Left Hand Widdershins
This English-style Barleywine is fermented and aged for ten months and dry hopped for two months prior to packaging to give it a smooth mouth feel rarely found in the bitter American barleywines. Its copper color is the result of twelve house of boiling to caramelize the sugars and we also add five varieties of hops during an additional two hour boil. As you can see and taste, we brew this beer with the highest level of quality in mind. Please enjoy this warming barleywine with its warming flavors and hint of peat very responsibly. Malts: Pale, Crystal, Peated. Hops: Magnum, Centennial, Northern Brewer, Cascade, Tettnanger, East Kent Goldings, Fuggles. 70 IBUs.
3.5
240 reviews
Longmont, United States
Community reviews
Draught. This is a decent barley wine that just missed the marking in cracking the top tier of the style.
2003 bottle, rrbf. One of the few true vintage beers at the fest. I poured some for peeps for about 10 mins before Mary Eliza came by and regulated. haha. Definitely tastes like a nicely aged barley wine. Turns more English as it ages, losing its bitter hops and a gaining more brown sugar, dark fruit, and vanilla type flavors. Only lightly oxidized, thankfully. A little thin on the palate, but solid.
Bottle from 2003. Light copper color. Very smooth. Age has really mellowed this out. Not a cigar beer at this point. Very nice.
Sampled at Rackhouse Pub, Denver CO, on October 10, 2012, during the event Colorado Rare Beer Tasting
2002 aged bottle
Hazy copper color, off-white head. Fruity, apricot scent. Fruity, apricot taste. Medium mouthfeel, medium bitterness. Warming alcohol.
Super nice, oh so nice, aged super.
Amber/copper pour..off white head. Nice caramel malts and sweetness, some molasses and a slight bit of vanilla. Awesome!
on tap-pours amber with an offwhite head. Aroma is sweet medium malt, medium fruit, some spice. Taste is sweet medium malt, medium fruit, some spice, alcohol.
bottled, at rbesg08 grand tasting in pilsen. a somewhat underwhelming barley wine - standard amber, aroma of pine and caramel, generic american hop presence with a big whack of butterscotch. nothing to get excited about
Murky orange-gold-amber in color. Woody-barley strength; woody, charcoal, honey and orange notes.
Notes: GABF visit a few years back
Hazy orange-amber pour into thick, foamy, beige head that slowly dissipates into melting lacing as carbonated bubbles rise from the bottom of the glass into a swirling pool of foam. Aroma of malty caramel with hints of oaky citrus. Initial flavor of spice, cherry syrup, malty caramel, and sticky sweet citrus that slowly fades into a bitter hoppy finish.
A copper color with white head. Aroma contains some dark fruit, alcohol brandy maybe, and citrus. Flavor punches you in the face with alcohol and then some chocolate malts, caramel, cherries, and dark fruit. Some vanilla in the aftertaste. Its like 90 degrees in here but would be good for a cold day.
Amber pour with small quickly dissipating off white head. Aroma is caramel and orange peel. Taste is very sweet caramel, vanilla, toffee and very light on the hop bitterness. Nice flavors prevalent but just didn’t mesh together. Dissapointing beer.
For christ’s sake. Can we say nightcap? Absolutely beautiful in the glass: deep amber-toward-ruby with a little khaki head. Nose is booze, whiskey, some super-sweet malts, and lots of perfumey hops. Taste is very sweet and damn bitter, too. Palate is alcohol heat, strong spiky bitterness, and just luxury. I didn’t think I would like this as much as I did, but what the hell. Nothing I’m reading says this was barrel aged, but it tasted barrel aged. Very nice barleywine. Had this on tap.
[draft] Sweet malt nose with hints of oak and vanilla. Dark amber color with perfect clarity and slight head which retains well. Heavy oak in the taste, with nice caramel notes and dank hop underneath. Palate is thin and almost a bit slimey. Overall, a really nice aged English style Barleywine - worth finding.
2009 vintage. Decent as far as Barleywines go, but not my favorite. I would have again, but maybe even age a little longer. Color was a nice deep orangish-red.
Pour is dark brownish red with thin off white head, aroma brings lots of smoke, caramel, bitter earth, some grass and pine notes, touch of toffee, dark fruit in there as well. Taste is a mix of caramel, toffee, and earth, with a nice balanced earthy, smoky overtone that finishes fairly smooth. The aroma brought on a big smoke tone, but the taste balanced it out well.
