Uinta Brewing Co - Cockeyed Cooper

Hey guys! Hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday night. I'm a little bummed because I head back to work tomorrow after a nice and long 4 day weekend. Tonight I'm drinking my August entry in my wife's beer of the month club and I'm really stoked for this one. I've been looking for it for quite sometime and managed to find a lot of these bottles at my local Cost Plus World Market.

Tonight I'm drinking another beer from Uinta's Crooked Line series. This is their Cockeyed Cooper which is a Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine. That's right, a bourbon barrel barley wine. It's been rather hot here in San Diego the last week or so but that's not going to stop me from enjoying this awesomeness. The Cockeyed Cooper is 11.1% and this particular bottle was bottled on 11/29/12 so, already got nearly a year in the bottle. Let's get this one poured and see how the Cockeyed Cooper tastes.



The CC came in a 750ml corked and caged bottle. There was a very audible pop and quite a bit of "steam" once I go the cork popped. It pours out a really beautiful mahogany color that when held up to the light reveals some really dark, blood red/ruby red hues along the sides and bottom of the glass. There's the slightest bit of carbonation coming up from the bottom of the glass. There was a nice 2 fingers of a fluffy and thick khaki colored head that stuck around for quite a bit, leaving behind a pretty nice, web-like lacing. Just a really solid looking Barleywine. Let's get the nose.

Big Big Big burnt caramel and sugar sweetness. Almost like the top of a creme brulee dessert. There's a nice dark fruit character of raisin and fig. A TON of barrel character. Quite a bit of an oak woodiness. Lots of vanilla sweetness here. There's a noticeable chocolate covered raisin character as well. Of course there's a bit of a bourbon alcohol smell. No surprise there. This is just an awesome smelling beer. Let's see if this tastes anything like it smells.

Wow, this is incredible! First thing I get is that woody, oak-like character. That's intertwined with a really nice vanilla and a caramel sweetness. Middle of the mouth you get a little more woody character and some earthy, bitterness. Maybe even a little bit of a burnt flavor. Sides of the palate you get the dark fruits, those chocolate covered raisins and some more of that caramel sweetness. Back of the palate you get a nice bourbon burn, some more of that vanilla sweetness. A bit of the chocolate flavors coming through. Definitely a warming sensation as it makes it's way down the chest. There's a lot of oak, bourbon, vanilla playing with each other throughout this entire beer.

So overall, this is just an amazing beer. Definitely one to sip on. Definitely one I want to see what happens with some age. Fortunately for me, I have another bottle in my cellar cabinet so I'll get to experience that. This is just another solid effort from Uinta who to date, I've yet to have a bad beer from. If you can get this, check it out. Everything about this beer is a home run. Do yourself a favor, seek this out and purchase/trade for a bottle. You will not regret it if you like Barleywines, especially barrel aged offerings.

Rating: A+

Deschutes Brewery - Class Of '88 Barley Wine Ale

What's up everyone? It's time for another beer review here at Tastes Like Beer and I'm going with one of my favorite styles. What's that?

BARLEYWINES!!!

That's right. Tonight, I'm drinking a collaboration beer between Deschutes, Rogue, and North Coast Brewing. This is the Class of 88' Barley Wine Ale. It's an American style barleywine that comes in with an abv of 10.2%. So let's quit bullshitting and get this poured. I'm looking forward to this one.

Class of 88 pours out a really nice golden orange color with a solid white finger of head. It's sticking around a bit but as it dissipates it leaves behind a pretty thick lacing that looks a lot like sea foam. There's a lot of carbonation streaming up from the bottom of the glass. There's quite a bit of chill haze but you can definitely see through this beer. It actually reminds me quite a bit of an Imperial IPA. Let's get the nose.

Very interesting nose. First thing I'm picking up is a bubble gum flavor. That's followed up quite a bit by a banana character. Very surprised to get this in an barley wine. I'm getting some peach flavors, sort of syrupy, and sweet. I do get quite a bit of alcohol on the nose as well. For a barley wine and 10.2% I'm not too surprised but usually I've found it to be a bit more masked. There's maybe some caramel notes coming out as well. I'm not getting a lot of hop bitterness. Let's see how it tastes.

First thing I'm getting is a bit of hop bitterness. I didn't get it on the nose but it's here first thing. I'm picking up that peach character and it follows the nose quite well. It's very syrupy and sweet. It helps bring the hop bitterness into the middle of the mouth well. Then things get sort of strange. I pick up an immediate bit of alcohol. That's followed by a somewhat off putting banana character. I know it was there in the nose but it's just weird. It's very strong in the middle and back part of the mouth. And that's really it.

