Sweetwater Donkey Punch!
The biggest farm animal to come out of the SweetWater Barn! We bucked up and threw everything, including the kitchen sink, into this "Jackass" concoction. At 10% ABV and over 90 IBU - You’ll know it when it hits you in the back of the head!
3.7
197 reviews
Atlanta, United States
Community reviews
Sampled at DLD10. Clear yellow beuge head. Hops malt citrus. Light sweet alcohol sweet booze hops bitter. 7/3/7/3/15 ok
Draft @ Taco Mac in Ellard Village. 2009 vintage. Finally got to taste this rarity. Poured a burnt sienna with some orange notes, good head, retained well and left tons of lace on the glass. This head was sticky. Opaque pour. Aroma was super hoppy, lots of pine and bits of caramel malt. Huge bitterness from beginning to end on this one. Along with the bitterness, big hoppy flavors finish this one out. Only a bit of booze detected, well hidden behind the array of hops and malt. Viscous mouthfeel with good carbonation. Came across more as a huge double IPA than a Barley Wine. Either way, I loved it.
Bottle sample. Pours light brown with an orange tint and medium beige head. Aroma is strong mollasses and funky fruits. Flavor is tons of mollasses up front with some slight hoppiness in the back. Medium bodied...sticky. I dont like mollasses....but this is good.
4oz sample. Pours a nice burnt orange with a minimal white head. Aroma is earthy hoppy and molasses. Taste is sweet maltyness. Hoppy at the backend with molassses. Medium mouthfeel with a bit of clamyness. Overall a pretty solid beer
Pours a cloudy amber color with a thin white head. Aroma of fruity hops, caramel and candied fruits. Flavor of fruity hops, caramel, candied fruits and bitterness. The body is light to medium with a liquorous texture and soft carbonation.
Sampled at DLD2010. Pretty random getting to try this. Aroma of caramel, toffee, and strong alcohol. A bit of plums and hops. Flavor is mostly fruit and caramel. Some toffee. Sherry notes. Lots of badassness here. I kind of dug this for a georgian barley wine.
22 oz bottle from GAManiac. Pours crystal clear amber with a big thick beige head that leaves lots of lacing. Big aroma of caramel, figs and a bit of alcohol. There is a definite hop bitterness in the flavor that I really didn’t get in the aroma, then the sweet caramel and dark fruit flavors balance out the bitterness. Medium body with average carbonation and a syrupy mouth feel. Overall this is a nice Barley Wine, probably good both fresh and aged.
Another fantastic surprise from SpringsLicker.
Intensely rustic, russet-colored pour with a rocky, tan head that slowly dissipates. This is a big one. Huge malt nose of candied pineapple and caramel, with the hops hiding in the background, ready to pounce into action. Flavor is a malt-wave of sweet fruit, reminding me slightly of ’bananas foster’ in its richness, while a brigade of hops back things up to balance everything out. Letting it warm up caused the mouthfeel to become a bit ’slick’ and alcoholic, and was surprisingly more enjoyable at a ’cooler’ stage. Highly drinkable despite the 10%. I feel like this is an unique marriage between an English and American style barelywine.
This enormous bottle was devoured by 6 brew-lovers. My father, brother in law, friends, and I send a big thanks to Jay for sending this wonderful treat for us to enjoy! We certainly got a ’kick’ out of it!
thanksthe cheese man this is nice. pours a hazy shit fuzz with a gooff ball peice of shit. hi . im a beer with a sweet malt tone and a mango hop note. im nice and i get you drunk bt if you drink to much of me at the end of the night you are going to get your penis sucked by one of the dudes that is chillin at your place. so better watch your back .
A: Pours a nice shade of amberish orange with a thin white head. Not much retention and no lace.
S: Caramel malt, citrus, and hints of pine sweetness.
T: The caramel malt can be picked up along with a bit of roast. It is rather hoppy with the hops tending to be more resionous pine than citrus. Both flavors can be picked up though.
M: On the fuller side of medium, bold, sweet yet hoppy.
D: Just good, not great.
