Monday, January 12, 2009
Alaskan Barleywine 2008 22oz:
!!!GOLD MEDAL WINNER 2007 TORANADO FESTIVAL!!!
This A+ brew pours a rich brown with a red tint. The aroma is sweet with cookie dough and chocolate with dark fruit. The head pours well but falls rather quickly. The flavor is toasty up front with sweet malt, plum and raisin fruitiness. The finish is spicy with modest but well balanced hop bitterness. This award winning barleywine should age for 5 years easy and only get better and smother through the years. This barleywine is now in my top three of all time. It has it all flavor, balance and than non-abrasive oomph that is the mark of well-made barleywine. Sure there are stronger, hoppier, or maltier ones but none pull it all together quite as well as Alaskan.