Overall, this beer is just... well, it's bad. I don't know that I'd consider this a barleywine. I can't really place this beer. It's got this belgian bubble gum yeast ester that really just takes it to a different level. I don't know if this is maybe just a bad bottle or what. The label describes it a bit differently than I'm tasting. I'm just sort of stumped by it.

Rating: D

Firestone Walker - Sucaba

Hey all! It's been several days since my last blog. I'm sorry. It's been crazy busy at work the last week or so and by the time I get home, all I want to do is open something easy and just zone out. Plus, I bought Bioshock Infinite and frankly what little social life I've had has completely vanished.

With that said, it's not too often I'm left completely speechless. You know, just completely blown away by something that you can't even begin to describe it's awesome factors. Last year I had a Sucaba for the first time and my perspective on Barleywines was changed. Honestly, it's never recovered. Sucaba is my absolute favorite barleywine. I could explain why and it might take all night so I'll simply sum it up in a few words.

BARREL-AGED BARLEYWINE.

Yes, Sucaba is Barrel Aged and tonight, well, after a quarter end at work, I'm treating myself. Tonight, I'm drinking the 2013 vintage of Firestone Walker's Sucaba!

Sucaba pours out a very, VERY dark red, actually more like mahogany with maybe a half finger of a white, foamy maybe bordering on creamy head. This beer is really dark, can't see anything through it. There's a lot of nice ruby red along the bottom of glass and around the sides as I hold it up to my light source. This looks like a really big barleywine and I'm perfectly OK with that.

The nose on Sucaba is nothing short of delicious. Big raisin and fig characters. There's a really nice presence of the dark fruits that are pretty much a guarantee in a good barleywine. I'm getting a lot of a sugary sweetness. A ton of caramel and toffee. I'm picking up a lot of vanilla and oak characters. Since it's barrel-aged I'm not surprised and really happy to find it. There's a slight chocolate note coming in too. Sucaba just smells incredible. Big caramel, big sugar, big sweetness. But it's all smelling perfectly balanced. Finally, let's get some drinking in! 

And... holy fucking shit.

This beer is absolutely insane. Right away there's a sweet malt character which is insantly, and I mean INSTANTLY kicked out of the way by big vanilla and oak. It's so good! There's a lot of caramel and toffee in this beer. I don't remember 2012 being this good. The caramel and vanilla shine through on this beer like none other I can remember having. Back end there's more oak goodness and some chocolate notes too. At 12%, you don't taste any alcohol. This one is going to show up later and probably slap me around a bit.

Honestly, this thing changes so many times it might as well be called a shape shifter. It's just so good, so balanced... it's my favorite Firestone Walker beer ever.

Rating: A+ (Epic levels)

I can't stress this enough. If you can find this and have the cash (was about $19), pick it up. So worth it. I don't know if I've had a more balanced and great tasting barleywine. Ever. 

Wife says "Sucaba es micaba..." I think that means she doesn't hate it!

Nøgne Ø - #100 Barley Wine-Style Ale

Friday nights. You know I love them. Got a nice bonus from work so I decided to treat myself to a few tasty beers at the local liquor store. Found this gem sort of stashed away with some various European beers and decided why not. You and I both know I love a good barleywine.

I'd heard some pretty good things about Nøgne Ø beers but surprisingly have never ended up purchasing one. I don't really have a reason, I just always end up buying something more local. Also something I can actually pronounce.

Did a quick little search and saw some people calling this a DIPA. A DIPA? WTF?! Looking at the back of the bottle I see mentions of Columbus, Chinook and Centennial hops. So yeah, sounds like this is a pretty hop forward Barleywine... maybe bordering on an IPA or DIPA as some people put it. Let's see how it goes!

#100 poured out a a very dark ruby red almost bordering on blood red. There is a crazy amount of carbonation on this beer. It's streaming up from the bottom of the glass. There was a really nice hiss as I popped the cap off. There was a 3, maybe even a 4 finger, fluffy/rocky white head that stuck around for a long time. Once it retreated back into itself it left behind a very thick, sticky webbing. Looks like a nice barleywine with a ton of carbonation. Old Guardian eat your heart out!

