Review Date 2/11/2009 Last Updated 2/11/2013
Try? Re-buy?
I
knew I wanted a beer tonight. Generally, when I say I want a beer, the term
is implied to be plural, meaning more than one bottle or glass, though
rarely more than three or four these days. But tonight, I think, I may just
settle for one, and that being the case it had to be a really good one.
To be fair, it was a pretty big one, too, both in size (a 22 ounce bomber)
and in strength (9.7% alcohol by volume). You see, I had just enjoyed a
rather sumptuous repast of succulent roast pork rubbed with olive oil and
crusted with pepper and garlic, creamy mashed red potatoes, and fresh
broccoli in lemon pepper butter. Rather sated on that hearty fare, I was
ready for a beer to sip.
A beer like Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine barleywine style ale.
And so I poured my bottle into a wide-mouthed, bulb shaped glass and allowed
it to warm slightly. Barleywines are, after all, beers to be sipped and
savored, and are better appreciated cool, but not cold. Like many wines,
they can be cellared for years, usually with interesting effects. My bottle
is almost a year old (it's the 2008 I'm sipping).
Barleywine is originally an English style of ale, being a strong and hearty
brew of greater body and with higher alcohol than your average ale. In
America, they style has been hijacked after a fashion, and Olde Gnarly Wine
fits in the American West Coast variant. It is therefore more hoppy and
stronger ( a formidable 9.7% by volume alcohol content) than most English
examples.
Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine pours to a ruby-tinged orange color with a light
and frothy head formation and a delightfully appetizing nose of fresh bread
and caramel. This is unquestionably a sipping brew, as you'll discover
almost immediately as the rich, almost decadent liquid glides across your
tongue. As it does, it will deposit some amazing flavors there: fresh doughy
bread, thick chewy caramel, candied fruit, just a hint of chocolate, and
dark raisin.
Thick and syrupy in body, Olde Gnarly Wine has a decided sweetness to it
that is just barely balanced out in the finish by herbal, perfumey, slightly
peppery hops and dry, warming alcohol. But that's OK. Beers like this should
be slowly savored. While not as intimidating as
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, nor perhaps as smooth as
Anchor Old Foghorn , Olde Gnarly Wine is wonderful in its own right, and
a downright bargain at about $5 a bottle.
Update 2/11/2013: I suppose it is fitting that I am updating my review exactly four years after posting my original thoughts on Lagunitas Old Gnarly Wine. I just enjoyed an 11 ounce glass on tap at taco Mac over the weekend, and the beer was as wonderfully bready malty with chewy caramel, a hint of chocolate, dark fruit and peppery hops just as in the past.
Another reason I love this brewery, though, is that while most other brewers contnue to raise their prices again and again, Lagunitas remains affordable. That wouldn't matter if the beer wasn't good, but it is wonderful indeed.
Yes, Old Gnarly Wine was served as an 11 ounce short pour, but at only $4.75 I can deal with that. Compare to Ommegang Gnomegang which was also on but $9.50 for 11 ounces. Twice the price (and up $1 since July of 2011 at that). The beers are equally complex and the Gnarly Wine is actually stronger at 9.7% to the 9.5% of the Ommegang beer. I've bumped this beer up from 4.5 tankards to a full 5 for being a great beer and exceptional value.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft