Alaskan Pilot Series: Barley Wine Ale
Alaskan Barley Wine has been produced in limited edition vintages each year since its introduction in 2003. A big beer for big winters, this brew has garnered a steady following in Alaska. Bottled for the first time in 2007, the balanced flavor collaboration between hops, malt and high alcohol showcases the barley wine style, winning first place at the 2007 Toronado Barley Wine Festival and bronze at the 2008 World Beer Cup.
3.8
524 reviews
Juneau, United States
Community reviews
Bottle at Grand Tasting, RBSCSG 2015 in Gothenburg. Clear deep Amber/brown beer with a nice beige/yellowish head. Fruity caramel aroma, raisins, figs, toffee, brown sugar notes. Fruity toffee flavor, caramel, raisins, figs, brown sugar, warming alcohol, some dark bread. Good barley wine.
barley wine bottle share on 1/31, 2008 vintage. What a away to finish the night. Pours beautiful orange-red with thin white head, aroma has awesome notes of rich caramel, toffee, vanilla, some candied fruit, sticky honey, and some slight bread notes. Perfectly aged barley-wine. Taste is sweet and sticky caramel, vanilla, toffee, honey with some slight bitter hay and grass, finishing dry and slightly sweet.
2013 edition bomber. Aroma is barley wine with lots of yeast present. Appearance is brown with a tan head. Taste is a smooth barley wine flavor that is not over powering. Not boozy, just right. Overall, a well aged barley wine. Will buy and age again.
Draft of 2013 version at GABBF : Poured a murky brown with a tan head. Aroma is a nice blend citrus, hops and sweet sugars. Taste is mixed with hops, caramel malts, and loads of alcohol burn.
Sweet and boozy. What you'd want from a barley wine. I'm wondering why Lucky Pie is selling it for $5. My gain.
Thin, quick dissipating head atop a brown Amber body. Nose of brown sugar and bandaid. Flavour of burnt sugar and bitter hops. Pretty chill and smooth.
From a 22 oz bottle shared at home. Pours a clear deep dark amber with a thick tan head. Sweet malty nose. Flavors of butterscotch. Nicely balanced and very tasty.
Bottle @ weekly tasting shared with Dutchdrebus and Joes. Clear red-brown color, average sized off-white to beige head that diminishes quickly. Aroma is malts, sweetish, liquor, a hint of liquorice somehow. Taste malts, a hint of sweetness, lightly a hint of bitter, lightly alcohol, liquor. Medium to full body and carbonation.
Bottle @ benzai. Dark amber to ruby colour with a very small off-white head. Smells pine, deep hops, sweet, barley wine. Tastes sweetish, loads of pine, malty, some hops, deep. Full body, soft carbo.
2009 Bomber - Dark maple pour with off white head. Nose is slightly oxidized with caramel, toffee, and bready malts. Taste follows the nose and is also slightly oxidized with some sherry notes. Decent thick oily mouthfeel. Pretty good.
"had Alaskan and Avery Hog Heaven side by side. Neither was a letdown, even though they were opposite ends of the spectrum. Both poured a deep ruby/amber. Alaskan was a touch darker, and both had great frothy head with a vigorous pour, awesome retention. Avery’s aroma was definitely hop-heavy, but balanced just enough and was freakin incredible. took a giant inhale before every sip. Ditto for the Alaskan, but this one was all malty sweetness, and a touch of hops. At first, in the aroma and taste, it begged for more time in the cellar, but by the time I got to the end, I just wanted to keep breathing it in. The aromas were the high point for both beers, but the flavor was enjoyable as well...Avery similar to Bigfoot, but better balanced, and Alaskan like a slightly sweeter/less hoppy Old Stock. Alaskan won the battle of the body as it was thick and full, Avery was weaker (9.4) & thinner, but incredibly drinkable for a barleywine. Those who are not hop heads may not like it as much, but while both were great examples of American & English Barleywines respectively, I’ll give a tiny nod to Avery in the head to head, but imagine Alaskan would win in a year as it seemed like the type of beer that would age incredibly well. Fun, fun, fun!"
2009 bottle. Pours a cloudy deep brown with a slight amber hue and a tan head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has lots of grain and bread with a bit of caramel, toffee and booze underlying. Flavor has lots of toffee and sweet grains with a bit of bread and underlying caramel and a touch of booze.
Ruby brown body and small head. Fierce malty aroma, English, biscuit, some raisin but drier and less rich than I somehow expected. Alcohol pretty well hidden behind the dusty malts, but it misses either the concentrated sweetness or a more fresh hop addition to shine, for me. I’d be happy if my barley wine turned out like this, but I still feel there’s room for improvement. (Bomber brought from Austin, shared with Alba and Darren on brew day)
2013 22 oz. Bottle poured into a snifter. Fruity aroma with a nice dark mahogany pour. Not much of a head. Sweet and fruity with a very nice follow through. My first time with these Alaska brews but certainly not my last. Very nice!
