Barleywine
Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company (Downtown)

Beer Geek Stats
From:
Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company (Downtown)
 
Wisconsin, United States
Style:
English Barleywine
ABV:
11.04%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
4.15 | pDev: 15.18%
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
8
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 05, 2014
Added:
Dec 21, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by Golden2wenty1:
Photo of Golden2wenty1
Reviewed by Golden2wenty1 from Wisconsin

4.52/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
My roommate's 21st this morning, served in a small...probably 10-12 oz. snifter. Pours a dark garnet with a skim of cappuccino head. Nose is one of the more pungent brews I've ever experienced - licorice candy, dark brown sugar, bittersweet maple syrup/molasses and a grassy/herbal hoppiness. Taste is just as strong at 11% abv, a syrupy anise root with prune/raisin RIS notes. Mouthfeel is rich to the point of conservative taste-testing. This is the most flavorful barleywine I've yet to experience, also the most vinuous/cloyingly thick. This 3-year-old vintage is certainly worth a go...What a complex brew here. Catch it while you can.
Dec 14, 2005
More User Ratings:
 
 
Rated: 4 by bbadger from Texas

Jan 08, 2012
Photo of Deuane
Reviewed by Deuane from Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
2005 vintage on tap March 2008.

A-Deep ruby copper with a thin light tan ring.

S-Sweet malt and an alcohol burn. Caramel, vanilla and cherries? Nice, interesting and complex aroma.

T-Strong sweetness with an alcohol kick followed by a decent hop bitterness in the end. Good, but a bit too sweet for me to love.

M-Medium body. Very smooth with a very astringent aftertaste....oaky in quality.

D-Too malt forward for me. High ABV is also a bit limiting. Certianly not a badly done brew but I wouldnt do more than one.
May 25, 2008
Photo of DaPeculierDane
Reviewed by DaPeculierDane from Wisconsin

4.97/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Re-released and billed as “Vintage 2002 Barley Wine.” The aging has done this beer well. It is simply phenomenal, absolutely delicious, more drinkable than any other barley wine that I have tasted.

Huge oak and wood flavors are constant in this much matured brew. Dark fruits such as plums and cherries continue there presence and are joined by rich toffee and just a hint of smoke.

Get over to the Dane and try this while it lasts!!! So smooth that the alcohol isn’t even present.
Jan 23, 2006
Photo of dirtylou
Reviewed by dirtylou from Oklahoma

3.65/5  rDev -12%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
served in a snifter by a rather cute waitress up the hill from my apartment

appearance: a rich and full scarlet, there was a small bubbly beige head when served but lacing was pretty much non-existent

smell: aromas reminded me of Dark Horse 3 guys off the scale...aromas similar to a red wine...cherry, plum, dark red apple, alcohol, sugary sweet

taste: again similar to a red wine...lots more fruit than normal...cherry, dark grapes, plum, apple...sugary sweet, light toasted malts...Not terribly complex...I'm not positive if this beer is even what we are rating since this is the 3rd time I have been to the Dane this week and this was the first night they had the barleywine (despite being rated a few weeks ago)

mouthfeel: a little thin, very smooth though

drinkability: quite drinkable
Jan 03, 2006
Photo of blackie
Reviewed by blackie from Oregon

2.89/5  rDev -30.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
appearance: The beer comes to me in a snifter with a slightly off white, big bubbled head that soon diappears. The beer is a hazy mahogany color.

smell: Smells off. There is the typical barleywine sweetness, as expected...but there is a rotting/fermenting fruit aroma that really detracts. It reminds me of my compost bucket back home. Considerable alcohol aroma. Low hop presence on the nose.

mouthfeel: The carbonation is in the middle of the low range, and the body medium.

taste: Much the same as the aroma, but the off characteristics are more subdued...but I still get enough of the rotten fruit character to hinder my enjoyment. More of the malty sweetness comes through here. The alcohol is very hot on the tongue, much more than in the aroma. A light hop bitterness is in the finish.

drinkability: Had a little trouble finishing the snifter

Sampled at dinner during my final night in Madison
Jan 03, 2006
Photo of cokes
Reviewed by cokes from Wisconsin

4.75/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
2002 edition. Downtown location (GD's barleywine has been titled Old Scratch in the past, but this is a different recipe. I heard it colloquially referred as "New Scratch". Listed officially only as "Barleywine")

Gleaming, scarlet-brown. Sufficent beige head lasts as few minutes, then realizes it is not needed.
Huge malty, fruity nose with hints of toffee and dried fruits.
Dried dates factor prominently in the taste. Lots of gummi-fruit and berries (cherries?) as well. Maple enters next to continue this voyage down the sweet path. Vinous and raisiny with plum accents. Big woody, oaken hues enter next. This is all added to a toffee stew. British all the way. Bready body with some coarse grains noted. Big alcohol punch is not obnoxious, but rather acts as a space-heater for the esophagus and stomach. Finishes with just enough hops to dry things a bit. Lingers on and on, but never cloys. Great stuff.
Glassy smooth. Warming is an understatement.
A sipping masterpiece.
Dec 21, 2002
Barleywine from Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company (Downtown)
Beer rating: 4.15 out of 5 with 8 ratings