I poured the 22 bottle into my DFH snifter to enjoy for a while. It produced a finger worth of white head that trailed of to a thin lace. The body of the brew was a cloudy burnt orange in color
The first thing I got from the aroma was a slight oxidation, I due expect to find that on a barleywine with some age. I got some citrus aromas’ in there as well as some caramel malts. The flavor was sweet malts followed by a nice little orange maybe even tangerine flavor. It finished with a nice light bitter from the hops. I am guessing probably it was even hoppier a few months ago. It had a light to medium feel in my mouth with light carbonation so what I expect for the style
It is an easy drinking brew. I am having no problems working through the bomber. I liked it but it wasn’t one of my tops in the style but by no means one of the worse
Serving type: bottle
One liter bottle thanks to someone from awhile back- thanks man! Pours a deep bronze color with a large foamy white head. A great sweet BW flavor; rich caramel, loads of hops, sweet and fruity. The flavor is similar; a rich robust flavor of caramel, fruity hops, sweet candies and fruit. Very nice and well-balanced. Tasty, I could have drank the liter myself- thankfully I did not.
Sampled at the SLC tasting 1/23/10. Thanks to Doug for bringing this bad boy to the show!
Appearance: Poured a hazy amber with a nice amount of off white head
Aroma: Dark fruits, sweet malts, citrus
Taste: Sweet malts, dark fruits, citrus, pine
A very nice Barley Wine! Well balanced with lots of hops to balance the malt.
1 liter- batch 1. Pours a medium to light amber with a thinning white head. Aroma is light boozy, alcohol is apparent upfront, still ok though- tons of big sweet caramel and sugary malts, lots of citrusy hops, fruity as well- amarillo-like. Flavor is citrusy with lots of big sweet malts, sugary almost, with an earthy leather thing going on in the end- good bitter hops to counter the sweet malts,
DANK TANK Bomber Bottle. Holy sweet Moses this beer is hoppy, I was hit by it the second I cracked the cap. Pours brilliant ruby with some haze and a huge beige head that retains until the end. Aroma- pine, grapefruit, floral hops, toffee, brown sugar, DANK White Rhino, Northern Lights, Skunk#1, generally resinous. Taste is certainly bitter but not overly done, partly becasue of the balance of toffee, fruit and brown sugar. Thick body, great smooth carbonation. All flavors are present and the taste buds are having a great time. Somewhat of a peppery finish. Incredible beer, they can call it a Barleywine or whatever the hell they want to but I’m saying it’s just awesome. Best I have had from Sweetwater, 142.0 IBU’s, that’s awesome. I just wish I could buy this on a daily basis but unfortunately it doesn’t make it to Tennessee yet.
Bottle: Rusty amber, fairly cloudy and hazy, moderate off-white frothy head, decent lacing. On the nose this already seems aged, malts that are a little dusty, slight earthiness, dull hop aspects. Rather citrusy up
front, not very malty, mild sweetness, some basement. After having a bad bottle I am happy to say that this, while only about 1.5 years old, seems as if has aged longer but still has some legs. A rather light and simple
Barley Wine, clean, but not very big. Body and mouthfeel are moderate... perhaps could stand to be a bit thicker. Lingering citrus peel, not overly sharp... but thats about it. A bit more hop and much more malt would
make this an outstanding brew, but as is its fairly good. Thanks Tom for the opportunity to try this!
bottled. Hazy amber yellowish ale w/ decent off white head. Nose of sweet hoppy booze. Sweet malts, tons of hops, and heat till the end. Its good thou. Should be available in 4/6 packs.
In short: A mega-hoppy fruity barley wine that feels like a buttery Triple IPA. Good.
How: Bottle 22oz. Consumed fresh soon after purchase. Tasting session with Montreal crew
The look: Slightly cloudy dark orange body topped by a ring of foam
In long: Nose is mega-hoppy, lots of fruity hops esters, mostly citrus fruits. Taste has lots of caramel, round and chewy. Lots of fruity hops with flavour of citrus fruits and marmalade. Non aggressive fruity bitter finish. Well balanced. Comes through as a Triple IPA more than a barley wine. Simple but effective flavour spectrum. It could have been very good but it looses points because I was getting a light but annoying buttery flavour. All in all it was just good with the potential to be very good. It’s a Donkey Punch and it doesn’t kick ass. Logical.
