Barleywine Review #7 - Green Flash Barleywine Style Ale

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Mar. 9, 2012

I tracked down the Green Flash Barleywine Style Ale a couple of weeks ago in Denver at Seventeenth Street Liquors.  As a Boulder resident I don’t get to Denver as much as I would like, but Mountain Sun’s Vine Street Pub was calling me with Pliny the Younger.  Yes, I finally managed to track down some of Russian River’s super-hyped-up-but-probably-worth-it Double (or Triple) IPA.  That story is for another time, however.  The point here is that since I had driven an hour for one beer, I was going to check out the local selection and try to bring something back with me.  So…I found Seventeenth Street.  The selection was limited, but decent and the prices were pretty good. 

I ended up snagging two bombers of Green Flash beer; the Imperial IPA, which I have had before and thoroughly enjoyed and the Barleywine Style Ale.  As you can see above, I thoroughly enjoyed it again this past week (along with a hop flavored cigar) when we had a gorgeous 73-degree day here in Boulder earlier in the week.  As for the Barleywine, well, that was saved for a quiet night at home when I could split it with Emily. 

So, last night I finally cracked it open, poured a glass for each of us and wrote this review.  Here’s what I found:

Location: Seventeenth Street Liquor, Denver, Colorado

Cost: $6.99 for a 22 oz. bomber

ABV: 10.9%

IBUs: 85

Brewery Location: San Diego, California

Style: American Barleywine

Average Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.85 – Very Good

My Beer Advocate Rating: A/4.38 - Outstanding

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate/Rank in Top 20: 357/14^th

Brewery Description: Green Flash Barleywine Style Ale

Bottled On: 2011 Vintage

APPEARANCE:  (4 out of 5) Deep mahogany, typical Barleywine color with a very light brown, half-inch head that stuck around for about 90 seconds or so.  Once the head settled a thick layer of multi-sized bubbles hid most of the reddish surface of the actual beer. 

SMELL:  (4 out of 5) The Green Flash is spicy, fruity and very bready.  There is a ton going on in the nose of this one.  The spice is cider-like and accented with some caramel and toffee notes.  Of course, apple is part of the fruity smell, but so are banana and a touch of citrus.  The breadiness is distinctly wheat.  Overall, this is a great smelling beer.  I would give it a higher rating, but it is of only a moderate intensity and I wish it were stronger.

TASTE:  (4.5 out of 5) This is one of the more interesting Barleywines I have experienced during The Barleywine Project.  It is solidly bitter all the way through the sip, but unlike Avery’s Hog Heaven, this isn’t really a slightly mislabeled Triple IPA, it still has a boat load of malty richness along with a lot of spicy and fruity flavors.  Banana, caramel, toffee, pine, tart apple and fall-like spices all make appearances in each sip, but a subdued grapefruit and orange along with a hoppy bitterness carry this beer from start to finish.  Speaking of the finish, the Barleywine Style Ale ends on an enormous note of wheat bread.  I’ve tasted bready beer before, but this is a bready monster and the aftertaste might as well be the crust from some wheat toast.  I thought it was odd about 15 minutes ago when Emily said “You know what would be great with this?  Some toast with cheese melted on it.”  Now, it makes perfect sense, and oddly, I’d recommend some cheesy wheat toast with this one – never thought I’d write that on this blog, but there you go.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4.5 out 5) Rich and very full-bodied.  The carbonation is moderate (more than I expected for the flavor) and a nice tickle along with the dry, bitter finish helps cleanse the palate following the slightly sweeter mid-sip.

OVERALL:  (4.5 out of 5) My experience with Green Flash so far has been very positive and this is no exception.  However, most of the other beers of theirs I’ve had have been great due to their accuracy in style.  The Barleywine is certainly an exception to that rule.  While drinking this beer I am reminded of Founders Devil Dancer in the respect that it never breaks out of the style, but it pushes the envelope and uses all available space within the style’s parameters. 

In light of my last review, one of the things that really stands out to me about this Barleywine is how wonderfully it works fresh.  The hoppy bitterness is certainly part of that reason and even once that fades I’m sure the beer will still taste great, but I really wish I had a second bottle to split at the moment.  I will be purchasing this again in the near future.

Barleywine Review #3 - Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Ken & Jack's Ale

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Oct. 23, 2011

The Sierra Nevada 30^th Anniversary – Jack & Ken’s Ale was pretty easy to find.  In fact, I believe that Liquor Mart in Boulder still has a couple cases left.  I had tried this bottle once in the past, shortly after it was released, but I never reviewed it.  I do remember it tasting a little maltier and sweeter last time I had it, but this time here is what I found:

Location: Boulder Liquor Mart

Cost: $15.99

ABV: 10.2%

IBUs: 60-70? (speculated, but not confirmed - if you can confirm or correct let me know)

Brewery Location: Chico, California

Style: American Barleywine

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.08 - Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.93 – Very Good

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate/Rank in the Top 20: 362/14th

Brewery Description: NA

Bottled On: Summer of 2010

Photo Courtesy of Legal Beer

APPEARANCE:  Dark as night.  There is no light penetrating this beer whatsoever.  The head, no matter how softly it is poured swells up into a nice, homogenous group of tiny bubbles that forms a finger and a half of off-white head.  The dissipation is rather quick, but a ring of lace and a wispy thin layer of foam cap the beer after it has settled. 

SMELL:  The nose is medium to strong and dominated almost entirely by a sweet, milk chocolate smell.  Some coffee is present and a tiny touch of hop aroma creeps in, but this nose belongs to the cocoa.

