Half Pints Burlywine
At Half Pints, we live by our motto: small brewery, BIG FLAVOR. Nothing proves this more than when we brew this extra strong ale. It is packed with five different malts for a strong dried fruit character and is hopped with UK Fuggles and Goldings for a woody, herbal aroma. This Barleywine is meant to be shared fireside with friends. Try it with a cheese plate of sharp Cheddar, Stilton, and Gorgonzola or a slice of rum soaked fruit cake. It will continue to improve with careful aging in a cool dark place, so try to save a bottle to compare with the new vintage. Serve at 12 degrees celcius in a brandy snifter. Unfiltered and unpasteurized. 75 IBUs
Decoding Vintages:(2006 - Tan Beeswax)
(2007 - Burgundy)
(2008 - Green)
(2009 - Blue)
(2010 - Tan Wax, New Label)
(2014 - No Wax, New Label)
As seen in "World’s Best Beers" by Ben McFarland.
Decoding Vintages:(2006 - Tan Beeswax)
(2007 - Burgundy)
(2008 - Green)
(2009 - Blue)
(2010 - Tan Wax, New Label)
(2014 - No Wax, New Label)
As seen in "World’s Best Beers" by Ben McFarland.
3.7
155 reviews
Winnipeg, Canada
Community reviews
341 ml bottle. Pours a viled ruby reddish amber with a nice beige head. Aroma is caramel, resin, hops. Flavor is caramel, fruit, toffee, tobacco. Finish is hoppy, herbal and earthy. Light to medium body, weak carbonation.
Bottle from kbudd19 shared with the group. Pours a slightly hazy amber/caramel color with a thin off white head. The aroma and flavor have big caramel, citrus, orange, oxidation, ripe fruits, sticky feel, good but this is probably on the way down based on other ratings. This was an 09 bottle.
16.06.2014, 0,34l bottle @ BBGTC tasting:
No head, just some bubbles. Aroma is slightly sweet oxidized, caramel malts, hay, almonds, butterscotch, burnt caramel, spices. Taste is slightly dry and harsh, caramel malts, hay, alcohol, weeds, burnt caramel, butterscotch, harsh grass, almonds. Medium to longlasting bitterness, dry harsh mouthfeel. Not my cup of tea...
Bottle. 2008 vintage. It’s an unclear, dark golden beer with a minimal sized off-white head. The aroma is lightly oxidised, with caramel malts, tending towards toffee. Lots of pine cones, some fluor and resins, some meaty hints. It’s full-bodied, lightly carbonated and warming, with a soft carbonation. Meaty, bitter and sweet flavor with pine cones and resins. Lasting finish. This one’s been holding up very good, sure a beer I’d like to have again. 140616
Bottle 341ml with green wax @ ClubGonzo
Pours clear brown with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, caramel, oxidized, dried fruits and yeast. Taste is medium sweet and light bitter with a long warm, dried fruity and oxidized finish. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is flat to soft.
Bottle, shared with BBGTC feat. Yngwie and Meilby. Clear deep amber body, small white head. Nose is oxidized deep malty tones, toffee, caramel, raisins, hints of figs, alcohol and brown sugars. Taste is toffee, alcohol, caramel, cinnamon and hints of brown sugar and grains. Medium to full body, soft to medium carbonation. Pleasant barley wine, without being too awesome.
2009 bottle. Thanks Steve! Pours a cloudy golden red with a decent beige head. Aroma of malt, fruit, and caramel. Taste is sweet malt, dark fruit, caramel, and wood. Very nice.
2009 vintage. pours clear dark golden with a minimal light beige-orange head, some retention and lacing. toasted and fruity cereals, layered in fruity and nutty caramel, candied fruits, tobacco, coffee, woodsy and slightly earthy, hint of leather, touch of garbage - barely though, oxidation traces - some raisins. moderate carbonation, medium body - oily, grassy-spicy balanced finish. not overly complex or reinventing the wheel but this is quite well done. past its prime though.
Bottle (341 ml). 2009 version. Shared by czar, thanks! Clear amber/copper with a small beige head and no lacing. Aroma is generic Barley Wine with a fruity touch, caramel and light alcohol. Taste is also slightly fruity with a touch of sweetness, caramel and light alcohol. Medium body. Moderate carbonation. Sirupy mouthfeel. Not bad, but boring and not complex at all.
(2010) Thanks to Colin at Silverspring. Malty aroma: sweet, fruit, some hops, wood. Pours a cloudy brown/amber hue with foamy head. Flavour is dominated by sweet malt. Some lighter, tangerine? notes in the background. Alcohol burn finish. A nice b-wine. Obviously had to sit around for a few years for the character.
Bottle shared by alexsdad06. Poured hazy copper color with a moderate frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate to heavy dark fruit, wood and sweet malt aroma. Medium to full body with a dry smooth texture and flat carbonation. Moderate to heavy dark fruit sweet wood flavor with a medium to heavy sweet alcohol finish of moderate to long duration. This is a complex solid beer.
Bottle to snifter (shared by alexsdad06). Label is blue. Looks good; a semi-transparent caramel with very thin off-white lacing. Smells malty with notes of raisin and a mild woodiness. Tastes like it smells with more wood. Nice on the palate. A good example of the style.
Bottle - Vintage 2009 - Vinous malts, oak, earthy, plum and dark sugars. Cloudy amber with an impressive beige head. Vinous, barrel notes, plum and some light caramel sugars. Very nice.