Bottle @ Bull and Bush Christmas tasting. Orangish brown appearance with a tan head. Dull caramel malty, somewhat fruity, lightly smoky aroma. Red fruity, caramel, toffee, moderately piney, lightly smoky flavor. Ok.
This one is from the Peoria, Illinois International Beer Festival. Due to lack of space when drinking, my notes won’t be that great on these beers. I wasn’t too impressed with this beer. Appearance is hard to really look at in a sample glass but, there wasn’t much lacing. Taste was just OK for something rated so well.
So the weather took a cold snap here in New England. Grabbed some barley wine to warm my soul. This 22oz bomber was poured into some nice little sampling glasses. Very coppery yellow orange color with little bubbly head. Some carbonation. You do get a rich grain malt aroma and some hoppiness. But as I tasted in I got this really great taste that filled my head with an aroma like sniffing a box of nice cigars. A bit of smoky peat in there. Dry mouth feel.
Pours hazy copper with minimal off-khaki head. Nose is caramel malt, fuselly and hot, with oaky spirity notes. Tastes a bit hot, malty, with notes of cognac, earthy spirits, hops, and fruit.
Hazy light brown color with very little head. Aroma is strong brown sugar and alcohol. Flavor let’s me down a little. Tasty sweetness with some mild bitterness but there is some weird characteristic and the depth of flavor falls short.
Old bottle pulled out by someone at a tasting - Pours golden amber with a small white head. Caramel on the nose, with acetone and light, bready malt. Not a lot of depth to the smell, and not much to really like. Taste is smooth, booze-soaked breadiness, raisin, and malt, with a still-hot finish. Nothing too interesting, and I’m not sure age did much for this one.
Bottle shared with frostyone. Amber and hazy. Nose is spicy and earthy hops and some malt complexity. Taste starts with light citrus hops and is blended with earthy, spicy hops. The peat smoked malt really comes through in the finish. Not too bitter. Good lace and creamy mouthfeel.
Bottle shared at a BA/RB tasting... Poured a hazy orange with a smallish head. This was an earthy and malty barleywine, not much hop action here. Dark malts that added sugars and alcohol flavors. A ginger-ish bitterness meshed with some citrus and even a squash-like vegetable flavor.
Pours a foggy golden yellow with thick off-white foam. Tastes sweet an d slightly bitter with hints of prune and lemon. Not the most complex oak aged beer and doesn’t really carry through the characteristics except for the smoothness.
Vintage 2003 Bottle with Andrew and Glenn. Pours a cloudy red/gold with yellow/tan foam. Smells woody with hints of burbon, caramel and honey. Feels very bubbly, thin and light. Tastes pretty bitter with raisony sweetness and hints of honey, and ginger..
subtle aroma of...beer. warm alcohol flavor with pineapple undertones. caramel and salt cookies.
Barleywine tasting at FW Ginger Man. Wax top bottle. Clear orange color. Very light. Chalky aroma with lemon notes and candy sugar. Flavor is woody, moss, light bitter and grain. Easy finish. Lightly bittered.
(2003 vintage at FW Gingerman barleywine tasting) clear rich golden, creamy head that coats the glass. Nose of caramel, cream, pencil shavings, mild citrus notes (oranges), and sweet malts reminiscent of cake. Taste of oranges, toasty caramel, very distinct brown sugar, mild salty notes, some mild oxidation but very pleasant. Creamy sweet finish. Aged very well.
750 mL from Peace Street Market in Raleigh (2007 bottle). Muddy brownish-orange pour with a thick off-white head. Peach, mango, and brown sugar aromas. Caramel, toffee, smoke,and orange flavors. The palate is not as thick as I expected but the flavor is indeed solid. A fantastic barley wine that has aged well. (This review replaced my original review of a 2005 bottle tasted in 2009. Even though that was from a sampling on a night that I tried many bottles I detected many of the same things).
Mahogany brown, thin short-lived white head. Moderate aroma of malt, caramel. Taste is strong, sweet malt, big pine hop flavor is well balanced against the malt. Spicy, lingering finish. Very creamy full body.
Has an orange color with hints of red on the initial pour. Full bodied beer with a small amount of head. Nice lacing on the glass so far. I can smell slight hints of tequila. Yes I know. Hops along with very subtle malt as well. I can taste malt and hops. Slight odd bitter flavor lingering but its all good. Nice beer and hides the alcohol very well.