This barleywine release from Mad River Brewing ( Blue Lake, CA) is easily one of my favorite barleywines I have ever had. The flavor profile is more like an English style barleywine, sweet malts, nutty, muted hop profile. Following precedent, the current release is from the previous harvest year. This year’s release is 2009.
Commercial Description:
Our Seasonal Offering. We honor the Harvest &Holidays each year by brewing a traditional Barleywine style ale, using a variety of ingredients. The Label, created by local artist Janis Taylor, is a folksy woodcut based on the tale of John Barleycorn in verse.
Brewed in small 10-barrel batches with Certified Organic barley malt, this crimson hued ale has a sweet caramel nose with a zesty spicy, citrus taste. It has a slight hop finish and leaves a warm, tingling sensation on the tongue. A great winter warmer!
Taste Expectations: Malty. Caramel. Sweetness like brown sugar/molasses/maple syrup. Dark fruit notes (figs, dates, raisins.) Slight touch of booze in finish. Not big on hops. Much like English b-wine.
Availability: 12oz/4pks. No draft specified.
9.5% ABV
96 IBUS