Blue labeled bottle. Garnet color, small tan head. Aroma is lots of raisin. Taste I bad. Not sure if infected or tons of woody acidity.
2010 Bottle. Aroma has wonderful notes of dark dried fruits, caramel malts, vanilla, woods, a touch of butterscotch and faded citrus hops. Wonderful. Dark murky amber hue with a small mostly diminishing head that left little lace. Flavor is very sweet and bitter with a noticeable saltiness. Palate is very full bodied and oily soft. Overall a very good Barley Wine that has aged very nicely. Great aromas, appearance and palate. The saltiness is very close to being too much but I didn’t think it really detracted. Very good.
2010 bottle. Smells like blueberry and hops, pours a dark reddish brown. It says 10.5% on the bottle but you cannot taste the booze at all. A load of sweetness with a hint of bitter up front, very smooth, with hints of carmel on the way down. Great Stuff, super smooth.
bottle, from pushkinwow in trade, clear amber orange color with some off white foam, flavor is sweet malty maple syrup with bourbon nose, somewhat astringent warming fruit finish
Bottle 341ml.
[ Vintage 2009 - Blue wax ]. ABV: 8.6%. Clear medium to dark red amber colour with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, bread, caramel, BW aroma, light alcohol, cheese notes. Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a long duration, dried fruit, caramel, fruity, plum, alcohol warn, wood notes. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light to moderate alcoholic. [20121019]
Rating #3200. 2009 vintage. 341mL bottle, sent from Glouglouburp (thanks a lot, Dany), pours a gorgeous dark ruby red with a medium beige head. Aroma is full of plums, raisins and black currants, with some caramel and syrupy honey sweetness. Flavour brings out lots of fresh pure honey, atop dark fruits galore (plums, raisins, currants, etc.), caramel and brown sugar. No hops at all by this point, but the beer is in solid balance without any cloying sweetness. However, I do detect a slight hint of oxidation, but not enough to detract much. The booze is very well-worked in but there is a noticeable warming effect. Excellent barley wine - certainly one of the best in Canada.
341ml bottle, 2009 vintage, blue wax, amber-orange color, with a ring of beige head, sweet biscuity, caramelized, toasted, toffee, candied honey fruity nose of peaches, apricots orange, lemon peels, with a brown sugar, barley sugar sweetness, minty floral citrus hop note in the aroma follows through on a full-bodied palate with a warmth fruity candied peachy, orange peel, marmalade, brown sugar, toffeeish, butterscotch character, with a flowery leafy, minty, piney, citrus hop flavour, with a sweet bready, toasted, caramelized, biscuity malty backbone, leading towards a warming candied fruity peachy, citrus hop bitterness finish.
Bottle @ French Oktoberfest Tasting Ulfborg, 2012. Pours ruby amber with bubbles on top. Dark fruit, sugar, syrup and caramel. Some toffee. Warmth..
Kobberrød klar skum hvid kort
Malt vinøs jordslå alc. Bær
Bitter lidt sød moderat
Flad Cremet kro fuld
Bottle @ fonefan tasting. Vintage 2009. Unclear amber with an off-white head. Aroma is sweet, malty, caramel, dried fruit, wood and alcohol. Flavor is quite sweet and moderate bitter. Sweet finish with warming alcohol. 191012
Bottle @ FoneFan, 8.6%, 2009. Clear dark amber with small off-white head. Aroma is malt, caramel, toffee and fruit. Flavour is malt, caramel, toffee, little rip-fruit, raisin, little plume, medium sweet with notes of alcohol.
Pours reddish brown, like the gouden carolus i just tasted. Not much head, a little lacing. Smells sugary. With some fermented fruit acidity and a lot of alcohol. Don’t detect a lot of hops and not very bitter for style. Mostly sweet. Some raisins or fermented grapes. Bottle from the rhino. Bottle has green wax but I didn’t see the cap. So i guess its from 2008. Gotta love the rhino for these gems.
Cap says 09 but it has Burgundy wax. Whatever. Light ruby pour, little head. Raisins, cherry, plum, sherry oxidation, nutmeg, and just a touch of cherry sourness to round out this well aged barley wine. I’m not a fan of aged or barley wine really, but this turned into a pleasant old ale. Not bad.
2010 vintage. Dark, hazy red with almost no head. Sweet, fruity, boozy. Reminds me of a lighter abbey dubbel. Gets hot on the way down. Good flavour. Really sweet. 041312
[bottle from Pub Italia]
Pleasant cereal grain/pumpernickel aroma that bespeaks a sweet, malty flavour, plus some cardboared/aged character that may be just a touch too much, overpowering some dried fruit. Hazy dark brown. Very well balanced sweet and bitter flavour that is viscous and may be slightly on the sweet side. The hops are apparent, but blended nicely and complex, but definitely shrouded by the potent sweet malt and dried fruit. Again, just a touch too much cardboard for my liking. Full body, moderate carbonation, sweet, but not warming.
341ml bottle (2008 - Green) pours a slightly hazy amber color with a moderate off-white head and a few spots of lacing. Aroma is light caramel with some spices and hop. Taste is malty sweetness with a little spice and a generous hop bitterness for this style of beer. I actually prefer the few barley wines out there with a little extra hop bite to them and this is certainly one of them.
Dark amber cloudy pour with medium sized tan head. Very sweet aroma of molasses and caramel. Taste is sweet but not as much as the aroma hints at. Hoppy bitterness hides the sweetness and lingers on and on. Nice carbonation and mouthfeel. Alcohol burn is present, and a little bit to much bitterness on the finish.