Beer Review 3: Killer Penguin Barleywine

Killer Penguin is a barleywine style ale made by the Boulder Beer Company. Boulder Beer is a brewery based in Boulder, Colorado. Established in 1979, they are Colorado's first microbrewery. they produce a wide variety of different beer styles. The Killer Penguin is their American barleywine offering. Killer Penguin is a winter seasonal beer, released, as per Boulder Beer's website, "We won't be releasing this high-octane barleywine until the weather gets cold!"

Killer penguin, as mentioned above, is in the category of an American barleywine. It is 10.00 ABV. As per the brewery's description, Killer Penguin uses over twice the malts as other winter beers and aged over 6 months to perfect the condition and flavor of the beer. My sampling was from a 22 oz bottle, 2009 Edition. The first thing I noticed was the bottle was sealed with a red wax that extended almost the entire length of the neck of the bottle. It was admittedly both amusing, but became a bit annoying trying to get through the wax to uncap the bottle. After a brief struggle, I managed to get to the beer. Now let the reviewing begin!! I used my old reliable tulip glass for this review, although a pint glass might have been more appropriate.

A- Pours a ruby/copper color with some orange hues. It does pour with a big, thick, three fingered tannish head which dissipates quickly. Great lacing.

A- There is a lot of strong dark fruit aromas with toasted caramel malts. Definitely first hits the nose with a lot of sweetness. The sweetness is backed with a citrusy, piney hoppiness. There is only a hint of an alcohol, booziness to my nose.

T- Sweet, malty tastes upfront, but not as sweet as the aroma. There are nice notes of caramel and molasses. There is also some nice yeasty fruitiness. There are hints of dark fruits, with some prune and plum flavors.Not a lot of hoppiness for a barleywine; however, there is a nice balance between the malts and hops. There is some alcohol presence and bitterness towards the backend. The booziness becomes more present as the beer warms up.

M- There is a medium body with some nice creaminess. Crisp, perhaps due to it being slightly overcarbonated, with a bit of a backend bite.

D- For me, this is a very drinkable beer. Nice sweetness, but the alcohol is definitely present, which might put off some palates. Not a lot of hoppiness, and it goes down very smooth.

Comments: I am a big fan of barleywines, and, for me, this one wasn't bad. I personally like my beers a bit sweeter and less hoppy, so this one was right up my alley. However, it tasted more like an English-style barleywine than an American-style barleywine, because of the flavor profile. If you like more hops in your barleywine, then you probably won't like this one as much as other American Barleywines; for that I would recommend the beer I recently reviewed, Rock Art Brewery's The Vermonster, or Rogue's Old Crustacean. Again, l didn't like this beer as much as Great Divide's Old Ruffian or Weyerbacher's Blithering Idiot. I think, too, that this beer was too young; I would like to taste this beer again after its aged a few years. It seems older vintages of this beer are more highly rated. For me, its definitely worth a try.

Overall Grade: B