Miasmatic Review

Old Nick Barley Wine Style Ale

This week we have another case of me buying a beer due to the name and label. Today I sampled Young’s Old Nick Barley Wine Style Ale. If you remember last weeks beer was also manufactured by The Ram Brewery. This was on the shelf right next to ol' Dirty Dick's and I couldn't choose, so I bought one of each. I'm starting to really like this brewery.

The bottle appears to be the same 1 pint .9 oz. bottle that the Dirty Dick's Ale came in, in fact I'm pretty sure if I went out and bought another beer from this brewery it'll come in the same brown bottle. The only difference is the label. The label has a picture of Old Nick (AKA Lucifer, Satan, The prince of Darkness, The Devil) surrounded by flames. There is a description of the beer on the back and on the neck the tag line "Devilishly good".

When poured into the glass there was a dark brownish red color. Not so dark that light couldn't pass through it, but dark enough so you couldn't see through the glass. It wasn't cloudy, just dark. There was a good tan head on it that left a thick lacing on the side of the glass that lasts. There is still a hint of the lacing after 15 minutes.

There is a good toasted malt aroma to it with a touch of caramel and a hint of fruit. It's very enticing and welcoming to the nose. Upon the first sip I could taste a malt and nutty flavor with some hops, a touch of toffee and a very mild fruit flavor. This is not a fruit flavored beer; the fruitiness of it is more of an accent that enhances the other flavors. The aftertaste is mild and refreshing, just hint of bitterness that makes you want to take another sip.

It has a smooth medium to full bodied texture to it. It's pleasant with a slight tingle to the tongue. Very velvety that passes the mouth and throat easily. This is another beer I could see myself sitting around with friends and enjoying a good conversation.

This beer earns a rating of 7 out of 10. It's good enough that I could see myself buying more at the store just to spend an evening drinking on.