Mill Street Barley Wine

2004 was 10%

2005 was 11%

2011 was 11.5%

3.5

202 reviews

, Canada

Community reviews

3.6 2009 Pours a dirty brown/gold with an almost still carbonation. Aroma is sweet toffee a small booze and barley. Taste is syrupy, sweet toffee, honey, grains, still a little boozy but has mellowed and is not harsh at all. Well balanced and it’s almost cough medicine sweetness.

3.7 2009 Vintage drunk on October 2, 2013. Everyone else at the table was a much bigger fan of this than I was. It’s classic barleywine—big and rich with lots of deep malt flavours and some spice. Super full body.

2.1 Brilliant amber,small beige head.Salty ,musty, cheap boozy nose. Sweet anise start,grainy mid.Big unpleasant bitter alcoholic finish A poor effort

2.5 tepid amber, no head. Green all over, brown sugar and oxidation. Thin and sticky, brown sugar and hazelnut all I’m getting.

3.6 0.5l ceramic bottle shared with The Tasting Crew. It’s almost cloudy in the glass, but will call it blurry. The color is dark plum red and it has a small islandy and sidesticking off-white head. Really nice aroma with a raisin sweetness, lots of red sweet fruits, feels deep almost salty in a way with a strong almost fudge like caramel sweetness. It smells really good this. Soft really prickling carbonation level with a soft sticky mouthfeel. Really nutty bitter flavors. Old buttery caramel, some alcohol, roses and some oxidization. Almost peppery spices also, but it could be the alcohol. Decent flavors, but a lovely aroma. 31.03.2013

3.7 Hazy amber pour. I like the balance on this one. Not too sweet, not too hoppy, but still big and full flavoured. I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised. Pretty good.

3.5 2008 ceramic bottle thanks to CaptainCougar. Poured a slightly hazy brown color without much of a head. Aroma is sweet malt notes. Flavor is some toffee, caramel, touch of booze. Not bad.

3.4 2008 ceramic bottle thanks to CaptainCougar. Pours clear tea reddish amber. Weaker head. Nose is heavy maple, tawny, mild red apple, childrens cherry juice box. Taste is a bit minty, some maple candies. Palate is denser, some candies, big maple persists.

3.8 Bottle shared by CaptainCougar. Pours hazy brown with a small, fizzy white head, short retention with no lacing. Aroma is brown sugar, dates and figs with spicy hops. Flavor is port, very smooth with dried fruits and a sweet finish. Full body and medium carbonation.

3.2 2008 version courtesy of CaptainCougar, thanks! Murky amber color, almost flat. Aroma of sweet lightly toasted caramel. Taste is sweet caramel and butterscotch.

3.5 Une bouteille de 50 cl en céramique. Vintage 2012 à 11.5%. Batch 12-219-22. Version fût de whiskey. Bière à la robe cuivrée foncée avec une mousse blanche beige. Au nez des arômes puissants d’agrumes, de houblons et de caramel. En bouche du sucre brun supporté par des houblons américains puissants. Le whiskey joue un rôle de soutien à merveille. Finale agréable sucrée, maltée.

3.6 Poured from a 500mL bottle. Cloudy dark brown in colour with virtually no head. Aroma of pepper, caramel, fig, plum, and molasses. Tastes quite boozy with stone fruit sweetness.

3.5 Deep burgundy pour, little to no head formation. Aroma is heavy caramel malts with a distinct spicy hop aroma. Taste is liquified caramel with decent bitterness and a sweet finish. Full to medium-full body.

3.8 Bottle, shared with Bergen Beer Geek Tasting Crew. Pours a clear deep bronze body with a tiny white head. Nose is creamy caramel and toffee notes, pepper and port wine tones with hints of soy sauce. Very nice. Taste is sweet caramel and grainy malt tones with hints of peppery hops. Quite nice, although not as much as the aroma. Full body, medium to soft carbonation. Right decent barley wine.

3.8 Une bouteille de 50 cl en céramique. Vintage 2012 à 11.5%. Batch 12-219-22. Version fût de whiskey. Une robe ambrée qui se laisse couvrir par une mince couche mousseuse. Un nez qui offre à son caractère malté des effluves de pêches et de mandarines. Une structure qui se dévoile en toute simplicité mais qui est vraiment efficace. Des saveurs qui ne sont pas embourbées dans les sucres. Ceci dit, une bonne dose de céréales maltées qui apportent une belle douceur. Une présence feutrée du fût : le whiskey, qui ne prend jamais les devants, enrobe et accompagne les saveurs. Des flaveurs de coco qui viennent ici et là. Des fruits qui prennent beaucoup de place. Une présence intelligente de l’alcool : un harmonieux mélange. En bouche, un corps de moyenne densité. Un mouvement modéré des bulles. Une texture qui n’est en aucun cas altéré par le séjour en fût. Une finale toute en finesse, bien parfumée par les malts et amère par un alcool fruité et houblonné. Un vin d’orge qui ne semble pas être évalué à sa juste valeur.

3.2 A decent Canadian Barley Wine. Smells of Apricot, Vanilla and Cinnamon. Great tastes and great after bite I really enjoyed this one. Thanks Mill Street for another great product!

