Olde Deuteronomy - Alley Kat Brewing Company

trevorwideman

Manitoba (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

341ml bottle poured into a snifter. 2006 vintage, sampled in September 2007, a little more than a year old.

Pours a murky brown colour, semi-translucent, with lots of hazey sediment. Some reddish highlights. Mild carbonation. Sticky lace clings to the glass, not much in the way of head though, even after a vigorous pour. Aroma is pretty intense. Figs, tamarind, caramel, butter, alcohol, graham crackers, vanilla, molasses, rum, and nuts. Very Christmassy.

Flavour is a bit messy, and dosen't immediately display a lot of the good things that the aroma suggested. There's a bit of sharp metallic taste, sour, a little soapy even. There is a lot to like here though, butterscotch, earth, dried fruits, nuts, molasses, a bit of alcohol with bitter dark chocolate in the finish. Decent flavours, they're just a bit messy and undefined. Mouthfeel is medium, but thinner than I was expecting, and it seems watery for some weird reason. Mild carbonation. This is drinkable, but it's not the best Barley Wine ever. I'm looking forward to trying it again from the cellar in a year, I hope that the flavours define themselves and harmonize a little better.

Update: Jan 13, 2009

Carbonation is holding up, and the aroma is still enticing with lots of caramel, butter, graham cracker and raisin notes. Flavour is mellowing a bit, but still has that sharp metallic note off the top. I may age the other bottle 2 more years to see if it rounds out some more.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2007 03:48:37 | More by trevorwideman

tom10101

Quebec (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -14.4%

06-13-2013 04:38:04 | More by tom10101

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

3.89/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Thanks to Mattsander for this bottle.
2011 Vintage. Poured in to snifter.

A - Deep copper colour. Carbonation appears very low as almost no head forms on the pour.

S - Sweet toffee, brown sugar and caramel dominate. Some floral and lighter fruity notes are als present.

T - Dark caramel, toffee and brown sugar flavours dominate. Raisin and some stick hop flavours come through - some fruity esters and floral notes.

M - Medium body. Sticky. Light carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2013 02:50:31 | More by TheSevenDuffs

Kmat10

Alberta (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +3.9%

05-20-2013 05:08:31 | More by Kmat10

WillAndSarah

Alberta (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +3.9%

04-13-2013 23:16:55 | More by WillAndSarah

MrTinnedPEach

Alberta (Canada)

4.75/5  rDev +16.1%

03-16-2013 08:31:23 | More by MrTinnedPEach

IanSpindler

Alberta (Canada)

4/5  rDev -2.2%

03-06-2013 15:24:31 | More by IanSpindler

Morpheus

Alberta (Canada)

3/5  rDev -26.7%

12-30-2012 01:02:13 | More by Morpheus

Garenburg

3.75/5  rDev -8.3%

12-21-2012 06:25:57 | More by Garenburg

cfalovo97

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -26.7%

12-04-2012 15:10:44 | More by cfalovo97

BeerGut4Life

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +10%

11-02-2012 15:05:30 | More by BeerGut4Life

Converge

Alberta (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

341ml bottle poured into a 16oz tulip. 2010 vintage.

A - Pours a beautiful deep mahogany hue with ample haze and a thin skiff of tan head. Minimal retention, and no real lacing. Great looking beer nonetheless.

S - Candied fruit sweetness, herbal earthiness, rich caramel malt, a touch of leather, and some rum-like booze. Maybe some dark, dried fruit as well. Quite musty, but sweet and even a bit sour as well. Spices add to the complexity and depth. Wood, cherries, apples, the list goes on. A pungent and complex aroma for sure.

T - Big time flavor here. Huge, rich malty backbone of caramel, toffee and brown sugar, with almost cloying sweet notes of candied apple and cherries. Resinous, musty earth, dank wood, dates, rum, and anise, among other spices. Finishes with an assertive herbal hop punch that lends a firm bitterness, as the alcohol makes it self apparent in the finish. Long lasting finish of rich malt, herbal astringency, and warming alcohol presence. Very, very full bodied.

M - Thick and syrupy, with carbonation on the lower side. Bitterness in the finish. Pretty sticky stuff too. Finishes pretty warm, but not too much so.

D - Certainly one of the more ambitious and interesting brews from my home province Alberta, but that being said this isn't quite my thing. I'm slowly warming up to barleywines, but I still find many of them overly astringent and alcoholic. However, this is probably one of the better BWs I've had the chance to try. I think as my tastes change and I delve further into craft, this will be a brew to revisit due to the availability and great price for me.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 22:38:38 | More by Converge

wesbray

Alberta (Canada)

5/5  rDev +22.2%

08-01-2012 18:57:46 | More by wesbray

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

4.3/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2011 vintage. ABV listed at 10.3%.

