Baggywrinkle Barleywine Ale

Image courtesy of beerchooser.com

Well, you gotta love the name, although it did give me a slightly uneasy feeling in some small way.  Baggywrinkle Barleywine Ale by Cisco Brewers, Nantucket, MA, is pretty darn sweet, but not gross.  There’s some roasted caramel in the exhale (along with a good 9% ABV tang), as well as some Worthinger’s butterscotch and a bit of grain.  There is a good deal of hoppiness present too, but mostly in the form of a long, dry finish.  The bouquet becomes a bit buttery (not diacetyl!) as it warms, and again, plenty of alcohol warms the sinuses, and maybe a you’ll find a bit of raisiny sweetness.  Baggywrinkle Barleywine Ale is good stuff, especially on a 10 degree February evening in Chicago, like tonight.

88/100 Barleywine

By the way, a baggywrinkle is a nautical term for protective gear made from frayed out rope and used on ship rigging to prevent chafing.