Pelican Stormwatchers Winterfest (2005+)
British Style Barley Wine with a deep amber-red color, massive toasted malt, toffee and caramel aroma, and full-bodied malty flavor, leading to a smooth, soft and warming finish.
3.8
214 reviews
Pacific City, United States
Community reviews
Bottle. Cola color with solid gwad. Aroma of caramels dipped in cream. Taste is creamy smooth with faint grass. 2013 vintage
Bomber, 2013 vintage. Rich dark fruit aroma with notes of caramel and toffee. Pours Amber-red with a thin tan head that dissipates almost immediately and no lacing. Starts with sweet caramel and toffee malt flavors. Finishes impeccably smooth with a lot of dark fruit flavors and a little bit of warming booze. Fantastic sweet barleywine.
Rated on 4-27-2013 (Bottled 121712) This beer has a small and very fizzy head that quickly dissipated, reddish brown body and fast rising carbonation. The flavor is toasted malt, sweet and alcohol. The flavor is alcohol, sweet, malt, and fruity. The mouthfeel is warming and has a burning effect on the back of my throat. This is a sipping beer that is worth trying, but I did not enjoy the throat burn.
Barley wine bottle share on 1/31. Reddish brown color with a little head. Aroma of malt, caramel and rye, sweetness and alcohol. Flavor of sweet malt, alcohol and caramel. Ends up bitter and with a nice warming finish from the alcohol.
Bottle (22oz $12 2013): Pours dark brown with 1 finger brown head. Smell booze and sweetness. Taste the same. This is a very nice sipper, good for after dinner, not as good mid afternoon, my mistake. I can’t overstate how sweet this is, almost candy like. Sticky. Nice warming in the end though.
Update 9/3/15: Was 3.5 now 3.6
Dark brown to black with reddish hues. no head. Nose is sweet toffee with licorice and brown sugar. Taste is sweet, very malty, a bit medicinal actually a lot of cough syrup. finish is very woody.
Bottle, 2012 vintage enjoyed Memorial Day weekend 2014. Dark chocolate colored pour with few bubbles and no real head. Nose is aromatic with dark fruits, toffee, caramel, and faded florals. It reeks of classic PNW barleywine. Translates the same to the taste, with the addition of chocolate. Good overall,
Bomber shared pours a dark red to brown semi transparent with light tan head. The aroma is deep malt and dark fruits and Booze. Really nice aroma. The flavor is deep and rich plenty of deep malts and some sweetness and alcohol. Lots is dark fruits in the flavor and oh did I say there is a nice alcohol warmth.
Bomber, 2012 vintage. Pours a hazy brown color with a thin frothy brown head. Good head retention. Aroma of strong burnt sugar, toffee, roast, mild raisin, bitter hops. The taste is burnt sugars, toffee, raisin, green, herbal hops,anise, booze. Medium-full bodied, hot, low carbonation.
22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 12/17/2012. Pours hazy nearly opaque dark reddish brown color with a 1 finger fairly dense tan head with decent retention, that reduces to a ring of lace that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of huge raisin, prune, fig, pear, apple, caramel, molasses, toffee, toast, brown bread, light chocolate, tobacco, leather, herbal, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Incredible aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready malt and fruity yeast ester notes; with great strength. Taste of big raisin, prune, fig, pear, apple, caramel, molasses, toffee, toast, brown bread, light chocolate, tobacco, leather, herbal, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Lingering notes of raisin, prune, fig, pear, apple, caramel, molasses, toast, toffee, brown bread, light chocolate, tobacco, leather, herbal, light pepper, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity of dark/bready malt and fruity/earthy yeast ester flavors; with an awesome malt/yeast balance and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and very full bodied; with a very creamy, slick, and lightly syrupy mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is well hidden with only a small warming present after the finish. Overall this is an insane English Barleywine. All around incredible complexity and balance of dark/bready malt and fruity yeast ester flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the big ABV. An extremely amazing offering.
Draught. Pours a surprising near-black color with almost no head on it at all. The aroma on this is fairly light, but there is a noticeable boozy caramel smell to it. Taste is a little sweet with some light toastiness to it, as well as caramel. Pretty smooth as well.
Bottle from 16 Tons Taphouse. 2011 vintage. Pours a translucent medium brown. Nose very boozy, caramel, vanilla. Super boozy, finish brown sugar, very rich.
2013 bottle pours brown with a red tint, cream hued head. lots of toffee, caramel, toast. thick coating body. high test abv to boot. we had a moment.
Thick, rich, delicious and complex. Loaded with sappy caramel, apples, raisins and more. Soft, gentle and fluffy carbonation. Fruity alcohol note. Warming. Finish is lightly toasted with hints of burnt molasses. A mild bitterness struggles to keep up with the sweetness. Really tasty, but its sweetness is a tad too much.
