john barleycorn barleywine 2008
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
feeling the cold weather rolling in lately, I dug deep into the beer fridge and pulled out a john barleycorn barleywine from mad river brewing.
- named after the english folksong personifying barley (and performed in one of the greatest albums ever), this brew is a barleywine, one of my favorite styles.
- this bottle was from 2008 and had been aging in my fridge for over a year since a kind soul graciously dropped it off last winter, so I was excited to see if some age had mellowed out the alcohol these beers are known for.
- once the beer warmed up a little, I detected a slight alcohol nose, but it was pretty well hidden in the sweet malt.
- however, the beer was a little thin and had a tangy coating aftertaste which didn’t go down well. I’m thinking malt extract or oxidation is the culprit.
- with all the great barleywines/strong beers out there, this one was a bit of a disappointment. however, it was a good kickoff into strong beer season.
- check out these sites for more reviews.
