Beer Review: Estes Park Barley Wine

One of the beers I went out on a limb to try in Colorado was the Barley Wine at Estes Park Brewery. They didn’t have it to sample while I was there, so I grabbed a bottle to bring back home.

Style: English Barley Wine
ABV: 10.00%
Offering: 12 oz Bottle

Appearance: The beer poured a hazy, deep copper color into the pint glass (I didn’t have a snifter available). There was less than a finger of head, which it didn’t retain, and left little lacing.

Smell: The primary smell is the sweet malt, but it’s followed by fruit (citrus, pears). There is a hint of hops in the smell and caramel.

Taste: All of the smells are in the taste. Roasted malts, fruit, caramel. It’s a very complex taste since there is so much going on.

Mouth: This leans a little heavier than most beers, but it’s not overwhelming. The finish is dry and the carbonation is low. Also the alcohol is hidden pretty well.

Overall: I should have grabbed more of this; I drank it pretty quickly after purchase (within a month), but I would like to see how this ages, after a year or 2. It’s got me wanting to try some other barley wines.

The Beer Advocate score is 84, Good; no score from the Bros either.

The Untappd app has 169 ratings with an average of 3.19.

My Score: 4.5 out of 5

(The new scoring…an empty pint glass is a good thing. Since this beer received a 4.50 out of 5, there are 4.50 empty pint glasses to represent that. The more full glasses, the worse the beer is.)