Style: Barleywine (English)

ABV: 11.75 IBU: 68.0

86/100
Aroma: 10
Appearance: 3
Flavor: 18
Mouthfeel: 4

Reuben's Brews Barnacles

What the brewers say

“Brewed with pale and wheat malts, Magnum and East Kent Golding hops.”

What our panel thought

“Fruity! Brown sugar nose. Sweet banana-bread (headed toward fruit cake) coated in more brown sugar flows through the mouth. Sugary sweet on the finish. Aggressive dessert-like treat with a touch of bitterness that fell into baking mishaps.”

What our editors thought

“Caramel orange in the nose, toothy and rustic despite the smooth malt polish. The sip is light, easy drinking, with higher key notes more bready than caramel and a light and simple herbal hop note that feels light while structuring.”

Review printed in: Rethinking the Classic Pale Ale (Winter 2023) (View All Issues)


REVIEWS FOR YOU >

Reuben's Brews Fruitfizz Lemon+Lime

“Lemon and lime Skittles, a refreshing medley of lemon and lime essences. The aroma is clean and fresh. It has great carbonation and effervescence. Its citrus is light and pleasantly crisp. A soft acidic tartness lingers.”

Pontoon Brewing Company Business Time

“Hints of citrus hops and oaky vanilla balance caramel, toffee, chocolate, brown sugar in the nose. A char note and a hop bitterness temper the sweetness. A papery oxidative character tones down the sweetness.”

Walking Tree BA Barnacled Manatee

Aroma: “Massive oak character out of this beer on first whiff. Rich caramel malt, toffee, toasty, some underlying dark fruit like black cherries and blackberries. There’s light wine barrel notes up front with a delicate aroma of grape, black cherry, and blackberry.” Flavor: “Bright oak character with some slight berry notes. Caramel and toffee comes through in the middle of the palate. Moderate fruitiness up front with pineapple, white grape, and light lemon. Slightly hot finish with some tannic astringency.” Overall: “Overall a very interesting beer—a mix of white grape fruitiness, pineapple, and lemon with chocolate and caramel malt all held together by an underlining alcohol warming. Barrel characters are present and seem to dominate up front. Perhaps a touch fresh for the barleywine category, but this could age well.”

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