Bottle 75cl. w. swing top @ LCRBM09 - Low Countries RateBeer Meeting V, Kulminator, Antwerpen, Belgium.
Clear dark orange amber color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, caramel, moderate fruit hoppy. Flavor is light heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft, finish feel is moderate alcoholic. [20090905]
Got to try a bomber of this recently. Colour... medium gold with no head. Nose... sweet with plenty of tropical fruits and toffee. Palate... light CO2, dried stone fruits, Medjool dates, a coating quality and a long finish.
Bottle courtesy of bhalter8. Pours a clear amber with thin white head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of floral hops, caramel, light citrus. Flavor is sweet and floral with notes of honey, citrus, grapefruit, caramel. Medium body with a floral hop finish. More like a DIPA than a barleywine.
A Mes rate. Bottle at LCRBM #5.
Hazy amber coloured with a thin off white head. Rather sweet all round with lots of caramel. Deep chewy malt with a bit of balance from some nice fruity hoppage. Bitter citric finish with a drying feel and an alcoholic aftertaste. Decent beer.
I have had both versions of this (beer). The original Donkey Punch! and now the DP. The first time this beer was offered in came in a 1 Liter swing-top, now it is a Dank Tank Series, (Red Label). Bours a light amber color, nice tan head. A bit of alcohol in the nose, nice malt. A nice offering of caramelized fruit sugars. Flavor has a lot of caramel in there, nice malt. Finishes with a well balanced hop bitterness. Bold grapefruit. Nice. ABV is well hidden, I ma have this a bit too cold. Very well done.
Opaque apricot colored pour with a boozy aroma, this poured with a very small head.
The flavor has some sticky sweetness with hops in the background.
Thanks kiefdog for the share. Pours gold amber with a white head. Nose is malt, hops, raisins, more hops, sugar, fruitiness, and more hops. Flavor is very similar with lots of hopiness and some maltiness. Overall a decent barleywine, but not something I would seek out; seemed a bit unbalanced and uberhoppy, but not in a Stone way.
22 ounce bottle is labeled Dank Tank DP Barleywine. Pours a hazed orange body with a creamy eggshell head. Aroma has a huge tropical fruit component, with tangerines, mango, and pineapple. Earthy, grassy, and pine hop notes join in. Medium full body has a low medium carbonation. Taste mirrors the aroma, with waves of tropical fruit notes. Pineapple, tangerine, and orange marmalade impart a sinful exuberance. Earthy and pine hops add ample bitterness. Waves of caramel weave in and out from start to finish. Well balanced, overall. If i were tasting this one blind I might think it was a big DIPA.
Pours a very dark amber/chestnut brown with some dark ruby edges when held to a light source and a frothy, soapy off white head with excellent retention that only slowly fades to a lasting ring that leaves soapy rings of chunky lacing.
Earthy floral hop aroma with a big citrus presence as well as some sweet alcohol and leathery earthy malt. This smells surprisingly very hoppy for the style but still has the musty malt aroma of an American barleywine.
Very hop forward with a lot of bitter earthy and floral notes up front. Earthy, leathery malt body with some caramel and nut notes. Strong alcohol warmth in the finish Nice citrus peel presence from the hops, mostly orange peel and grapefruit. There is also a nice dry piny note from the insane amount of hops used. This is probably the hoppiest barleywine I’ve had yet and the excellent sweet and dry bitter hops balance out the strong ABV and musty, leathery malt notes. As mentioned above there is some nice alcohol warmth in the finish but the ABV is pretty well masked. Very complex with a lot of great hoppy flavor. Pretty drinkable but should definitely be approached as a sipper.
Bottle at LCRBM5. Hoppy aroma, sweet in mouth. Too sweet really. Good grapefruit hop. Nice DIPA/barley wine cross over, but a bit uncultured.
Pours a copper body with a slight haze and a beige head. Flavor is malt, mango, floral, tangerine, caramel. Flavor can be described the same but it is bold. Grapefruit, little floral, bitter finish. Amazing.
Copper appearance with a fairly thin white head. Aroma is strong citrus hops with slightly earthy undertones. Flavor is very hoppy with a somewhat sweet malt finish. Hops linger throughout however, especially in the aftertaste. Very powerful beer, perhaps a little overbalanced, but still rather enjoyable.