On tap @ the Red Hot. Dark brown with a reddish tint. Scent of chocolate. Taste its super sweet and really boozy. Some chocolate, some caramel and a little bourbon. Gives a good burn. Me likey.
Draft - Sweet plum, toffee and dark berries. Jet black no head. Candy sweetness, almost like the powdered grape and a bubblegum finish. A bit too sweet for my taste.
on tap, pours a dark muddy brown red, not much head, no lacing. Nose is heavy with dark ripe fruit, sugars, malt. taste is very sweet, lots of alcohol, but not too unbalanced. finishes long and wet and not unpleasant.
2009 Vintage
Tasted on 1/7/13 from a capped 650mL bomber bottle sent to me as an extra in a trade long ago. Pours opaque cola brown with very thin lace that quickly disappears, leaving nothing. The nose is all about the caramel malt with toffee, malty toast, and some esthery fruit. The flavor is a bit more with the fruitiness, and all of the caramel, toffee, and maple with some nice roasted bitterness on the back of the palate. The body is huge with light carbonation and a long malty sweet, lightly fruity, and nicely roasted bitter finish.
2012 bomber. Cloudy, deep brown with a reddish hue and no cap. Aroma of licorice, raisin, plum, wood, salt. Taste is very sweet, with an offset saltiness. A touch of alcohol burn, but not unpleasant. Quite sticky mouthfeel.
On draught at Pelican Brewing Company, vertical flight of 2011 to 2013. Dark clear brown color. Aroma is dark cherry, chocolate, oak, bourbon, and prune. Taste is cherry cordial, coconut, chocolate, bourbon. Finishes with a sweet, viscous cherry aftertaste. 2012 is the most smooth and tasty.
On draught at pelican - pours dark amber with medium thick tan head. Nose of cane sugar, molasses, and cotton candy. Taste is syrupy sweet, molasses, caramel. Slight bitter finish.
dark leather brown with a fast fading light brown head. Big and sticky ABV legs on the sides of the glass.
Massive nose. Burnt brown sugar, burnt treacle, burnt chocolate, and burnt malts. In a good way though.
Taste is also massive. Same qualities as the nose, just more amped up. Big feel, low carbonation. Like being mugged and enjoying it.
Brown pour with a tan head. The aroma has some strong chocolate and roasted malt notes. The flavor is full of chocolate and roasted malt but I also get some strong bourbon, oak, vanilla and maple notes. I don’t think this is barrel aged but I get a lot of notes that remind me of barrel-aged barleywines. Not sure why, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Thick mouthfeel and medium carbonation.
Absolutely tremendous berry profile...blackberry, blueberry, marionberry , boysenberry, and lingonberry.
There’s also some rhubarb, and a reasonably hefty helping of very floral hops to dry out the finish.
The body is slightly syrupy, but not overly so.
I like this even more than Mother of all Storms.
(22oz bottle, 2010 vintage) Pours a burgundy body wtih a spare beige ring for a head. Aroma of caramel, toffee, raisins, bread, and prunes. Flavor of toffee, chocolate, raisins, roasted malt, bread, and dark fruits. Excellent with 3 years of cellaring.
(22oz bomber thanks to bu11zeye) clear deep ruby/amber, ring of fine offwhite bubbles. Nose of rich raisin, almost smells barrel aged, wheat, rich and decadent. Thick body, sweet finish.
2009 Vintage
12/01/2010: Pelican Stormwatcher’s Winterfest 2009... Aroma: Citrusy syrup; caramel; alcohol. Appearance: Deep amber-red (ruby) color; looks thick; thin, bubbly dark beige crown that quickly disappears; mild carbonation. Flavor: Massive amount of sweet and sticky caramel malts; candy; nice warming alcohol venting through the nose; subtle bitterness in the finish. Palate: Medium-full body; thick, viscous texture; mellow and slightly creamy mouthfeel. Overall: Big and tasty; the label description is dead on the money!
1 Pint 6 Fuild Ounces bottle from the Pelican Pub and Brewery in Pacific City, Washingon. Rating #168 for this beer.
Bottle at Pelican. Pours dark brown, thin ring of khaki head. Some slightly toasty bitterness in taste. Aroma of fig, dark fruit, some caramel, some toffee. Floral hop bitter finish, big malty middle. Full body, slick, light carb. Not special for the style, though. Still inherently tasty.
Bottle pours dark brownish-red with one finger frothy brown head. Malty aroma with a little musty old ale scent. taste caramel, toffee, dark and stone fruits. Thick palate with alcohol burn. Finish of sweet caramel and alcohol burn. Massive in-your-face beer I liked quite a bit. Alcohol very apparent.
Shared by JCB, ’08. Clean sharp ruby brown pour with one finger of sandy yellow head. Burnt sugar in the nose with notes of caramel, earthy malt, dried dark fruit, and a bready component. Bitter/biting in the mouth with an astringent finish. Notes of treacle and an herbal/earthy hop note. Full body and warming. Past its prime.