2010 bottle. Pours a rich deep mahogany brown with a cherry hue. Amazing head retention, great lacing, huge thick collar. Aroma is molasses, toffee, leather and earthy wood. Taste is bitter molasses, stale tobacco, vanilla and wet paper. Nice rich body and low carbonation. I believe this beer must have been left on the shelf in a high light area since 2010. It looked great, but the paper and tobacco really ruined the flavor.
22oz bomber. Picked up 4 of them at 4.99 each..can’t beat that. Deep mahogany brown body, looks filtered. Foamy beige heads fades into a thin oily layer. Woody alcohol soaked amber malt. Rich and rugged, thick old school US Barleywine. Overbearing. Not really that drinkable, more of a slow sipper. OK.
2013 Bomber from Woodmans in the Falls poured into my New Holland tulip. Cellar aged for 3 months, but likely much closer to a year in age. Pours a clear brownish orange with an off-white head around the rim leaving nice spots of lace. Aroma has dark fruits, sweet stone fruits, pine and citrus. Heavily hopped without a definitive smell. Taste is of sweet dark fruits (plums, raisins, grapes), some citrus (oranges and grapefruit), tangy pine and some earthiness. Medium to full bodied with some alcohol presence. Finishes heavily sweet with some bitterness underneath. Very hoppy without much definition.
Via trade with Crajun. The aroma is sweet, dark fruits, bready. The appearance is deep red brown, opaque, off white head. The flavor is sweet, dark ripe fruit. The booze is well hidden. The finish is sweet, light booze. Medium in body. Nice barley wine. Doesn’t kill with hops.
Served: bottle
Look: pours a dark amber color. Small off white head.
Smell: smells dark sweet fruits
Taste: dark cherries. Malty notes
Feel: heavy beer highly carbonated.
Overall: good flavor. Heavy malt notes
First drank: April 20, 2014
Nice toasty malt aromas. Pours clear reddish brown with a foamy head. Very sweet for a barleywine, masks the alcohol content and doesn’t assault you with hops.
651 ml bottle. Pours a nice reddish-brown with a one inch tan head that lasts. Taste is of malt, barley, caramel, hops, pine, resin, grapefruit, citrus Similar aroma. Has a full body with a warming finish. Easy to drink and enjoyable. Well worth having again.
2011 bottle. Sampled at bottle share. Decent stuff. Tastes like old barleywine. Sweet and boozy.
Pours a deep golden red/brown. Aroma is malts and sweet sugars. Taste is pretty well balanced for a barleywine while still showcasing the ABV without being overpowering. Palate is sweet up front with a nice malt balance or molasses and sugars. Solid barleywine!
Pours a clear dark amber color with little to no head. Aromas of caramel, sweet malt, perhaps a whiff of oxidized hops. Taste is sweet, very sweet. Some bitterness. Flavor is caramel mixed with booze and hops. Alcohol is noticeable and upfront. Finishes sweet and warming. 600 calories for this bomber.
Bottle shared by alexsdad06 pour dark brown copper. Nose caramel, toffee, and some booze. Taste sweet malt up front, caramel and toffee on the taste as well. Late palate alcohol. Some bitter in the finish. Still some heat for 2010 vintage.
Nice barleywine. Slightly boozey, but normal for the style. I enjoyed, and would buy another.
Bottle. Dark ruby. The nose is pine and burnt sugar. The taste has roasted barley, burnt sugars, caramel, toffee, and some spices. The body is lighter than I would like it to be. Medium carb. There's a nice warm alcohol feeling that lingers in your chest but, also a slippery buttery feeling on the lips, maybe diacetyl. Pretty good.
Tap @ Meridian Yardhouse: Brown color with reddish hues and a nice tan head. It is a great looking beer. Pleasant toasty aroma of hops with flavors of robust hops and some sort of spice. It has a smooth thick body with a little perfume and hairspray in the aftertaste.
Hazy red/crimson color with mild carbonation and a filmy head. Aroma of grapefruit, piney hops, caramel, toffee and orange peel. Flavor starts out quite malty with notes of caramel and dark fruity notes before settling to a piney & citrus hop finish; Mellow flavor. Body is moderate and mildy carbonated. Pretty good!
Draught in a flight. Pours a reddish brown color with a slight haziness. Nose is malt forward, with some caramel tones coming off this. However, I do get a bit of dry resin underneath. I found the taste to be pretty well balanced, though there is a slight sweetness in there. I get a little bit of bread notes in the taste as well. I found this to be quite smooth, and not at all boozy - a deceptive 10.7%.