Thomas Hooker Old Marley Barleywine
This traditional American ale blends copious amounts of five different malts and various English and American hops to yield a rich and flavorful brew. As this ale is extremely complex in its flavor and quite full-bodied, the consumer is rewarded by letting a small amount warm in a brandy snifter and sipping it as one would a fine sherry. We age our Barleywine for one month in oak bourbon casks to add some vanilla and smoky notes and blend these flavors into a full-blown sensory experience to enjoy on a cold winter’s eve.
3.6
254 reviews
Bloomfield, United States
Community reviews
Bottle, probably 2-3 years old; thanks to Cletus. Pours dark reddish brown. Can’t see through it. Pretty much flat. Just a wisp of head. Nose of brown sugar, molasses, sherry, some mild wood, and peat. Hint of smoke. Similar taste, but harsh and boozy. Lovely aftertaste accents smoke and peat, but the aftertaste is about all that’s good about this beer.
Bottle at BA Tasting at Cool Springs Brewery, which I acquired from Shigadeyo. 2006 vintage. Pours dark amber with a thin off white head. Aroma of Nyquil. Full bodied with a rich texture. Flavor of rich caramel and faded hops, that transitions to notes of anise on the finish. Some mild but pleasant oxidation in there as well.
(bu-btl br-lbl flip-top, old ’Troutbrook Brewing Company’)
opq-br, thin head, full body, §co2.
aroma: not much - likely because served in pint glass.
flavor: malty fruity T1, fruity bourbon T2, dry-wine hop-bitter §chrcl T3, occasional notes of §smokey-vanilla just as it says.
Bottle. Pours an amber brune body with a tan head. Malty hot body with bourbon, oak, over ripe fruits, apple citrus notes. Caramel, toffee notes, and a sweet salt y hoppy finish. A huge beer!
A dark reddish brown barley wine with almost no head. In aroma, soysauce, plum, iodine, and treacle, vinous and hoppy, warming alcohol. In mouth, a molassey malt, with spices, cardamom, soy sauce, chocolate and hops. An intense barley wine. Tasted Nov. 5 2009 with GRM and Mike H.
From Cletus via trade. Poured a dark amber color with a thin and wispy off-white head. The aroma was lots of caramel malts, dark fruits and a whiff of alcohol. A familiar hint of sour crept in as well. The flavor was booze soaked fruits and caramel malts with an underlying sour funk that I noticed in their dopplebock too. I don’t know if it’s a bottling issue with these swing tops, or if these guys have a little bug running around their place, but their stuff just tastes off to me.
500 ml blue flip top bottle from Captain Cougar. Pours a clear dark brown color with a medium sized beige head. The aroma is rich caramel malts, woody, vanilla, ripe fruits, and a little boozy. the flavor is big chewy caramel/toffee malts, vanilla, fruity, cherry hints, woody, citrus hops, and some bourbon. I get a nice warming feeling early with this. Medium to full bodied and syrupy smooth.
Bottle: Poured a deep cloudy burgundy color ale with a very thin foamy head with some retention and some lacing. Aroma of sweet malt with hints of vanilla and bourbon. Taste is also a well balanced mix between some sweet malt with notes of vanilla and light bourbon but no notes of alcohol. Body is quite full with limited filtration and low carbonation with no signs of alcohol which is quite a feat considering the ABV. Very well done though a bit too sweet for my own taste.
all i can say is wow, i didnt see that coming. very malty, tastes like it has every malt and hop under the sun, one is plenty, sick of it by the end.
A- Very dark brown and nearly impossible to see through. Very little, dark brown head.
S- Dark fruits, raisins, sweet.
T- Plum, dark fruit, fig, sweet, toasted bread.
M- Little to no carbonation, fairly thick.
D- I need more carbonation in my beer. This was not one of my favorites but it seemed like a well put together beer.
Bottle in trade from JB185. Thanks!
