Heavy Seas Cabernet Barrel Aged Below Decks - Heavy Seas Beer

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

part of the epicness that was the halloween weekend of beer. the last few nights have kicked my ass in every way, but i got to try a bunch of goodies that have long haunted me. served chilled and poured into a 8 ounce taster, this one was consumed on 10/30/2010.

pours a nice ruddy brown color with a small head of off white that came to a climax at about an inch before settling down with a moderate amount of lacing down the sides of the glass.

aroma is interesting. little notes of barrel at first start to come through but then some alcohol an hints of muted hops start to cloud it. warming though brings it through nicely as hints of earthy malts, light touches of dark fruit, an hints of caramel start to take shape. nice clean flavor from the cab barrels gives it just a touch of depth, again very well done here. nothing over the top and takes the heat off the 10% very nicely. smooth finish hit the spot with just the right amount of flavor.

overall a really solid offering and a good treatment on this classic. i would not mind aging a couple.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2010 21:25:43 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Jason for this one.

A: The pour is a dark amber color with a thin layer of khaki colored head.

S: A very wine forward nose. Lots of red fruits, vinous notes, and plenty of oak (sort of tannic). There is a mild alcohol presence and a decent amount of chocolatey oxidation.

T: Sweet caramel and chocolate (oxidation) start things of. The wood and wine provide a spicy, peppery, note and some sweet red fruit. The alcohol comes through a bit strong at moments, but for the most part it's mellow.

M: The body is medium with a low to medium level of carbonation. Overall, a pretty smooth mouthfeel.

D: The alcohol can be slightly on the harsh side at times, but overall it's pretty enjoyable. I'm not usually the biggest fan of non-sour wine barrel aged beers, but this was good.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2010 02:48:53 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Reviewed from notes.

Poured into a tulip. Initial pour brings a pretty good off white head plus some legs. Color is copper, tending a bit toward brown. Nose brings some nice cabernet and oak notes. The taste brings some more complexity with cabernet, oak, grape, hints of dark fruit, and a bit of light roast and general fruit. Really nice feel with a bit of a tannic character. Drinks well and is a solid offering.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2010 02:57:42 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 ounce bottle - $6.99 at Olde Crabapple Bottle Shoppe in

Alpharetta, Georgia. 2011 bottling.

Appearance: Pours out a dark brown body with a short-lived, light ecru head.

Smell: Tannic-scented, oak barrel-laden, sweet-scented, vinously fruity Cabernet nose over the charred bread and lightly toffee-edged malts.

Taste: Tart, tannic, fruity, and reasonably sweet with the Cabernet fully taking the lead ahead of the basic breadiness, lowly roasty from the malts. Modest inclusion of hops and bitterness. Small spiciness from the overall alcohol. Just vinous and sweet (but not quite too sweet) throughout and into the smooth finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. Slightly sticky mouthfeel.

Overall: While not a grand slam home run cue-the-fireworks beer, it is a marked, appreciated improvement on the dreary base barleywine I had over five years ago. Sometimes, barrel aging actually brings down the initial beer, sometimes it's a toss-up, sometimes it can make a good beer even better, and, sometimes, it can even revive a real dud. Consider this dud revived, friends!

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2012 20:02:25 | More by ChainGangGuy

oberon

North Carolina

3.53/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into an impy pint glass a hazed amber infused deeper brown with lacey one finger off white head atop.Aromas were of oak and dark fruit mainly,caramel,and a a tinge of nuttiness as well.Flavors seemed to be dominated to much by the oaky-fruity flavors imparted by the cabernet barel's,I would have liked more of the nuances of the barleywine to come thru,oaky and deeply fruity with a little caramel malt thrown in.Its a pretty good flavored brew,I just want more beer flavor in my oaked beers.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2010 23:00:23 | More by oberon

TMoney2591

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a Dogfish Head snifter.

Y'know, I'm startin' to really enjoy this line. This one pours a lightly translucent ruby brown topped by a quickly-dissipating head of light ecru bubbles. The nose comprises red grapes, rye bread, caramel, oak, and that fake watermelon you find in candy and gum. This would be quite the tasty aroma...if it weren't so damn faint. Na ja. The taste holds notes of rye bread, yeast, light oak, toffee, deep red fruits, a very mild bitterness, and a slight red wine in the back...and on the sides. It's just that subtle. This is some damn tasty barleywine action, baby. The body is a heavy medium, with a lightly moderate carbonation and some light oral coating. I really enjoyed this beer. Period. Get some!