TASTE:  The big, sweet, chocolate aroma blends into the first sip, but about halfway through the hops take over in a big way.  The 30^th Anniversary is a much stronger and much hoppier Barleywine than I am used to.  Citrus and dank bitterness flavors steal the show from the chocolate mid-sip.  The chocolate returns for a big finish, but the sweeter chocolate flavor has turned into a bitterer, darker chocolate.  As the beer opens up it mellows and while it remains a bitterer, hoppier Barleywine than most, it does begin to resemble the style a little more closely with a boatload of roasted malt and sweeter flavors beginning to expose themselves.

MOUTHFEEL:  The mouthfeel is fantastic and spot on for a Barleywine.  It is nice and oily, but has enough fizz to let the palate know that it is still a beer.  The only deviation from the standard Barleywine is that it is much more dry than most, but that is not a bad thing.

OVERALL:  I think I would classify this beer as more of an enormous and malty Black IPA than a Barleywine, but that does not change the fact that it is a solid beer.  If you find yourself with a bomber or two share it with your friends who love IPAs and dry porters, die-hard Barleywine fans may be let down.  Also, do not introduce anyone to the style with the 30^th Anniversary, it’s more of a riff on a Barleywine than a traditional American Barleywine.

Barleywine Review #1 - AleSmith Old Numbskull

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Oct. 7, 2011

It seems appropriate that the first beer reviewed for the Barleywine Project – AleSmith’s Old Numbskull – is from the very same brewery as the last beer of the DIPA project – AleSmith’s YuleSmith.  Yes, Review #1 of the Barleywine Project is from what is quickly becoming one of my more sought after breweries, AleSmith.  In addition to this beer coming from the same brewery, it also came from the same dude – ren, from Beer Advocate, who I think I can now officially call my “Beer Guy in San Diego”.

Ren and I have worked out a couple of great trades since I have moved here to Boulder.  I’ve been able to find him some amazing sour beers, including Immitis from Avery and he has provided basically all of the AleSmith beer I’ve ever had.  I am grateful for that.

Anyhow, tonight Emily and I finally split the bottle of Old Numbskull that he sent me a couple of weeks ago.  What a treat it was and although I am about to discuss this in greater depth below, I have to mention it here as well, AleSmith makes some really good beer, but they seriously make some of the best looking beer I have ever seen.

Alright, onto the specs:

Location: Home

Cost: In Trade – One bottle of Avery Immitis + (Cost of that bottle $6)

ABV: 11%

IBUs: 99

Brewery Location: San Diego, California

Style: American Barleywine

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.17 - Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.1 – Excellent

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate/Rank in the Top 20: 340/15^th

Brewery Description: Old Numbskull

Bottled On: NA

APPEARANCE:  (5 out of 5) After just a very limited experience with AleSmith’s brews, if there is one thing I know about them it is that they know how to brew an amazing looking beer.  The YuleSmith (Summer) took home the 20 Beers in 20 Nights award for the best looking beer of the entire DIPA project.  Well, as the first beer in the Barleywine Project, the Old Numbskull is sure to be in the running in the same category.

The color is a solid, opaque, copper penny red with an exceptional, big, foamy and white, two-finger head.  The retention, as it was with the YuleSmith, is outstanding.  I poured this beer, then prepared myself a plate of cheese and crackers, then ran around the house for three minutes doing small errands for Emily, then sat down and began to write this review…and guess what?  The head is still there.  It is just about an eighth of an inch thick at this point, but this is retention at its finest.

The lacing, again, just like the YuleSmith is exceptionally strong, covering roughly 80% of the back of the glass, about 50% on the sides and somehow managing to keep a few wisps hanging in there on the side that I am drinking from.  I am stunned that one brewery has been able to produce two different beers with such a great look.

SMELL:  (4.5 out of 5) A quick sniff under the freshly popped bottle cap reveals hints of a big, booming aroma.  My initial reaction was that it smelled like a big, malty Double IPA.  As it pours into the snifter that malt aroma become more apparent.  A boat load of caramel hits the nose right up front as vanilla and a touch of piney hops sneak in as well.  As the head fades the aroma does as well, but it remains strong even after a coaster-thick head settles into place.

TASTE:  (4 out of 5) The first impression the Numbskull gives the drinker is that of balance.  A nice, moderate, brown sugary sweetness greets the palate with each sip.  That sweet, caramel-laced flavor slowly fades and gives way to a fairly bitter finish that showcases a surprisingly grassy taste along with a touch of anise.  The wave of flavor from front to back and from medium-sweet to medium-bitter is one of the smoother rides of balance that my palate has ever been on.

MOUTHFEEL:  (3.5 out of 5) The carbonation is there, but only provides a slight tickle.  Otherwise, this is a sticky, yet not a mouthcoating beer.  The dry, hoppy finish (in fact, much dryer than most Barleywines) cleanses the palate quite nicely for such an otherwise sugary beer.  It feels like a big Belgian with the finish of a big, crisp and bitter DIPA like Ruination.  I only wish that the carbonation was stronger.

OVERALL:  (4 out of 5) This is a dynamite example of a Barleywine.  In fact, it almost seems like a prototype for the style; big, complex, malty and hoppy.  While this is not the best Barleywine I have tasted it is right up there amongst the finest and it really is an excellent example of what the style should be.  If someone were to ask me to give them a beer that epitomized Barleywine, this would make an excellent offering.