Pours somewhat dark brownish with a beige, short lived head. Smell is niceley balanced with chocolate and caramel like rich malt and a surprising amount of hops in the nose considering the 2-3 year age on this 2006 bottle. Taste is malty but balanced with flavorful caramel and vanilla, but I didn’t get any oak or bourbon. Medium to full body body with normal carbonation. Pretty enjoyable beer!
In short: A ton of molasses and dark fruits, alcohol, aggressive bitterness. A brutal Barley Wine. Tasty but lacks class.
How: Bottle 500ml swing-top. Sent to me by Cletus. Consumed when about 6 months of age.
The look: Dark mahogany body topped by a small beige head
In long: Ultra heavy molasses and a ton of thick toffee. Black liquorice, a lot of figs and dates. This really is a heavy beer. A little tar sensation. Alcohol is rather apparent. Green hops struggle to find their niche. Thick heavy syrupiness, no dryness whatsoever. Bitterness is brutal and is like chewing on fresh green hops. Carbonation is rather soft. I thought this was a hard slap in the face without much refinement. I don’t understand the high ratings on this on. Nor do I understand why they lock gas station bathrooms. Are they afraid someone will clean them?
Blue flip top bottled in 2006. Consumed January 2009. Approximately 3 years old. The pour is a deep swirling brown. With only a thin head of white cream. Aroma is rich caramel malt, just a touch of chocolate sweetness and warming alcohol. A very nice beer. The flavor is equal to the aroma, with the rich caramel and toffee flavors. Smooth and well blended with time. Very nice.
50 cl bottle via trade - Pours a hazy brown color with no head or carbonation. Flavor and aroma is sweet toasted malt and esters. I really could not get past the flatness of this beer. Is it supposed to be flat? I could not detect much of the barrel aging. I guess I should try another bottle.
Darker brown with hints of red. Aroma is bourbon-oak dominant wiht some light sugar and malty sweetness. Flavor has a big burnt oak flavor with vanilla, bourbon, and some dark fruit sweetness. Very good, but only if you love the bourbon.
Not good. Pours a nice hazy chestnut brown with no head, but that was where the enjoyment stopped. I only had a few sips, as the cardboard and burnt rubber. Sourish and s hint of dried fruits
2006 bottle. Muddy brown pour with no head or activity. Aroma is mostly sweet malt and bourbon. Flavor is same sweet malt, sweet chocolate that is slightly roasted, bourbon, and vanilla. Pretty decent overall, but not much to set it apart from other barleywines.
From a blue ½ liter bottle – Pours opaque black with no head whatsoever. A beautiful aroma that can only be that fine smell of a malty beer lovingly aged in oak bourbon barrels. First sip – Totally shocked by a complete lack of carbonation. It is still quite tasty but I do miss the Carbonation.
Bottle courtesy tpd975. Pours a muddy brown with no head and very light carbonation. Aroma of dark dried fruit, dark cherries, bourbon, vanilla, caramel, graham crackers, and some oxidized sherry notes. Taste is the same as aroma. Medium mouthfeel with a mild to moderate amount of bitterness and smooth alcohol. Very good.
Pretty sure this was an 04. Poured a dark ruby brown with no head. Still looking brew. The nose is sweet, lightly oxidized, caramel, still a little citrusy, some grapefruit rind. The flavor is waxy and astringent, bitter, thin. Not very appealing.
500mL bottle, no date--I apologize to whoever sent me this, I can’t remember. Cloudy reddish brown with a thin beige head, fading to a film rather quickly. Tangy raisins and cherries up front with old earthy oak and caramel behind. A hint of vinegar acidity and leather is also present. Flavor has a bit of bourbon mixed with all the tanginess, and it’s kinda weird. Some alcohol is present in the finish, with bitterness peaking around a 3-4. Full body with minimal carbonation. This was definitely strange, and not what I had expected at all. Seems a bit oxidized and infected.
Tasted at the Carolina Crew gathering, Greenville NC not sure who brought this one! Thin tan pour with a lack in carbonation. Dark fruits (raisins?) soaked in bourbon is a great synopsis of the aroma. Brown sugar, oak, toffee, and fruit. Very nice!
