I participated in a vertical tasting of Heavyweight Brewing Company’s English Barley Wine style ale, Old Salty, over the weekend. A small group of us got together and opened cellared bottles of all six vintages of Old Salty (2000-2005).We took notes on the flavors and characteristics of each vintage beer and rated them on quality and status based on the following specifications.
Quality:
0 = undrinkable
1 = seriously flawed but drinkable
2 = slightly flawed
3 = acceptable
4 = good
5 = very good
6 = excellent
Status as an estimate of future changes:
Decline = drink it now
Near peak = drink it within the next year
Improve = it might be worth saving this beer
Click here to see the chart showing the averaged scores and some tasting notes for each beer.
The 2002 version was by far the overall favorite with its viscous mouthfeel and woody dark fruits and brown sugar/maple overtones. The 2000 vintage was the only one the group scored as being past its prime and was also our lowest score (2.66) on quality.
This was an enjoyable tasting and a nice way to revisit some quality beers from the great Heavyweight Brewing Co. which closed for business mid-way through last year.
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