Day 81 (10/13/2011): Old Guardian Belgo Barleywine by Stone Brewing Co.

I figured this one wasn't going to be very good judging by the reviews, but I always like to give Stone beers a chance. Unfortunately the reviews were spot on.

The nose on this isn't terrible. You get a slight whiff of the Belgian yeast employed, with dark fruit, some caramel, a good amount of hops, and (unfortunately) some hot-smelling booze. The taste is just not very good. Like the smell, you get some good flavors like the esters from the Belgian yeast, dark fruit, and caramel/toffee, but they are all overwhelmed by the combination of a very strong alcohol and hop flavor. This beer was just way out of control: way too much alcohol and way too much hop flavor. It's been a long, long time since I tasted a beer this hot. The body is maybe a tad light and the carbonation a tad high, but these flaws pale in comparison the the booziness.

This year's version of Belgo Old Guardian could stand to sit for a few years to let the hops and booze calm down a bit. It was not easy to finish this whole bottle, but it wasn't so bad that I drainpoured it. It could be good one day; just not today. I give Old Guardian Belgo Barleywine by Stone Brewing Co. a C+.

Style: American barley wine
Beer Advocate: B/C+
Ratebeer: 96/77

Day 52-56 (9/14 - 9/18/2011): Getting caught up with reviews!

As I said earlier, I really need to get caught up on reviews. I'm going to blow through five days really quick here so I can get back up to date and write some more thorough reviews for you all. Here we go!

A surprisingly tasty milk stout. It's on the sweeter side and is a tad bit thin, but there are a ton of stouts this beats every day of the week. Bonus points for being packaged in a pint can and for being locally available. Not going to blow anyone away, but I wouldn't mind if someone handed me one. B.

They promise hops and that is certainly what you get. I didn't particularly care for this at all, but I think my bottle was old. Bitter and astringent; the hops don't particularly taste good and doesn't transition into the malt finish well. It overall was a trainwreck of flavors in my mouth. I'll try again when I can be assured of a fresh bottle. C-.

Somehow my first ever pumpkin ale and I picked a good one. I even had an appropriate glass for it. Poured the most ridiculous head I've ever seen. It was as close to stiff whipped cream as you could imagine. I actually had to take it off with a spoon so I could drink the beer. The typical pumpkin spice scent and taste is there, but it's not obnoxious and is countered well with a good hop presence. A very good beer and if all pumpkin beers I get to try are this good, I'll be disappointed I took this long to try them. B+.

(Also, I had a Founders Breakfast Stout this night and it is my belief that it is much better from a bottle than draft. Coffee in a beer!)

A solid barleywine. It nails the style points, but doesn't really do much creative to put it among the upper tier. A good balance of sweet caramel malt and citrus hops work together to make this barley wine American. Some maple syrup and vanilla flavor is also there. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that though Old Horizontal is 11%, the alcohol is hidden masterfully. I'd love to hang onto a few bottles and see how it tastes after the hops fade a bit. B+.

This was a nice, balanced stout. Not too sweet, not too much roast. Gets better and better as it warms up. I enjoyed this much more than Deschute's Black Butte Porter. It's not going to blow your mind, but sometimes beer is just for drinking, not ruminating over for hours. I wish I could get this here. A-.

There we go, folks. All back up to date. Hopefully things will calm down a tad and I can get back to daily updates. Can't promise, but it's worth a shot!

Day 42 (9/4/2011): Nemesis (2010) by Founders Brewing Company

The 2010 Nemesis is a black barleywine and the looks of it reflected this clearly. It pours a brown about one tint away from black with a creamy, bubbly off-white head. The smell is a complex sweetness coupled with some floral hops, which can be expected from a beer with 100 IBUs. You also get some spiciness from the alcohol, along with vanilla and some dark fruit.

The taste starts roasty which leads into a complex dark fruit taste with molasses, brown sugar, and chocolate. There is a pretty good hop bitterness on the finish. Perhaps a bit much for my tastes in a barleywine. It is definitely a sipper, not necessarily because of the alcohol taste, but because of the complex taste and the slightly syrupy body (Not to mention the 12%).

This is a good barleywine that just happens to be a bit too hoppy for my likings. I would like to sit on some of these bottles for a few years, though, to see if the hops take a back seat a bit. I recommend this to pretty much everyone if you can still find it anywhere. I give Nemesis (2010) by Founders Brewing Company an A-.

Style: American barleywine
ABV: 12%
IBU: 100
Beer Advocate: A-/A-
Ratebeer: 99/96