Third Coast Old Ale
A barley wine with deep amber color, the brandy of ales. This beer has vintage character and will mature in the bottle at cellar temperature for years.
[Note: this beer doesn’t have Bells in front of the name by explicit request from the brewer.]
[Note: this beer doesn’t have Bells in front of the name by explicit request from the brewer.]
3.9
1645 reviews
Comstock, United States
Community reviews
355ml bottle. Cloudy, brown-ish, deep dark amber colour with small, thick, creamy, half-way lasting, moderately lacing, beige head. Minimally sugary, caramel malty aroma, notes of toffee and praline, hints of marzipan with a touch of orange and rose petals. Taste is sweet-ish malty, notes of caramel, toffee, praline, nougat, hints of marzipan, slightly floral and minimally citrusy hoppy hints of orange and rose petals; slightly bitter hoppy finish. Balanced, round, harmonious.
Bottle from Dominion Wine and Beer in Falls Church, VA
Aroma: toffee, caramel, licorice, molasses
Appearance: dark amber with an off-white head
Taste: medium sweetness and medium bitterness
Mouthfeel: medium carbonation, creamy feel, full body, long finish
Excellent
2017 btl pours a clear ruby amber color with a small dense tan head minimal lace. Aromas of cookie dough, malt, molasses, fruit and earth. Tastes of sweet bread, malt, raisins, brown sugar, caramel and a hint of cherry candies. Big body, thick chewy mouthfeel, adequate carbonation and a mildly bitter, slightly dry finish. The flavors and aromas are beautiful. It’s very smooth and well rounded. This is an excellent Barleywine! My new favorite.
Viscuous hazy amber pour, thin light tan head. Nose is caramel, little licorice, light wood in the back. The middle is toffee and carmel draped around an already present ABV, roasted malt, spruce, light stone fruit, and some vanilla. Finish is warm, fruity, woody, and lasting.
It’s more malty than I was hoping, but it is good. For a 10 percenter, the alcohol is not over powering at all.
moderate malty aroma. dark red in color with huge long lasting head. taste is malty, notes of raison, plum, burnt caramel.
This is among the first few barley wines I’ve tried. I really like the style and this is a fine example. Malty sweetness with a tart bitter finish and an alcohol kicker. I would have a hard time drinking anything else if this was available. Found at Total Wine & More in Estero, FL. ( It does exist. Trust me)
Pours mahogany with two finger, beige head. Aroma is light caramel, dried fruit and light roast. Taste is caramel and raisin, moving to wood, bread and a building hop backbone. Finish is hoppiness and wood. A good barleywine.
A caramel and hop infused barleywine. One of Bells best. Great color,nose, and lingering taste that you want in this style, but not quite as bitter as some.
From Labirratorium. In Teku glass. Playing Avadon 3. Plenty of molasses and brown sugar. Some alcohol sneaks through but doesnt bother, just give it a slow drinking fell that is nice
2008 bottle, Batch 8723. Ar: Sharp fruit leathers--caramel malt oxidation; sherry; old strawberry jam. Ap: Reddish-brown and murky; chunks floating throughout; no head, with just a stencil-thin ring of tiny bubbles around the meniscus. T: Nougat and strawberry fruit leathers; deep maltiness, but lots of oxidation; alcohol is warming, but fairly clean; bitterness is very low, with no noticeable hop flavor; high sweetness; finish is nougat and strawberry preserves. P: Full body with low carbonation; finish is medium-sweet. O: This beer did not hold up well, despite being a style that seems to be designed for aging; the oxidation is fairly sharp, and the overall flavor is fairly heavy on the fruit leathers.
I am not the biggest fan of barleywines, but this one I enjoyed more as I drank the second one (another night of course). They are usually on the bitter side for me, and this is no exception. Definitely very hoppy, but also has some sweet fruity flavors to slightly offset the bitterness. Has a medium to dark brown appearance, hardly any head with light lacing. Glad I tried, and worth the price given the high ABV%. Good beer with lots of flavor going on, just might be moving on to something different.
Bottle from A.J.'s Beer Warehouse. Nice ruby color with almost no head. Aroma of dark fruits and sweet malts.
Smell of barley, coffee, roasted malt. Taste good as same as it’s smell. Good stout style specialized by Bell’s. Drink from bottle. Somewhat slimy. Full body. Smooth and taste well even left it on shelf for 7 months. Very good beer.
