Full Sail Old Boardhead Barleywine

September 29th, 2008 beckel

Here we have another ale from Full Sail, one that I’m even more excited about. Today I will be enjoying a 07 reserve of their Old Boardhead Barleywine Ale another brew from their Brewmaster’s Reserve this one being released last October, so I suppose I’m jumping the gun a bit and could let it mature for a full year, but then I couldn’t tell you about it now, and who knows maybe I’ll just have to pick up some more if I can depending on how this session goes. Producing a solid couple inches of just off white head, most of which fades rapidly but a few millimeters persist for some time. Color is a wonderful somewhat dark raspberry like hue that brightens very nicely in light but is not transparent at all. The aroma of this beer is rather interesting, very nice sweet malt was the first thing I noticed but then strong alcohol took over my senses, many wine like scents some almost fruity are also present, this is turning out to be a nicely complex brew. Unfortunately the flavor isn’t nearly as complex as its aroma. Tastes of sweet smooth barley prevail which is very nice but bitter alcohol flavors aren’t far behind making you remember you are drinking a 9% ABV Barleywine. This is an interesting Barleywine and part of the reason I have a lot of respect for the style. Though this beer is less balanced than most Barleywines I tend to prefer it still has some lovely flavors and I am very curious to see if further aging may help soften its harsher flavors. If you like a strong Barleywine and don’t expect it to cover up what it is this is a good choice, particularly if you like wine or at least don’t mind bitter flavors. This beer would soften any spicy meal quite well. Give it a shot and ride your bike.

Full Sail Boardhead Barleywine