours an almost black brew with a nice sized beige foamy head that laces all over the place.
The aroma is great. Barleywine sugars flow alongside the chocolate/cocoa whiffs and some marshmallow. Caramel and brown sugar round it. out. Really nice smelling brew.
The taste is a hybrid BW and Stout. I get all the combos going into this, but the predominate flavors are the BW and stout. Not a ton of booze here even the ABV is big. More BW flavors are present, but overall this is a great blending brew. Nothing off-putting.
Silky mouthfeel. Chewy and big.
Overall this was a fantastic step into the blending series for Speakeasy. They really nailed it as I can attest to (luckily) drinking a half dozen of these. The blends work well especially for the number of brews combined to form this. Somebody knows what they are doing there and I look forward to #2. Very good beer!
Syndicate No. 1 from Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
Beer rating:
93 out of
100 with
54 ratings
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