Malmgård Barley Wine

Well, I’m a big Malmgård fan. They make quality beer with quality ingredients and clear style without too much experimenting. They have taste – good taste – in beer-making. They have not always succeeded to conquer my tastebuds, but I’m always excited about having a new Malmgård taste. First this feels a lot like many other barley wines – malty, sweet, port wine/liquor –feel. Almost room-temperature (which means 18-19 celsius in my old house) and I expect this to be too sweet by the nutty smell. “Not at all!” shouts the taste – and aftertaste kills the sweetness with hoppy attack. VERY dry finish. Feels like double IPA with aftertaste. I actually prefer IPA – and more so APA – than DIPA, but this dry hoppy finish gives a very nice counterpart to a strong malty body and sweetness. Not my favorite style of beers, but definitely a great modern example of barley wines with enough hoppy dryness to tackle the sweetness and fullness of a malty body. Complex beer, not easy for sure, but actually exactly what you would expect of a barley wine – and more – so have to raise it in its rightful stature of one of the greats in Finnish indie beer making.

**** Great