On tap at World of Beer (Charlottesville, VA). Aromas of cherry, red berry, raisin, plum. Clear ruby with a mostly fading off-white head. Strong but not boozy, red berry fruit-forward, a little sweet, malty. Full bodied.
Definitely one of the better barleywine's I've had. Pours a deep dark red with nice head. Taste punches through with a great malt backbone but maintains a nice hop bitterness. Truly worth trying if you like a damn good barleywine.
Medium lacing and slight ring of head. Sweet barley wine malty aroma. Notes of red in the appearance. Sits easy on the tongue. Smooth finish with notes of prune and mild hops.
12 oz bottle. Hazy brown pour with a big, lasting khaki head. Aroma is dark dried fruits, figs, prunes, and raisins with spices and spruce. Flavors include similar dried dark fruits with cherries, some pepperiness, wood, black tea. Finishes with a bit of piney bitterness. Somewhat boozy. Silky feel.
On sale at Hoppy House BB 10/02/2015 >> Beau corps malté grenat sans col qui exhale des senteurs de caramel, de bois une âcreté maltée, et une amertume aigrelette.A l'attaque, la bouche est fort crémeuse,un peu épaisse sur des notes liquoreuses: c'est d'abord caramélisé puis boisé puis fort acre, et le tout très moelleux et doux. En s'épanouissant, la gorgée livre des saveurs plus épicées de vanille, de réglisse, et de fruits comme la mûre, la datte et la figue mais discretes.En finale je reste sur le caramel et une pointe d'aigreur. Je pense qu'elle commençait tout juste à s'équilibrer. poech push #471
2014 vintage from Mike. Pours murky brown no head or lacing.
Notes of syrup, maple, breakfast tea, leather. Taste med sweet med bitter. Medium oily body somewhat sticky low carbonation and some alcohol warmth for sure.
sweet, rye. alco is a little too perceptible at 10 - an alkoholfrei level for BWs
Bottle @ dangerous julepeppernøddershare. Pours brown with an off white head aroma of caramel, dark sweet malts, slight alcohol heat and slight herbs. Taste of caramel, vanilla, dark fruits, herbs, slight hops and alcohol heat.
Bottle @Julekranse Share. Pours hazy dark brown with a small offwhite head. Aromas of malt, bread, light hoppy, orange, caramel. Taste has some hoppy notes, bready malt, orange, caramel, bitter finish.
Pours an amber-brown in color with off white head. Nice deep malty aroma. Excellent roast malt flavor with some red fruit notes.
Notes: Westport Strong Ale Festival 2017
Lots of malts, a hoppy taste, great aroma. Smooth as all hell! Highly recommend this beer.
12floz bottle, BOD: 09.11.2017, $3 single. Poured into a large snifter glass where a nice head leaves measured marks as the ruby-brown body lowers. Malt forward aroma with brandy mixed in as well. For an American brewed barleywine this is more in line with the English style. Flavors of semi-sweet dried fruit and lightly burnt biscuit bitterness fully coincide with the mouth coating texture. Aged versions from my experience have even less hop presence.
2011 bottle. Pretty solid old ale, thick and rich with loads of caramel and toffee yet not overly sweet, still clinging onto the moderate bitterness on the back end. Undercurrents of red apple and honey, hints of dark fruit and a little citrus, leading to a dry, woodsy finish. Not sure if there's much difference between a six-year-old bottle and one that's only three or four, other than the alcohol's completely gone here and the yeast seems slightly more clumpy. Classic barleywine nose, tons of caramel and candy apple. Pour comes out a hazed tan with ridiculous amounts of yeast globules swirling around the glass. Smooth-as-silk texture without a hint of warmth. Good, but I think going beyond six years in the cellar will see diminishing returns.
Subtle and complex. The character really comes out once it warms. It is a hard beer to nail down for rating. A very long lasting bitter finish. But not overly bitter. I think it would be worth getting a six pack and putting a side for a few years
Draft sample at the GNBF in 2017. Poured amber with a foamy off white head. Aroma of toffee, fruit, earthy. Taste was bittersweet, fruit, boozy, brown sugar.
Pours a hazy deep amber color with a modest tan head. Nose is fairly tame with some alcohol heat and complex dark malts rising from the glass. Flavor is a very thick but smooth wave of bread, caramel, earthy hops, and alcohol with light touches of spice and fruit. Finish is fairly long and sticky. This seems like an excellent beer to cellar and smooth out even further. An excellent barleywine