Full Sail Old Boardhead Barleywine

A deliciously rich barleywine that has spectacular depth and delicacy of flavor that is deep and robust. Its strong, sweet body is balanced with Centennial and Crystal hops for a pleasant hoppiness and finish. Makes a great cellar beer. Available in 22oz. bottles and draught year round. ABV 9% IBU 91

3.8

725 reviews

Hood River, United States

Community reviews

3.8 2012 Bomber. Clear red-amber, with modest, creamy, off-white head, light, fine lacing / Mild nose of caramel and cooked fruit / Medium body, syrupy with strong candied sweetness, but still nice balance, fruit with some bitterness on the finish / Flavors of candied grape & orange peel, spun sugar, caramel, pine / Very enjoyable, in this sweet & syrupy style.

3.9 Hazy amber pour with no head. Hops really evident in the aroma. Tastes very much like toffee and the hops come through and prolong the toffee nicely. Quite different.

3.9 Thanks to OldMrCrow for sharing two bottles of this one -- a 1999 (I was still in high school then!) and a 2005. The 1999 was off (aroma of prune stewed in soy sauce, taste not much different) so I’m ignoring it except to note that 15 years may be a bit long for this one. Both pour dark amber -- the 2005 still, surprisingly, has a nice white head. Don’t know why it amazes me that these stay carbonated, but it does. Magic! Aroma: toffee, old hops, some nice plum / toffee. Taste: nice toffee, reasonably dry, light caramel sweetness with just a hint of bitterness. Medium body. Overall: Very enjoyable!

3.6 2/22/2012. On tap at the brewery. Poured deep orange with an off-white head. Sweet malty aromas with caramel and light fruit. Hoppy flavors with fruit showing well and then the alcohol burn on the finish. Not bad at all.

1.9 Vintage 2011 Red hued copper ale with some yellow peanut foam rim and sheet quality. Excellent clarity leaving some spotty lace. Smells like a souped up Pale ale (english style) with some earthy, grassy hop profiles. A decent sugary toffee tone, but very subdued in the nose. The flavor follows thru with that tone, but is overpowered by a sulfur, ester, sweet alcohol flavor. The ingredients and quality characteristics of a Barleywine are soon forgotten in this beer. Medium bodied with low carb, and a semi dry finish. Not a drain pour, but not a good beer either. Easily among the lower end of BW’s for me. I like ’em to have a little more malt character than this. Too many chemical flavors to make me happy. A disappointment. Serving type: bottle 12-31-2011

3.3 2011 bottle pours orange amber, looks red in light, all covered by a cream colored foam head. nose of wet grains, slight pit fruit. taste follows with the wet grains dominating flavor profile, light booze burn wrapped in a chewy body.

4.0 2012 vintage in 22 oz. bottle Darker amber with thin beige head. Wine like malty aroma with alcohol very much in the forefront. Some oak barrel, peat and caramel. Taste (once past the alcohol heat) is malt, caramel and some spiciness. Excellent winter quaff. Recently sampled 2007 vintage also, ages wonderfully.

4.3 Very nice beer. This was the 2011 version. Orange/red color. Slight honey taste. Not as sweet as most barley wine’s which is a good thing. Somewhat dry aftertaste. Not head. Smooth.

3.7 Poured from bottle to glass. Amber coloring with off-white head. Nice aroma of malty caramel and honey. Fruity fig-like scent. Light bodied with nice carbonation. Finishes slightly bitter compared to the sweetness provided by the large malt bill. Overall, a very nice barleywine...especially for a more average "shelf beer".

3.6 Bottle. This is a formidable barley wine with lots of hopping and sweet malt backbone.

3.7 Pours a slightly hazy dark burnt orange color with a foamy off white head. Lots of sweet caramel malt on the nose, fairly warm and boozy smelling, piney hops, dark fruits, and maybe a touch of molasses. Nice citrusy hops up front on the taste, caramel, dark fruit, slightly earthy, touch of smokiness, and a delicious sweet malt character. Pretty well balanced, and a great value.

3.1 Pours a cloudy, dull golden color with not much of a light tan head head. Fruity caramel and dish liquid on the nose. A rather thin mouthfeel given the style. Oat and full grain cereal, cardboard, and ripe cherry flavors.

3.7 Bottle from ’05 (year I graduated high school). Nice barley wine actually, has held up well. Good caramel, dark fruits and some hoppiness. Very solid, would like to try fresh.

4.7 Pours cloudy brown with a minimal tan head. Aroma is raisin, molasses, sweet malts, light chocolate, and a little age (2012) - something very rustic about the aroma. Taste is off the charts good - heavy sweet malts, molasses, and carob up front. Then it slowly tranforms into a mellow earthy bitterness. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. My idea of a barley wine!

3.8 Bomber pour. Malty richness that really warms well. You can actually detect the hops!

4.1 22oz bottle, 2012 reserve. Pours an opaque mahogany with a small amount of tan head. Aroma is sweet and boozy, with dark cherry, bread, and a little tobacco. Hops definitely come through in the taste, but it is still pretty balanced. I have nothing bad to say about this ABW.

