Big Sky Olde Bluehair Barleywine

Imagine a tango: a man and a woman dancing, their eyes locked upon one another, then take your first taste of Olde Bluechair, Big Sky Brewing Company’s Barley Wine. A taste of apricots, honey flavors, a sliver of vanilla, and a hint of caramel, round out the Barley Wine. Like so many things in life, Olde Bluehair just gets better with age.
Aged for a minimum of 3 months in American Oak Bourbon Barrels.

2015 vintage 12.3% abv

3.7

302 reviews

Missoula, United States

Community reviews

4.0 Poured from bottle thanks Airforcehops 2015 vintage 1352 of 3300 thanks Airforcehops caramel orange with a nice off white head and nice lacing. Aromas of bourbon caramel vanilla fruit and toffee. Taste is nice toffee bourbon alcohol notes and dark fruit. Wow. Nice brew.

3.4 Bottle shared at THT. Hazy amber with a ring off white head. Aroma of caramel, overripe dark fruit, toffee and sweet malt. Flavour is heavy sweet. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation. [26-08-2016]

3.7 Sampled at THT August. Bottle thanks to Vaiz. 4 yr old. Clear dark amber and a white head. Sweet barley malts, raisans, caramel, vanilla, toffee. Big sweet and butterscotch bitter. Full body, soft carbonation. Big sweet vanilla finish. Nice.

3.4 Bottle at THT. Slight hazy mahogany with barely any head. Lots of sweet malts, caramel and toffee. Bitter leaves, lots of alcohol, some marzipan and vanilla bourbon. Over medium sweet and lots of bitter alcohol. Medium bodied with lots of alcohol. Too alcoholic for me.

3.7 Bottle at the August THT, Den Haag. Poured a clear medium brown with a thin broken white head. The aroma is toffee caramel. The flavour is moderate sweet with a big sticky sugary sweet malt alcohol bitter palate. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.

3.7 75cl bottle shared at August THT. Thin ring white head. Hazy amber pour. A very good barley wine.

3.5 Bottle at THT tasting. 2012 vintage. Clear amber pour. Aroma of caramel, ripe fruits, Madeira and some alcohol. Flavor is quite sweet, quite smooth, and a little too old.

3.7 Bottle shared at August THT. Vintage 2012. Clear dark ruby pour with no head. Notes of dried fruit, sherry, cherries, raisins. Medium body, smooth texture.

3.7 2011 bottle opened in 2014. Pretty solid, well-aged Barleywine. Fruity. Smooth. Holds up.

3.7 Original year bottle, oxidized, fruity (esters?), vanilla, wood, caramel. Classic barleywine. Great with a meal too.

0.6 2013 vintage. Bottle number 3314 of 3750. Contaminated bottle. Loud violent hiss when corked followed by foaming. Let settle for a minute then poured slowly into large wine glass. Was a solid foam head. Strong pungent sour milk aroma. Bitter horrible taste. Un-drinkable. Will go back to QFC to get my $15 back.

3.8 750ml bottle shared by sevenhokie, 2013 vintage. Dark fruit aroma with with notes of caramel, vanilla, honey and a bit of whiskey. Pours cloudy amber colored with a thin tan head that has good retention and lacing. Starts with sweet dark fruit and a bit of caramel and vanilla. Finishes smooth but a bit dry with some honey and whiskey flavors. Pretty nice for an American barleywine.

3.8 750mL (2015 vintage... 12.3% ABV) murky, honey-gold pour, big white head with exceptional retention and lace (especially for a barleywine). Nose is whiskey barrel, brown sugar, toffee, honey. Mouth is medium-full, kinda slick, sweet and chock full of boozy barrel aged goodness, caramel, vanilla, heather, marshmallow, ABV warmth apparent, especially at the finish. Very nice. Happy Thanksgiving ya’ll.

3.8 750ml bottle - pours a hazy rusty orange color with off white head . Heavy lacing . Soft caramel and vanilla aromas . Moderate sweetness , smooth and very approachable for the ABV . Solid stuff .

3.6 2011 bottle. Shared with 2 friends. Bottle 316/3000 poured a slight hazy amber colour with a small non lasting off head. Notes of caramel, oak, figs, raisins, and forest fruits, not a lot of carbonation and a slightnoff taste. Bit to carbonated. Expected better

3.8 Slightly cloudy brown with a good sized off-white head. Aroma is raisins, dates, toffee, chocolate, vanilla, bourbon. Full bodied, sticky mouthfeel, sweet on the palate with a long sweet finish. Taste is caramel, dates, toffee, raisins, brown sugar. Tasty

4.1 Aroma is toffee, biscuit, honey, butterscotch, yeast, apple and roasted malts. Taste is a very smooth roasty malt profile paired with candy sugar, honey, caramel and yeast. Some slight and well balanced bitterness that has slight lemon grass and clove character. Appearance is a cloudy orange with a thin pearl head that retains fairly well.

