North Coast Old Stock Ale - 2008
Not long ago, I bought a six-pack of North Coast Brewing’s Old Stock Ale - the 2008 vintage of their Barley Wine. I’m drinking sipping the first one now. The remaining five bottles are sitting pretty in my fermentation chamber at 64 degrees. Too warm? I hate to refrigerate them and stunt the growth, so this is my other below room temperature option. We’ll see.
The beer pours a lovely deep copper color with very little head.
The scents are pure malt goodness with ripe dark fruit. A hint of alcohol is in there. No surprise as the ABV is 12.5%.
The beer tastes much like it smells. Deep, rich mapel syrup, ripe dark fruite - raisin, dates, some plum, molasses and some brown sugar. It is very rich and quite tasty. It finishes with just a bit of bitterness.
The mouthfeel is thick, not much caronation. Very barley wine.
Overall, I like it. I think it should age nicely and develop the flavors a bit. While I was pulling flavors out, it is still a bit “muddy”. It’s a winner for sure, and should only get better. I’ll give it a half a year or so before the next tasting.
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on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at 8:55 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
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