4.3 I have never been impressed with Full Sail, but this has been starring at me on the shelf for a few weeks. They dropped the price, and I realized it was on the 1001 Bottles list. Figured I would get it before it was too late. Glad I did, because this beer has been retired. They no longer brew this. Not sure why... it is awesome! A nice thickness, some light bubbles, and a lovely sweetness leading to a drying sweet finish. This is what a barleywine is all about. I wish ore barleywines tasted like this. Good job, Full Sail! WELL worth the $4.49 I paid for it. Bottoms up, people!

3.7 On tap. Dark orange/red with a small white head. Scent is spice/sugar/caramel/hops. Taste is caramel/herbs/fruit and hops.

3.5 22 oz bottle, Whole Foods Columbus. Murky copper, luscious frothy white head retains a relatively large ring and leaves tons of lacing down the glass. Aroma has apple cider all over it, and raisin and caramel. Flavor is the same; not much going on here with hops; a fair amount of wild sourness. Possibly overly sweet to get through this whole bottle in one sitting. A rare example of an unbalanced craft beer with too -little- hops. Overall, bland and lacking character, and I can’t see how this one is rated so highly.

4.3 Amber color with a small beige head. Aroma of sweet malts and fruit. Taste is sweet with candy flavors, slightly sour and slight hoppiness. Medium body, slick feel, average carbonation. Tangy finish very drinkable.

4.0 06 on tap at Roscoes- nice sweet aroma. Tastes of clover honey and oak with mild hop, bitter finish.

3.6 4 jan 2013, bottle. Light amber, clear, no bubbles. Nose s sweet raisin bread. Not much alcohol. Med/thin body and moderately fizzy. Light caramel, some blue cheese, slightly chalky, some raisin. Okay.

3.7 Bottle - 2006 vintage. Pours hazy amber with thick, creamy off-white head; good retention and spare lacing. Aroma is cookie and bread malts, figs, cherries, floral hops, and oak. Flavor is balanced sweet malt, dark fruit esters, and grassy and floral hops; dry finish. Full body and low carbonation.

4.0 This is a review of 08 vintage Pours a murky, dark caramel color. Head is 1/5 of an inch and tan. Head retention is good and lacing is fantastic. Smell is of freshly melted caramel, smoked burnt malts, and whisky sauce. Even after 4 years, some hop aroma remains, mostly herbaceous with pine and floral hints. Alcohol slightly clears the sinuses. Taste is big on dried fruit like prune and apricot but its rounded out by a pine and grapefruit bitterness. Judging by smell, I thought this beer would have been sweeter or richer but it was more hop forward. For 9% and 4 years aged, the alcohol was more present than expected. Mouthfeel is light with a good amount of carbonation. Slightly on the thinner side for a barleywine, head doesnt add much in the way of texture. Overall this beer has me stumped. In 09 I tried this vintage and enjoyed it much more. Flavors of alcohol and hops seem to have increased over the years which almost seems impossible. This is still a solid barleywine, especially its price. Just wish I would have consumed it sooner and hopefully I can get some more to maybe age for an even longer amount of time just to see what happens.

4.1 Grainy liqueur aroma. Sweet, sugary Bourbon. Pungent malts. Hop is flowery. The appearance is cludy, dark red orange. Head disappears fast. Looks gorgeous. Sweet flavor like a cherry liqueur. Grains are subdued. Pleasant woody hop for balance.. Astringent aftertaste balances the rest. The palate is slick and oily. Medium-bodied. Not too chunky. A very solid barleywine. Balanced with a very good hop.

3.3 Bottle. Pours a very hazy dark amber color with a very thin head. Little bit of hops to the nose of this, which is interesting. Taste is a little dry, but decent. Not too harsh.

3.3 Bottle. Murky copper pour with an off white head. Caramel malt aromas. A little on the watery side with some bitterness. Strange, after 2 years I would have thought the hops would have dissipated. A little bland, a little hoppy, and in general just not my idea of a great barley wine..

3.5 2011. Smells hoppy, malty and boozy. Pours reddish orange with decent creamy head and some decent lacing. Strong barley bitterness and roast malt. This is a bit of a booze bomb - especially at first. It winds down and evens out as it warms up though. Alright. Very well priced at $4.50 a bottle.

3.2 Bomber shared with Steve, Austin and Jasen. Pours dark orange with a small head. Smells like malt, hops, vanilla. Taste is sweet, malty with hops and vanilla. Mouthfeel is thin. Decent.

2.9 2011 vintage. Pours a really cloudy, dark copper color with amber edges and a one finger off-white head that quickly fades into a lasting ring. Sporadic spots of lace left behind. Slight leathery malt aroma with subtle earthy hops caramel malt and dark fruit. Somewhat floral with a faint grassy pine character followed by caramel, toffee, raisin, fig and sweet booze. Medium bodied with tight carbonation and a very dry and bitter hop presence that lingers over the sweeter notes and malt backbone into a boozy finish. Lots of sticky hops up front that are somewhat stale at this stage followed by leathery malt, caramel, toffee and dark fruit. A decent amount of sweet boozy flavor in the finish but the high ABV is actually pretty well masked. Overall, this beer is easy to drink but it’s kind of bland and not very memorable.