Smuttynose Big Beer Series: Barleywine Style Ale
First brewed in England, these potent, malty monsters were frequently aged before being put into small bottles and sold as strong beers or even medicinal tonics. The American version has been blown up with more alcohol, larger bottles and more hops.
Smuttynose Barleywine straddles these two branches of the barleywine tree. When you taste it, you’ll notice deep, rich caramel malt flavors, balanced with hop bitterness. Fruity hop flavors act as a garnish for its amped-up but classic flavor. For a more refined experience, tuck a few bottles away for a year or two. The alcohol will mellow and the hop aromas will fade into the background, leaving the luscious malt to shine on its own.
Smuttynose Barleywine straddles these two branches of the barleywine tree. When you taste it, you’ll notice deep, rich caramel malt flavors, balanced with hop bitterness. Fruity hop flavors act as a garnish for its amped-up but classic flavor. For a more refined experience, tuck a few bottles away for a year or two. The alcohol will mellow and the hop aromas will fade into the background, leaving the luscious malt to shine on its own.
3.7
578 reviews
Hampton, United States
Community reviews
Bottle at the Return of Old Spice tasting, Dec 2015, Den Haag. Poured a clear medium amber with a thin white head. The aroma is toffee, caramel, orange citrus. The flavour is moderate sweet with a light but smooth rich, alcoholic palate. Medium bodied with average carbonation.
Bomber from...Potsdam?, shared at NYE. Clear copper with a decent light tan head. Rich sweet maltiness, light butterscotch, a bit resinous and peppery, lots of alcohol, citrus fruitiness. Medium+ body with creamy carbonation. Intensely malty with big peppery, resinous hops, brothy, caramel, sticky.
2009 vintage at Churchkey. Ruddy pour, small off white head. Aroma of cherries, grapes, caramel, chocolate, roast, fig, and prune. Taste follows, sweet and boozy. Great, viscous and full.
Well done and easy drinking for style. Pours cloudy brown with good head. Citrus and some tang in finish. Some booze. Well done, and my kind of barley wine. Tap at Churchkey.
Draft at Churchkey (2013 and 2009 vintages). First, it’s cool there are a bunch of vintage smutty beers on draft on a Monday night. Clear amber pour - 2013 has a bunch of head, 2009 has practically none. I must be getting burnt out on rating, because my impression of 2013 was "American barleywine; thick, syrupy beer concentrate; the usual" and my 2009 impression was "an old, stale, lifeless version or 2013." Anyway, sweet or oxidized depending on year; full body, slick texture. Overall: totally fine for what it is, but at this point in life it’s nothing I really want to have again.
Bottle at Martins place. Cloudy amber body with a low head. Dried fruit, citrus and malt together with light syrupy brown sugar. Strong alcohol in the finish.
Pretty clean for a barleywine! A bit hoppy but still drinkable. I’m a fan! Give it a shot!
Bottle. Dark amber body with a beige head. Aroma of dark fruits, bubble gum, alcohol and earthy hops. Taste is sweet, thick caramel, coffee, sweet fruity finish. Robust alcoholic and fruity aftertaste.
Surprised at how thick a head and the amount of lacing this had for a barleywine. A little boozy on the finish, but it is a barleywine. Solid beer by style and price.
650ml bottle, 06/06/15, thanks bluus. Pours auburn with a nice brownish head. Aroma is semi-sweet, a wallop of caramel and resin. Dried fruit, some date. Taste follows along the same lines, some liquorice. Full Really nice.
2011 vintage purchased at the brewery today for a reasonable $12.50. Spilt 2/ways with Willrunforbeer. Mostly clear amber in color with fast dying head. Aroma is exactly as it should be, dark fruits, toasted grain, barley, earth malts. What surprised me the most about the flavor is it does not show any oxidation. The finish is sweet without any cloying affect. The alcohol is almost completely hidden with just the lightest warming after the swallow. This is well worth the money I spent on a brewery aged beer.
22oz bomber from 2011 that AirForceHops just picked up from the source. Thanks, Chris! Pours medium amber with a beige head. Aroma is molasses, brown sugar, dates, raisin, mild floral finish. Flavor is caramel, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, oak. This is nice and smooth and doesn’t show any oxidation off flavors.
Bottle at home. Clear amber beer with a beige head. Malty caramell aroma. Fruity, caramell toffee flavour.
4 oz pour from tap into sniffer at 54 degrees. 2013 version. Huge head and a beautiful ruby color. Nose is complex. Fruit, yeast, and a little pine. Musty (like rotting wood but not in a bad way). Full bodied and creamy. Taste has a lot going on. Fruit, grass, woody, a little citrus hidden in there. The alcohol is hidden amazingly well. No trace unless I really look for it. A little sweet.
