Now it’s time to review one of my favorite styles:
barleywines. I actually had a couple of
these over the summer when I went back home, particularly ones that I had
bought at home but didn’t get to in time before I moved out here. With barleywines, this usually isn’t an
issue; most barleywines won’t change much even with a whole year on them. Many people like to keep them around for
years (me included).
I had only had this particular beer for a few months, but
the bottle was actually about two years old when I had it in July (it was
bottled in August 2011). The beer is
Bommen & Granaten by De Molen from the Netherlands.
I’ll keep this short, as I’ve never had this fresh; I can’t
say how it has changed. It doesn’t taste
like a beer that has fallen apart with age though. The aroma is appetizing but one
dimensional. It smells like
caramel-covered raisins, a pretty good sign the beer is starting to pleasantly oxidate. The flavor is definitely better, though I
would not say outstanding. Alcohol
flavors are mild when compared to the actual strength of the beer, which is
around 15.2%. In addition to the caramel
and raisins I smelled I also get notes of honey, cherries and a strange note of
leather. If this sounds sweet, that’s
because it is. The one fruit fly in my
house managed to smell the beer and I spent the next hour swatting him away from
my glass (he was persistent, but unsuccessful).
It’s predictably thick for such a
strong and sweet beer, though I expected that.
I think that was my shortest review ever. It’s not an amazing or particularly unique beer, but Bommen &
Granaten is a solid representation of an English barleywine. I am curious what it tasted like when it was younger.