Beer is a very dark maroon with a small tan head that dissipates almost immediately. A bit of lacing.

Smell is rich. Toffee, caamel, sweet malt, dark fruits (fig, raisin, plum), brown sugar, leather. Intoxicating.

Taste is like the nose. Rich toffee and caramel, bread, brown sugar, dark fruits. Quite sweet. Alcohol is pretty strong- I imagine it gets smoother with some more time, but rather hot right now.

Full bodied, moderate carbonation, syrupy.

Overall, very nice!

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2012 22:12:56 | More by jrenihan

mikeyv35

New York

4.35/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Date: 03/20/12
Type: 11.2oz. Bottle
Vintage: 2008
Glass: SH Large Tulip

Pours a dark mahogany brown tobacco in color w/ a very light skim coat head and little to no lacing. Aromas of caramel, toffee, dark fruits, light citrus, and basement mustiness. The flavor was caramel/toffee sweetness up front, leading into dark fruits (raisin/fig), and finishing w/ a touch of tobacco, hop bitterness, and basement mustiness. Medium bodied w/ carbonation on the lower end of the spectrum. Easy to drink for the style w/ well masked ABV.

This brew has been on my wants list forever! Finally acquired a bottle and it did not disappoint, now all I have to do is figure out how to get more.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 17:06:51 | More by mikeyv35

Vandelayindustri

Alberta (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +10%

01-24-2012 22:16:50 | More by Vandelayindustri

hooliganlife

Missouri

4.28/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

vintage 2010

pours a dark copper with ruby red. light creamy head. little to no retention.

quite rich with subtle caramel and sweet malt. slight dark fruit, with some even lighter leather.

a tad more abrasive and bold in flavor. darker fruit pops out a bit more. some citrus hop still making itself known. still that sweet malty flavor through out.

nice and chewy, with a mild to moderarte carbonation. slight burn in the back.

a very enjoyable barleywine, very american like indeed.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2012 00:51:21 | More by hooliganlife

leaddog

Alberta (Canada)

4.55/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2011 edition of Olde Deuteronomy.

Appearance - Pours a hazy mahogany hue with a thin white head.

Smell - Tropical fruits (predominantly passionfruit), licorice, spicy notes, slight citrus aromas.

Taste - Hint of the tropical and citrus fruits. Sweet honey character to it; slightly bitter hops in the aftertaste. Finish has a bit of leafiness/grassiness to it.

Mouthfeel - Medium-to-full bodied with minimal-to-no bubbles. Very smooth. Enjoyable to sip on.

Overall - A very nice representation of a barleywine from Alley Kat. The ABV is hardly recognizable in this one, which makes it easy to drink (and slightly dangerous). Lovely fruity flavours shine in this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 03:52:39 | More by leaddog

RedHaze

Nebraska

3.5/5  rDev -14.4%

01-15-2012 21:45:05 | More by RedHaze

shagal

Alberta (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +10%

01-10-2012 03:19:31 | More by shagal

EnemyWithin

Ontario (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +10%

01-06-2012 17:30:57 | More by EnemyWithin

benbou17

Alberta (Canada)

4/5  rDev -2.2%

12-05-2011 03:14:11 | More by benbou17

jmdr

Alberta (Canada)

5/5  rDev +22.2%

11-30-2011 04:01:08 | More by jmdr

schnarr84

Alberta (Canada)

4.75/5  rDev +16.1%

11-27-2011 05:16:40 | More by schnarr84

papat444

Quebec (Canada)

4.15/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

***2008 Vintage***

Thanks to stagger for this one.

Poured from a 341ml. bottle.

Appearance: A ruby tinted dark body appears under a 2-3 finger head that has some lacing and stays around for a little bit.

Smell: I swear i smell hops sans the bitterness. Segues into slight vanilla, leather and sugar. Pungent and strong.

Taste: No hops except light grapefruit at first but plenty of dark berries that actually add, at first, some fresh fruit character. That's quickly replaced by wood, brown sugar and caramel/toffee.

Mouthfeel: Smooth as silk, carbonation ever so low, very rich with a slight bitterness in the aftertaste.

Overall: Very good although is there such a thing as too smooth. Maybe but hard to knock a pleasing beer. Grab this and cellar it if you can.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2011 10:22:30 | More by papat444