North Coast Old Stock Ale

As Winter turns to Spring and we turn our clocks forward for more daylight, so does my palate migrate towards lighter bodied pale ales, IPAs, pilsners and hefeweizensin this summer-like southern california weather.  But until I restock, I've got a fair amount of Barleywines and heavy ales in my fridge, so I've got some work to do.

Tarty aroma with a light touch of malts.  Average amount of head on this 11.7% beast.  The taste is rich and classic Barleywine.  A heavy body, rich with raisin-like malts and a deep amber color, the alcohol content cuts through and adds a delicious added component to therich body.  The hop presence is a little lighter than I'd like, definitely making its presence known in the mix, but hardly cutting through the thick malts.

Not a lot of incredible inventiveness here and I could definitely do with some more hops, but that being said, this is a pretty rock solid Barleywine for it's classic flavor and alcohol content, and I for one, am having a lot of fun drinking it.

Old Stock Ale: ***1/2