Appearance

The Grizzly Paw Barley Wine 2016 Vintage Edition has a yellow wax seal on the top of the bottle. The label is also yellow with the image of a grizzly bear, brewery name, brewery address, ‘Barley Wine’, all in a cursive font. The bottle cap is black with the image of a grizzly bear paw. The beer pours dark, golden brown, with a thin white head.

Aroma

Nosing the beer produced aromas of brown sugar, lemon, raisins and stewed dates. All flavors that compel me to want to move on to the tasting portion of the review.

Flavor

There is sweetness up front with a slightly toasted brown sugar and raisin underneath. The boozy character of the beer is subtle at first, but builds as the the beer warms to become a more dominant flavor component.

Balance

I found the sweetness and raisin flavors to be well balanced, but there is an acidic and astringent combination that ends up being a distraction from the main profile.

Finish

For the initial part of the review, I found the finish to be quite thin, with sweetness that gave way to raisin. That finish intensified as the beer progressed, bringing with it some acidity and astringent character.

Overall

The Grizzly Paw Barley Wine 2016 Vintage Edition was an enjoyable and satisfying beer in the barley wine category. Even though it packed a high ABV, and some in your face boozy character go with it, it never seemed to overwhelm the flavor complexity. As far as I’m aware these limited releases are only available from The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company directly, so it gives me a convenient excuse to visit the brewery again.

John McTavish

SCORE

6.67

Cost/Point

$1.31

Scoring System

Personal Beer Review: Grizzly Paw Barley Wine 2016 Vintage Edition