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2010 21:05:15 | More by TMoney2591

Mora2000

Texas

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to thirdeye11 for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours an amber color with a white head. The aroma is very nice. I get some caramel malt, along with some chocolate, dark fruit and alcohol. I also get a little bit of grape and red wine notes. The flavor is heavy on the caramel, toffee, brown sugar and dark fruit. I also get a little bit of citrus fruit and some alcohol. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2010 06:16:15 | More by Mora2000

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.33/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On-tap 1/10/2012 at Track 84 in Warwick, RI, served in a tulip glass.

A: The beer is a deep dark reddish brown color, with a large off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains brown sugar, dark fruit, chocolate, caramelized malts and some hops.

T: The taste is very creamy and starts with strongly sweet flavors of milk chocolate, dark fruit and brown sugar. Then a hearty malt character comes in and the wine flavor is quite evident. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings a good balance. The after-taste is sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is sticky.

O: Very tasty, goes down dangerously easily, not too filling, strong kick, good representation of style, this is a nice stronger beer to drink for a while.

Serving type: on-tap

01-15-2012 23:52:11 | More by TheManiacalOne

mdfb79

New York

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2010 vintage. Drank side by side with a 2010 Bourbon barrel aged Below Deck. Poured into my Brawley's snifter.

a - Pours a very dark mahogany brown color with two inches of light tan head and light to moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of caramel malts, toffee, sweet dark fruits, molasses, toasted malts, light wood, and light wine and alcohol. Smells like a nice barleywine, but there isn't much barrel presence at all. Wonder if aging it a little over a year has hurt it.

t - Tastes of caramel malts, toffee, sugar, sweet dark fruits, molasses, raisins, toasted malts, wood, and more alcohol. Tiny bit more alcohol/wine/port like qualities, but still not a lot. Sweeter than the nose too. Pretty nice.

m - Medium to full body and moderate carbonation. Thick and smooth, a very nice body for a barleywine.

o - Overall I thought this was an interesting, pretty good barleywine. The nose and taste are very sweet with that sticky sweet dark fruit quality to them. If you like that you'll probably like this one a lot, and I enjoyed it. The wine and barrel seems to haved faded a lot in a year, so I wouldn't recommend aging this one, but it is worth trying and something I'd buy fresh once a year.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2012 00:39:05 | More by mdfb79

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.2/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On cask at Max's today.

The beer pours a beautiful red amber color with almost no head to speak of, and virtually no lacing. The beer appears to be nearly still. On the nose, the cabernet aging is very, very evident, with the beer showing a considerable winey aroma, that intermixes nicely with the light chocolate and brown sugar. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely, but much to my surprise, the wine flavor blends in surprisingly well with the barleywine flavors. Mouthfeel is smooth and fairly long, and drinkabilty is surprisingly good, with the alcohol very well disguised.

Very nice and at least in my opinion, better than the bourbon barrel aged version.

Serving type: cask

05-18-2010 20:24:14 | More by johnmichaelsen

glid02

Georgia

3.9/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle purchased from Green's on Ponce in Atlanta.

Pours a slightly hazy dark copper color with a half-finger off-white head. The head recedes into a patchy layer on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of sweet caramel malts with equal amounts of mild toffee and tannins from the wine barrels.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Sticky caramel malt flavors kick things off with good amounts of toffee and lighter amounts of butterscotch. Midway through the sip mild amounts of booze-soaked pears and other muddled fruit flavors from the cab barrels make their way into things. The fruit flavors gradually fade out into an ending that's neither sweet nor bitter.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability is OK. I finished my glass without any problems however I'm not sure about another.

Overall I thought the bourbon version of this was much better as the flavors from the cab barrel weren't very crisp and didn't work as well with the flavors of the base beer. Still, it's worth a shot.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2010 01:03:32 | More by glid02

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

From a bomber that I believe I found in a shop near the finger lakes in New York last year. Opened this with a couple friends for a side by side tasting with the bourbon version.

Poured into a snifter, this brew appears a gazed ruby amber color with particulate stuck hanging in suspension. A creamy finger of tan head forms and retains well. A swirl revives the cap and forms spotty lacework on the glass.

The smell of this brew is tangy with Brett. It smells of a combination of scents that include cheese, minerals, sulfur and citrus hops. The alcohol stings the nose. Underneath are sweet undertones of caramel malt that accent a minute amount of mellow oakiness and vanilla smoothness.

The taste is brett'd with a tangy kick that includes citrus hops, sulfur and minerals. There is a toasted malt flavor that includes some vanilla smoothness that is sweet underneath the more bold flavors previously described. The aftertaste includes bitter herbal hops.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. It is an interesting take on the style that is complex and enjoyable but in limited quantities. I'm glad I shared the bottle because I don't know how much more I could tolerate beyond 6 or so ounces. For 10% abv it is incorporated very well. I could see the cabernet choice of barrel aging here being something that is not for everyone however I enjoyed it. In the side by side comparison though, I favor the bourbon version as it melds with the base flavors moreso than the clashing cabernet.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2011 18:03:27 | More by stakem

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a deep amber to black in color with a light tan head. In the aroma, it smells just like cabernet wine. In the taste, cabernet wine, licorice and a nice alcohol taste. A smooth and medium to bigger bodied mouthfeel, with a dry dark fruit and notes of cabernet in the aftertaste. Very much wine like and mellows out the base of Below Decks.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 16:07:38 | More by OWSLEY069

gford217

Georgia

3.63/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy caramel brown that shows through as a lighter amber. There is a very short-lived beige head that recedes to a thin collar. Not much lacing.

The aroma definitely has the cabernet presence with lots of red grapes and oak coming through. The underlying barleywine isn't quite as noticeable as I expected with caramel malts and sugar-coated dark fruits. Still, the grapes are what I come back to, almost like a grape juice.

Well, just as in the aroma the grapes from the cab barrels are present up front. The sugary sweet malts, toffee and fruits are there, especially as it warms. The finish is more of the grapes and it seems sweet, not quite as dry as I would expect.

The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied for the style and a tad watery, maybe due to the cab barrel. The carbonation is fairly low and the body is slick overall.

This is a decent beer but there's very little sign of the underlying barleywine. It's mostly just the cabernet barrel and so it lacks the complexity of the best BA barleywines.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2010 02:09:22 | More by gford217

jrallen34

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

2010 batch, from the bottle poured into my Narke glass...A medium brown with lots of dark amber in the light, unique. A watery light tan head, not much there...Sweet aroma, distinct english barleywine backbone, but lots of wine comes through. Toffee, red wine, caramel, mild hops....The taste is pretty mild shows off the barrel more than anything, vanilla with lots of red wine. This barleywine was too light to hold up, but its qualities, but tastes good none the less.

I can't recommend this, but I drank the bottle pretty easily.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2011 03:47:42 | More by jrallen34

dirtylou

Washington

4.2/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bomber, split and paired with some NFL divisional round playoff action

admittedly, was not looking forward to this one. the base heavy seas barleywine is pretty bad. fortunately, this exceeded all expectations.

appearance: rather light - looks almost watered down, medium amber, rather lifeless bubbly head

smell: very oaky, grapes are potent, a bit boozy but very enticing

taste: the barrel is the show here - extremely vinous, oak, with the cabernet grapes still resonating in a major way. the boring boozy barleywine base is obliterated and saved by the barrel.

mouthfeel: medium, not overdone and not sticky like the base

drinkability: could have drank more

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2011 17:40:42 | More by dirtylou

smakawhat

Maryland

4.04/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a large snifter glass. Vintage 2012.

Really not much of a head produced at all, hits weak, but makes a little tan presence, and leaves a tiny pencil thin collar on the glass while enjoying. Body color is very cola like in presences with a faint red hint, but it does look like Coca Cola. However it is missing the soda giant carbonation, and this manages the thinnest bubbles around the edges.

Nose is quite varied, and different depending on first sniff and subsequent sips. However it's very sticky on first sip. Hints of toffee and caramel thick. Light oak sensations, vinous sense of wine heat, and hints of salt. Very varied and exploratory. After sips bring some vanilla and hints of soy sauce, and some grapey fruit character.

Very unexpected palate. The body shines with a real nice wine like feel, but with a smooth coating character. Malt backbone brings the depth though. Soy sauce salty character comes out a bit but also with a little sweetness. Aftertaste is varied in vanilla, and the caramel and toffee angle comes throughout. Mouthfeel is very light, lowly carbonated, not taking away from anything taste wise.

Overall there's a lot going on here, but it's quite enjoyable, and not too out of balance. It's a very unique barleywine to explore, but it may not be to ultimate tastes. I said a lot, and there's quite a bit to investigate. Also for 10% it is not very boozy, and very easy drinking. I am also not sure how well this would age. Drinking it now doesn't hurt.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2013 02:39:21 | More by smakawhat

bluejacket74

Ohio

4.2/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 ounce bottle, 2011 vintage. Served in a snifter, the beer pours a murky reddish/brown color with about an inch tan head. Head retention is good, and there's a small amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like red wine, dark fruit, molasses, caramel, brown sugar and some wood. It tastes like red wine/grapes, dark fruit (figs, raisins, plums), molasses, caramel, toffee, and a little bit of chocolate. I thought it tasted better and better the longer I drank it. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's syrupy and slick with moderate carbonation. I think this is a good overall brew, and it's better than the regular Below Decks (I just had a bottle of it before I drank this one). The cabernet barrel aging works well with this brew and makes it better. Definitely worth a try if you come across it.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 23:41:06 | More by bluejacket74

FosterJM

California

3.35/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

1672nd Review on BA
Bottle to Snifter
22oz

2010 Release

Split with my brother in law

Side by side by side with Bourbon/Cabernet

App- This was the color of a barleywine. A good and deep mahogany and tinged with red/browns. A bit of a cordial looking beer. A lighter center. Bubbles towards a 1/2" Had zero cling like the base beer.

Smell- This retained a faint note of the base barleywine and instead was more like a pure cabernet or more wine like than what I would say should be. Tannic, oaky, dark fruits and a bit of sweetness. Booze is very tame.

Taste- This was a pretty good barleywine. This was fairly sweet from the wine. A bit of sugars and booze. A good amount of malts on this one with a good amount of tannic flavors and a bit old.

Mouth- A lighter medium body with a creamy wine like flat carbonation. A couple bubbles danced but that was about it. The remaining flavors are of the oak and the wine. Not really picking up the maltiness or the citrus.

Drink- I think this was the least of the 3. The wine didnt do enough to layer but dominated. I liked that we did all 3 side by side. Its a nice beer, but not great. Probably wouldnt trade for this bottle again.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 18:41:50 | More by FosterJM

blackie

Virginia

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

they're really cranking these special releases out...

thought this one was best as it approached room temp, as much of the wine and malt were muted before that point

a: bottle split - my portion into a unibroue tulip, murky chestnut brown with some deep red hues, light off-white head with average retention

s: toffee with a strong edge of roasted nutshell, sugary after warming but not intensely sweet, oaky cabernet well integrated and complimentary - more fruity than tannic, plum and cherry, sweet alcohol, wine much more prevalent here than on the tongue, it's not huge or assertive but that should be in keeping with the English designation

m: carbonation on the light side but still a touch spritzy, body full but ranging towards the lighter side

t: drier toffee malts with some dark sugars somewhere in the land between caramelized and scorched, full but not too heavily sugared, the mild red wine fruits play a nice compliment to the malt, dark tree fruits, lighter earthy hop finish with a mild bitterness and lingering nutshell and toffee, perhaps a light tannic effect, warming alcohol

d: drinkability is pretty high for the weight, some alcoholic presence but nothing beyond what is expected

bomber from Whole Foods, Vienna, VA

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2010 02:26:58 | More by blackie

tdm168

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - dark brownish amber with a thin white head

S - candy sugar, bread, dark fruit

T - caramel, dark fruit, candy sugar

M - smooth, full bodied, sticky, a bit dry

This is a very nice English-style Barleywine. It's exceptionally malty with a big though not cloying sugary present. The dark fruits come through as well. I couldn't put my finger on it, but raisins and figs and possibly dates all made their presence known. I do love a good Barleywine, and this one had it all: balance, hidden ABV, drinkability, maltiness, full flavor, and full body. This is definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2013 20:09:26 | More by tdm168

billab914

Virginia

4.22/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle into my Dogfish snifter. It poured a dark, caramel brown color with a thin white head concentrating around the edges of the glass.

The aroma really shows the Cabernet character to it pretty nicely. I get a grape presence mixing with a little bit of a woody, vanilla like flavor. The barleywine flavors come through as more of a sweeter, caramel, malty flavor. The red wine character is very nice in it.

The taste mixes a red wine, oaky, vanilla flavor and a sweet, malty, barleywine character. It starts with more of the red wine, while more of the oaky, vanilla, caramel flavors come out in the finish. I really loved how the flavors came together in it.

The mouthfeel is on the heavier side with carbonation being lower. Overall I really liked what the Cabernet barrel added to the beer. The red wine character really integrated into the beer flavors better than any other wine barrel aged beer I can remember having. It really added a lot of depth and character to it. I expected the bourbon version to be my clear favorite of the two, but this one is pretty damn good as well as being more unique. Very enjoyable beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 01:53:27 | More by billab914

DavoleBomb

Ohio

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a snifter. 2010 vintage (which I think is the only one anyway).

4.0 A: Dark brown color. Actually more like a purplish black. One finger of creamy beige head that retains okay given the ABV and leaves

4.0 S: The cabernet sticks out, lending a vinous component in addition to oak and a touch of tannic astringency. The underlying beer adds plum and fig foremost, with caramel and toffee following. Not bad.

4.0 T: Again the cabernet is aggressive yielded an almost tart vinous grape. Lots of oak and little bits of tannins. Dark fruits including plum, prune, date, fig, and maybe some currant. Caramel and toffee underneath that. Absolutely no hints of alcohol.

4.0 M: Heavier medium body. Good moderate carbonation. The slightest bit chewy, but smooth overall.

4.0 D: This is incredibly mellow for a beer only around a year old. Flavors are well integrated and well balanced. Plus, $8 for a bomber of barrel aged beer isn't bad at all.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2011 02:46:32 | More by DavoleBomb

srandycarter

California

3.88/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Reddish murky brown, near white head leaves to ring fast. Some spotty lace.

S - Booze, malt and wine. Cabernet is there. It's pretty nice.

T - Malty, silty, wine notes at near finish followed by malt and hops. Interesting.

M - Medium body, very different flavors meld well together.

D - Even at high ABV, pretty easy to drink!

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2011 04:12:24 | More by srandycarter

prototypic

Ohio

3.88/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This BA release of Below Decks pours a very dark copper color. Backlighting gives it very attractive crimson highlights. It's capped with a modest, off-white head that stands about a finger tall. It's quick to recede and leaves a moderate amount of sticky lace behind.

The nose is a little weak and rather uninspiring. It'd benefit greatly from more strength. Having said that, there's definitely a vinous character to it. The barrel-aging certainly left its mark. Oak is also rather strong in the mix. Honestly, I like both of those elements here. What's missing is any evidence that it's a Barleywine. If you really sticky with it, there's a sugary sweet and light malty scent, but not much else. Alcohol is masked fairly well for 10%. Overall, it smells pretty good. I'm probably being a little generous here.

The flavor is interesting. It tracks the nose closely. The first sip features a big dose of red grapes and oak. Actually, so does every other sip. The barrel aging process works well here. I really like the flavors the process imparted. There's a bit of apple and pear here. Perhaps this is one of THOSE Barleywines. I'm always intrigued to encounter them. They seem to be devoid of any dark fruit or hop flavors (which holds true here). It's sweet and a little sugary. Earthy notes and musk are secondary, but add some character and depth. Alcohol is noted, but isn't overly strong. It's blended well for double digit territory. It finishes oaky and a little fruity.

The body here is medium. Carbonation is dialed down nicely. It's overall smooth and relatively easy drinking. Drinkability is good. This is pretty tasty stuff. I like it. For a big Barleywine, it goes down pretty easy. A bomber shouldn't be too much trouble.

I didn't really know what to make of this beer before I tasted it. It's interesting, but is pretty impressive. It's definitely a different type of American Barleywine. It has a distinct apple/pear flavor rather than dark fruit. There's also no hop presence as far as I can tell. But, it is good. The cabarnet barrels gave it a tasty combo of red grape and oak. It works. The nose could use a little work, but it's good otherwise. Check it out.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2010 03:42:36 | More by prototypic