I picked up this little wonder at the St. Cloud World Market. I stopped in there on a tip from one of the members of the Cloudy Town Brewers. Strangely enough, I stopped in on my 28th birthday. What a birthday present! I picked up a few Avery brews and made my way home.
Back to the beer at hand. I was a bit disenchanted with the first few barleywines I had tried. My first impression was that they are thick, almost syrupy concoctions with a strong alcohol presence and heavy dark fruit notes. As I was cleaning out the beer fridge the other day, I was contemplating putting this one down for a few years when I took another look at the label. This brew touts a 9.2% abv and a whopping 100 IBU's! "Well," I thought to myself, "this has got to be pretty dang close to an Imperial IPA." And boy, was I right! This beauty isn't thick at all. It has none of the dark fruit or heavy roasted character that I've seen in a few, be it very few, Barleywines in the past. This brew hits you in the face with a solid hop aroma and flavor and a solid backbone of caramel sweetness to balance the hop bitterness. It leaves the palate reeling with flavor that swaggers between persistent bitterness and a warming sweetness. A few sips make it obvious that this brew is not to be taken lightly. The alcohol presence is evident, but quite pleasant.
I wouldn't consider this a winter brew, as I would associate with most strong ales. The intense hop bitterness and relatively light nature of this brew leads me to think it would go well on a chilly spring or autumn evening. It has the alcohol warmth to lift the spirits, but is still light enough to enjoy in front of a campfire.
I would recommend SPLITTING a 22 oz. bomber with someone. It can be a bit much for one individual to handle, but I was up to the challenge.
To Avery!
-Patrick
No comments:
Post a Comment