2.4 500mL bottled from LCBO, 2011 edition, aged 1 year. Pours hazy brown with no head. Aroma: cooked apples and caramel. Taste: sour, sweet caramel, vegetables. I think something went wrong here in the year I stored it... not very enjoyable. I didn’t even finish the 1/3 bottle in my glass.

3.8 500 ml crock. Pours a clear reddish amber with medium head. Warm aromas of caramel, vanilla, and malts. Flavors of caramel, butterscotch, pine, and alcohol

3.8 Crazy wax-dipped 500ml jar. Very unusual. Pours a mostly clear ruby color with a medium white head. A sweet candy nose with dusty caramel. A very sweet and dusty flavor: some caramel, candied fruit, cherries, dry finish. Light warmth. Pretty nice, one-sided affair though.

3.3 New bottle. Pours clear brown with a quickly-fading head. The aroma is sweet and boozy, with raisin, molasses, roasted fruit and toast. The taste is really sweet up front, which is typical for barleywines I suppose- not my favourite style. There is some complexity there, more of the fruit and raisins, lots of malt, a tinge of hops. Medium-heavy body, medium-low carbonation.

3.4 500ml ceramic bottle from 2009. Clear mahogany with a light biege head that fades to pretty much nothing. Quite sweet with lots of raisin, some plum, fig, caramel and molasses, malt is present but in the background for sure. Mild carbonation, prickly, quite sweet, moderate body, decent finish. I definitely like this better then fresh but not sure if maybe I should have opened it up a little sooner - guess I will have to try a different vintage and find out.

3.8 500 ml ceramic bottle from the LCBO. Aged in bourbon barrels this year. Wood and alcohol. Quite boozy, maltiness comes through in the end. Earlier Rating: 12/20/2008 Total Score: 3.9 500ml bottle from LCBO. Light copper colour, small lacy head. Nice aroma, though not able to pi point. Sweet fruity, strong alcohol flavour. Lingering aftertaste. Similar to Belgian Quadruppel Ale.

3.2 Bottle. Pours amber copper with small light tan head with poor retention. Aromas of biscuit malt, caramel and dried apricots. Full-med body, complex tasty sweet malt balanced with a generous hop character, med carbonation with a light finish tainted with sodium. Otherwise nice effort.

2.5 500ml bottle, 2011. Nice ceramic recyclable bottle. Pours a dark copper, even brownish liquid with reddish tones. Small white head, fast fading and poor lacing. Aroma is sweet with lots of caramel, vanilla, nutmeg, raisins, plums, and very little booze. Taste is of lots of roasted malts, licorice, caramel and a good dose of alcohol (not surprisingly considering it has a respectful 11.5% abv), not as oily as I would expect. Decent.

2.7 bottle 11.5%, 2011. Poured hazy amber-orange, with a thin off-white head. Aroma is sweet malty with a wine quality. Mouthfeel is thick, and alcoholy, dry, full bodied. Flavour of roasted malts, sweet strawberry note with lots of alcohol. Packs a puch.

3.5 500ml bottle listed at 10%ABV pours a golden orange color with a small white head that leaves no lacing. Aroma is toasted barley with some light fruits and faint hops. Taste is caramel malty sweetness with some toasted malt bitterness and light fruits and moderate hop bitterness in the finish. One of the better barley wines brewed in Canada.

3.4 Bottle. 2008 vintage. Pours dark murky orange with only a thin rim around the glass and a small island in the center. Lacing seems to be moderate. Aromas of raisin, figs, cinnamon, yeast, alcohol, dates, molasses and caramel. Taste is quite subdued. Very subtle notes of caramel. Lots of sticky sweet ginger and brown sugar. Some sugar cookie. Long thick bitter/sugary aftertaste. Body is moderate but too sweet. A-8 App-3 T-6 P-3 O- 13 Bottle 2010 vintage. Pours much darker than the ’08. Almost an amber color. Not much head. Aromas are similar but much more pronounced. Figs,raisin and dark fruits right off the top. Some sweet caramel and brown sugar. Molasses and some bitterness. First sip is plenty of hops and dark fruits. Lots of candied malts and brown sugar notes. Slightly boozy. I get some cookie again. Much more carbonation obviously than the ’08 at this point. Palate is well carbonated and fairly dry. A-8 App-3 T-7 P4 O-14 Overall I think the ’08 has peaked and needs to be consumed now. I had one bottle of the 2010 when it was released, it has held up well over 2 years.

3.7 Bouteille 500 ml. Cuvée 2011, 11.5%. Couleur ambrée, mousse fugace beige. Arôme de caramel, vin fortifié, malt. En bouche, malt, herbes, caramel, porto, fruits, alcool. Finale avec alcool et amertume...un peu de sucre. Très bonne beer, un peu ordinaire pour le style mais bon..

3.7 2008 bottle at TimE’s. Big fruity nose, still has hops, caramel, vanilla. Light brown-orange with no head. Flavors of vanilla, prickly hop, nice fruit: peach, melon. Very wwell aged. Smooth and very nice.

3.4 sweet, lots of burnt raisins, brown sugar and apricots. Hops are still kicking butt three years later. Decent bitter finish.