500ml swing top - Has not held its carbonation levels which is a shame. Oxidized sherry notes in the nose and also slightly vinous with a sharp but flat mouthfeel. Some dred fruits with a sweet brown sugar maltiness. Bottle from Jjpm74.
Poured a muddy dark brown with basicaly no head. Aroma was of dark fruits and alcohol. Flavor was mostly whiskey alcohol burn with some brown sugar in there. Blah.
Bottle. Pours dark brown with a light tan head and spotty lacing with good head retention. Aroma of caramel, dark fruit, molasses, oakiness, and a touch of toffee. Flavor is caramel, vanilla, wood, toffee, dark fruit, light bourbon, and slightly smokey. Alcohol was well hidden. Excellent barley wine
2004 bottle (I’m almost positive.. the date over the cap is no longer there). Poured a deep, murky, intriguing reddish-brown with a rather short-lived cap of bright beige head. The aroma had a very welcome English-style barley wine feel to it accompanied by a subtle barrel impression (I didn’t realize it was barrel-aged until I started drinking).. clean, deep aged caramel and chocolate were laced with a dollop of sweet bourbon, vanilla, and sour oak.. brighter on the back of the nose with a little more of the barrel. The flavor had a very nice sweet core of toffee and aged caramel, but the barrel left too much of a sharp, sour impression.. the oak was heavy and abrasive, amplified by sour borbon.. the back end picked up a little chocolate and more toffee.. left a blend of sour oak, bourbon, and vanilla on the finish. Medium-plus bodied with very little carbonation on the palate.. the balance was thrown off after the initial impression, and unfortunately my enjoyment dropped as the drink progressed. This wasn’t bad by any means, but it may have suffered a bit due to age or to poor use of the barrel.
Bottled in 2006
5/06/2008: Old Marley Barleywine-Style Ale pours a clean, dark brown color with a nice golden-amber sheen to it. There is absolutely zero head and no carbonation (I figured that this would be the case since there was no sound when I popped the top). The aroma contains rich and complex caramel maltiness, aged sweet citrus hops, and some soft vanilla. The flavor is malty as well (roasty toffee and caramel chews) with some citrus hoppiness and accompanying mild to moderate bitterness that kicks up the in the finish. There is also a nice balance of vanilla and bourbon woodiness as well. There isn’t really any alcohol in the flavor except for the bourbon accents, but the alcohol definitely provides a warming effect! The body of the beer is medium-full and comes across slightly syrupy since there is not any carbonation left. I think this beer would be even better with some carbonation and it would also seem more like beer and less like and overly sweet and malty bourbon-like beverage. Overall this is a nicely complex and extremely well-balanced barleywine. Actually, it is a lot like a Scotch Ale in flavor profile, but that’s absolutely fine by me since Scotch Ale is my one of my favorite styles!
500 mL blue flip-top bottle () from jimbowood. Thanks Jimbo! Rating #211 for this beer...
16.9 oz bottle, 2006. Dark brown with some tan froth. Nose of caramel, chocolate and grapes. Medium with a tingly carb. Taste is caramel, chocolate and coffee with a mild hop bite. Seemed more like a stout with a swirl of toffee.
Another old rating not entered... 2006 bottle -- Nice dark brown body with a thin ivory head. Powefull aroma, cherry, malts with a sherry like quality. Smooth malty and peaty taste. Palate is smooth with a nice chocolate ending.
500ml (2006) in a trade from the other site. Man, what an inconsistent brewery. Once again, I get psyched up - quirky and cool blue swingtop bottle, handsome deep brown pour and lasting head, but that aroma that is both promising and hints at infection. There are some sweet malts and toffee flavors, backed by a bit of hops, that manage to survive. But this is another soured up Hooker beer. Maybe one day I can try a bottle of this that’s actually held up, in which case a rerate may be in order.