Monday, February 02, 2009

Pike Brewery Barleywine

This seems to be a theme this week....barleywine..not a bad theme at all though. However before I get to this beer, first let me remind everyone of another theme, the one from this weeks Session. Friday is the due date, and the theme is Tripels.
Pike of course is another recent addition to the Texas Beer landscape having entered our market from Seattle last year. Their beers all come packaged in bomber bottles.
The Beer: This one weighs in at 10% and 90 IBU's. Well right off you know this is going to be a big American Barleywine that's almost as much of a DIPA as it is a barleywine. It pours a cloudy hazy brown with a thin taupe head. Hops are powerful in the nose but surprisingly well balanced with malty sweetness. Notes of caramel, roasted malts, and maybe prunes. The mouthfeel is thick and creamy. Huge bitter hops, grapefruit up front and its powerful, but there is some nice raisin-y, figs, but then it finishes again with apricots orange peel. This is a good one with a lot of hops but surprising malt backbone. Good one. B+ from me. Here's what the folks at BA say.

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