Strangely enough, the first thing I'm getting on the nose is almost like a cola character. Some chocolate malts shining through, but they are very sugary. This smells a lot like a rum and coke to be honest. There's a nice bit of cherry juice coming through behind the cola like character. It's pretty sweet but not overly sweet, definitely not cloying. There's a bit of a citrus character, some grapefruit zest, maybe a lemon zest in there as well. I'm getting a spice character as well. Some coriander, maybe even a little clove note in there as well. This beer as a lot going on for sure.

First thing I get on the taste is malt. It's your typical barleywine flavor for sure. There's some chocolate malt in there giving it a nice roasty backbone. I'm getting some of that cola character as well. I really feel like I've had a rum and coke before drinking this, which I absolutely haven't done. I'm getting more of those spices, coriander, clove, maybe some nutmeg too. Mostly coriander. I'm getting a little bit of the bitter grapefruit and lemon but it's very faint. There's a lot of that roasted character in the back of the mouth. Some espresso notes coming through.

Honestly, this is one of the more strange Barleywines I've had. I see where people would call it an IPA and I definitely get the barleywine part too. But no one mentions the spice characters which I'm sort of surprised by. It adds a different complexity to the beer that I was not expecting.

Rating: B

It's decent enough. There's no sign of alcohol (10% abv) and not really sure I'd believe this is 80ibu. I don't find this too bitter at all. It's worth giving it a try but it's not something I'd go out of my way to seek out.

Wife didn't like it.

Alaskan Brewing Co - Barley Wine Ale (2010)

Hump day. I sort of hate that term. Hump day.

No, I hate it a lot.

I'd prefer to just call it Wednesday, you know, like an adult. But I digress. Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you're enjoying something delicious tonight. I know I am.

If you read my review of the Stone Brewing Oak Smoked Old Guardian, you'd know that I kind of like Barleywines. Just a little... (I can't lie, I love them)

The last time I visited the local liquor store I happened to come across tonight's beer. Tonight I'm drinking Alaskan Brewing Co's Barley Wine Ale. Now, it wasn't until I got home that night that I realized that this wasn't just a regular barleywine. Oh no, this was their 2010 barleywine. So I managed to score a 2010 Barleywine in 2013. I'll take that any day of the week and twice on a hum.... Wednesday!

Let's get this beer poured cause I for one want to get this thing in my mouth. You can take that anyway you'd like... (that's what she said)

The Alaskan Barley Wine Ale pours out a perfect ruby red with some nice dark, almost blood red, hue around the bottom of the glass. There was a finger and a half of a pretty white head that dissipates a little bit is lingering around for a while. Like a relative that just won't shut up and leave... although I'm OK with that in this case. The head that's decided to hang out with us gives the beer a nice two tone look. There is a crazy amount of carbonation coming up from the bottom of the glass. It's pretty cool looking. Let's get the nose on this beast.

Immediately hit with some sweet malts. A lot of caramel and vanilla notes on this as well. I'm getting quite a bit of dark fruits. Raisins, figs and some really delicious cherry notes as well. Like fresh cherry juice. There's a sweet bread kind of character that's really playing off the cherry notes. Smells a little like a cherry danish. It's not overly sweet. It's very subtle, very enjoyable. There's a slight bit of alcohol on the nose but it's more of a sweet alcohol. Maybe a brandy character perhaps even a cognac kind of note. It's really enticing. One of the better smelling barleywines that I can remember.

Time to drink! First thing I notice is that dark fruit character. Very much getting the fresh cherry type of notes I was getting on the nose. It's very bread like, and sweet. Like that danish I mentioned (I love cherry danishes). There's a lot of caramel on the tongue as well. It's a bit sticky. Very smooth. You get a little bit of the alcohol at this point but it's nice. A lot like a brandy, not just an alcohol burn. It's got good flavor. Back of the mouth I'm getting a ton of roasted characters. Big chocolate espresso sort of character. I didn't get any of this on the nose so to have it here is really great. As the flavors sort of linger and dissipate I'm left with more caramel and those vanilla characters I was getting on the nose.

So overall, the Alaskan Barley Wine Ale is incredible. I wasn't expecting much from this because I'd never had an Alaskan Barleywine. I was very impressed with their Smoked Porter and this is definitely right up there with that. It's incredibly smooth and balanced and often times with Barleywines, they can be too hot and just a malt bomb. I didn't get any hop character which is fine. I don't like my barleywines to be too hoppy.

Rating: A, bordering on A+

Wife didn't think it tasted like beer, but didn't like it either.