3.7 A bright golden hued amber with light orange and ruby red accents in the body capped with a densely bubbled off white. Tons of lacing foam coats the glass and despite the initial outburst the carbonation settles down to nothing. The aroma is at first glance filled with overtly sweet toffee and caramel malts, candied and dried fruits and with a drizzle of fruity hops. Light apricot and candied apple aromas with a candy like aroma blend with toffee and caramel malts and the poignant hop flavours. The barrel has imparted a rich earthen aroma with a light vanilla and bourbon notes that extrudes itself through the candied malt aromas. The first sip is just as sweet as the aroma indicated with maple syrup like malt flavours combining with toffee and bready caramel. Sweet dried fruits of apricot and apple add to the character as the barrel becomes involved. Light vanilla and maple notes, earthen notes and a slight smoke come through towards the finish. The hop profile is notable and present throughout but is a bit lacking in character imparting only light spice and citrus notes. The finish is warm with alcohol and lingers through to the aftertaste with light hop bitterness and astringency.

3.6 2008 Bottling, #89/1800 From notes. Tasted on 1/27/13 from a capped 750mL bottle that I bought in Arizona some time ago and shared with the Nashville crew. Pours clear auburn with an average beige head that leaves average lace. The nose is showing some signs of oxidation with classic caramel, toffee, vanilla, maple, oaky bourbon, and some toast. The flavor is even a bit more oxidized, with all of the same toffee, caramel, maple, and touch of vanilla on the lightly sweet finish. The body is full with high carbonation and a long lightly oxidized, sweet bourbon finish.

3.7 2013 edition - Pours a dark reddish amber with more head than beer, this is going to take awhile. Thick head plenty of lacing and higher in the middle. Aroma of booze and maybe dark fruit but that’s hard too tell with the heavy booze aroma. Taste follows the nose but the booze is not overpowering but is dominate. No booze burn with a hint of vanilla. Overall a good barley wine.

4.0 2013 Edition, 10.2% (Bottle #2396 of 3750). Cork exploded off with a loud pop, and the thick smoke that poured out smelled like pineapple. Hazy brown that gets cloudier, and cloudier with every poor. A super thick crown floats on top of this beer. YUM!!!! FAWK that first sip was awesome. Aroma is heavy on the bourbon, vanilla, and strong alcohol...... but yum! OH DEAR GAWD why did i open a 750 10.2 % on a Tuesday night, less than half done and i can feel it. Flavour is so smooth, tons of bourbon, some alcohol heat. Why the hell isn’t American dad more popular.... I just pee’d a little watching this. Building bitterness!!! Wood, vanilla, heat. Kind of simple tasting. I’m wasted now...... still 1/3 to go.

3.4 Bottle 485 out of 3750. Pours a deep copper color with an offwhite head and lots of lacing. Bourbon malty nose with a hint of hops. Taste is nice, bourbon, some mineral astringency, lots of hops - bitter finish with a hint of booze. Certainly more towards the american side of the style of barley wine. Nice.

3.7 Bottle shared by John. Pours dark amber. Weird oak aroma. Taste is lots of dark malt and some oak

4.0 Wow! Alcohol burn hits you at first sniff. Dark copper body with minimal head. Heavy malt profile with alcohol warmth. True winter warmer.

4.2 Draft at the source. Hazy golden amber color, big thick cream colored head with good retention. Aroma of lightly spiced butterscotch. Taste is rich vanilla, more butterscotch, light spice. Bet this one would age very nicely.

4.1 after trying their Smoove Moove Cherry (equally 8.75 and ... well... overpriced crap) I couldn’t muster high expectations for this one. This led to a pleasant surprise, though, as the body was full and smooth. The vanilla/bourbon/oak aroma and taste reminded a couple of us of bourbon County Stout (which is not a bad thing). It pours a mahogony color with a nice fluffy head, great vanilla/peppery aroma, smooth full body. The flavor is a touch sweet, but not cloyingly so, and fully enjoyable. Better than expected, and put Mammoth’s Charleywine to Shame in a head to head."

2.3 2013 bottle purchased at Total Wine in Sacramento. The bottle opens with a big cork blast. The aroma has a fair amount of oaky vanilla present. Rather sweet, with some vinous character. Not much else going on. Modestly hazy copper-amber body with a massive cream-colored fizzy head present. Pour is very foamy. Starts with a sweet, sugary, somewhat sticky flavor. Tons of buttery and butterscotch comes through in the middle. Lots of diacetyl here. Some oakiness and a little vanilla late. A bit warming to finish. Just a ton of diacetyl.

4.0 750 ml 2011 vintage, 10% abv shared with myself. Aroma is malty with some nice caramel and toffee notes. Lighter burnt sugar and toast character. Some moderate dried fruit notes of raisin and fig. Some faint oak and bourbon notes with light alcohol. Pours a cloudy, murky, burnt brown with a medium, moderately sized, tan head that slowly recedes to the edges. Faint lacing and moderately large sized legs. Flavor is moderately sweet with some nice dark caramel and toffee notes. Some toasted bread and burnt sugar with a hint of roast and chocolate. Flavor has some light oak and bourbon notes with some nice alcohol notes. Moderately strong bitterness but only faint hop flavor. Nice dark fruit notes of raisin, prune, fig and dried cherry. Mouthfeel is medium full bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency and medium low alcohol warmth. Overall, a rather nice barleywine. Perhaps not the most complex, but nice malt notes with some pleasant bourbon and oak notes. Drier and with less bourbon than a lot of the more popular barleywines, which is nice in many ways.

4.0 This barley wine was okay. The head is a little thin, but the flavor was decent. Doesn’t seem strong, which is nice. Nothing special.

4.2 Draft - Vintage 2012 - Toffee, wood notes, vanilla and a nice caramel sweetness. Clear copper with a rich beige head. Dark cherry, toffee and oak notes. Really nice.