Bottle from Wegman’s Williamsport. Bottled in 2009. Another dusty oldie from the back of my fridge. Pours brown with a thin khaki head. I’m surprised it has any carbonation at this point so I guess that bottle-conditioning thing is working. Does smell a bit boozy on the nose. diesel fuel on the tongue although there’s a hint of fig if you look for it. fairly malty on the finish which isn’t a surprise. barleywine ’s not exactly my favorite style, and even with some age this is still some potent stuff.
650ml bottle. Brown pour, Very sweet all around, a bit thinner for a barleywine, definitely boozy, not a top barleywine for me.
Bottled from Systembolaget. Semi-gusher
Hazy amber with almost no head.
Sweetish aroma and flavour with toffee.
Vinous, a bit too alcoholic.
Medium bitterness.
Bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar. Pours amber with a ruby red hue...one finger, dense, white head with nice lacing, vigorous bubbles. Aroma of caramel, pine resin, grass, lemon rind, toasty malt, slight earth, nuts, alcohol. Has a sweet and fruity malt profile with an aggressive high-alpha hop assault, leaving a bitter aftertaste. Typical of many Am. barley wines, but has a certain softness and drinkability for such a high abv. Overall quite good...full body, sticky texture, lively carb., and bitter finish.
Bomber. Poured cloudy, copper in color with a off white head and nice lacing all over the glass. Aroma of fruits and malts combined with some hoppy notes. Taste is certainly boozy, lots of malts and hoppy notes, quite bitter. Very enjoyable beer but certainly a sipper.
Bottle shared by daje
Deep copper, thin beige head. Smell of fruity malts, dried fruits and citrus hops. Heavy sweet, malty dark flavors, dried fruits, toast and caramel next, then some zests. Ends with a medium bitter finish. Very nice!
Bottle from Systembolaget. Clear amber beer with a rich and lasting beige/yellowish head. Malty caramel aroma, raisins, biscuits, toffee notes. Fruity toffee flavor, raisins, brown sugar, caramel, warming alcohol. Quite ok.
Bondurants, nyc tap: 2009 version from a keg from the brewery: pours amber with an off-white head. Aroma is earthy, plenty of dirt, caramel, booze, chocolate, and sugar. Taste is really complex and eally earthy. It isn’t as sweet as it is just brutally malty. Every sip sends shivers down the spibe, and the alcohol burns just a litt or maybe a lot. It is interesting but not quite palate-killing.
Bottle. Hazy amber red amber beer with a large white head. Aroma is malty with notes of caramel, spices, dried fruit, raisins and herbs. Flavor is malty with notes of caramel, herbs, nuts, dried fruit and apricots. Wonderful.
[6333-20140522] 1pt6floz bottle. Caramel grains aroma. Murky, brown body with a quick foamy white head and thick floaties. Thick fruity caramel pineapple flavour. Full body is sneakily boozy. Good, a surprising and muted good find. (7/3/8/3/15) 3.6
(c/o HogTownHarry, w/ him, blankboy, GregClow, jercraigs)
Bottle (bomber) from Systembolaget. Shady orange, medium tan head. Bready, bisquity, and slightly caramelly malt aroma, piney and citric hops. Medium to full bodied, mmedium carbonation. Semi dry, medium bitterness.
Majority of 22 oz. bottle, consumed on 9-11-14. “Bottle-conditioned in: 2013,” so this beer is about a year old. Juicy, fruity aroma is pleasant and simple and features scents of red grape, lemon, and caramel. Pours a clear copper with a moderate amount of golden taupe head. Hazy, cloudy, and containing suspended particulate only in the final of multiple pours. Produces long-lasting lacing. Dry, spicy taste features flavors of orange, caramel, dry Curacao liqueur, cream, lemon, lime, and cinnamon. Briny and boozy. Bitter finish and aftertaste. Medium body (lighter than I expected and light for the style). Lively in the palate. Overall, Smuttynose Barleywine Style Ale is forgettable and not particularly likable. Like all too many other barley wines, it’s just “too much” to be enjoyable.
A nice barley wine. Lots of sweet dried fruit and bubblegum and honey. Same flavors with a strong hop finish that lasts. Good stuff.
Smak och doft av humle, malt, citrus, grapefrukt, trä, äpple, körsbär, russin och plommon med tydig pepprig beska med smak av tall och humle. Fruktig, smakrik, lagom sötma, lite obalanserad och alkoholen slår igenom aningen för mycket.
Wasn’t totally impressed with last year’s version when I first had it, but after letting a bottle sit for 8 months or so, this one is growing on me. A really rich caramel malt nose on an orangey-brown body. Full-bodied malt with rich caramel and plummy dark fruit round out the thick caramel malt taste profile. A touch of citrus and complementary hops make this a winner, with a little aging.
A barley wine with some flaws. The aroma is the best with the beer. Nice malty aroma with a little citrus from american hops. The taste is light caramel with some citrus. Some harsch alcohol in the finish.