Olde School Barleywine 2010 (after a year in my back yard)

Not sure why looks so crooked. Photo BEFORE drinking!

Today I'm drinking Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine 2010, the one I dug up yesterday after being buried in my back yard for a year. This is a two part post: review of the beer and review of the experience. When you see a link here, you'll know the other part is finished. Don't ask before then. There will be lots of observations that I wont repeat in this beer review post, so be sure to check out both.

So I'm treating this like any normal review. The cap is noticeably rusty and the label is dried out now after being wet upon exhumation. Pop! Carbonation preserved, apparently. It seems there is a little oxidation on the underside of the cap too. Hmmm. I can smell the beer from five feet away on a windy day, powerful. Tart apple yet syrupy sweet with honey. Very welcoming, and boozy like a fine liqueur.

Huge brown sugar flavors--massive. Those fade and give way to warmth from the 15% alcohol. Fruity pears and figs and raisins taste amazing, especially smothered with alcohol. Quite the mellow beer, with just enough carbonation to avoid flatness, just right. Vanilla and toffee nuances add some fun complexities. A little too sweet but the alcohol certainly helps tone that.

I liked it. One year of age... I guess I just don't have a good enough palate to discern any real difference. I guess that could be my lack of memory too. Or God forbid, both. I really didn't notice any difference, except I had to work a hell of a lot harder to get this one. Perhaps some of the boozy edge was taken off, but that's about as far as I might go. However, it still is making me feel AWESOME. Try the experiment yourself and be sure to let me know. I'd like to start some kind of club!










Update 2/1/2013: Look what my friend Barbara Pernaris did with my picture. She loves rust!