Beer: Beerline
Brewery: Lakefront Brewery (Milwaukee, WI)
Styles: American barleywine
This beer was brewed to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery. The name honors the Milwaukee street along which there used to be many breweries. It was last produced in 1997, but there are still plenty of bottles floating around out there. Since it's 2006, the brew was nicely aged prior to drinking -- and, indeed, the bottle recommends aging at least one year prior to consumption. The beer is also certified organic.
The aroma was malty with a wagonload of oranges and just a hint of clove. I appreciated the opaque amber color. It looks red when held up to the light. This beer has virtually no head and no carbonation. Being a novice at decanting beer, I accidentally poured the sediment into the glass.
Your first hint that this is a sipping beer is the fact that it comes in a cute 7 ounce bottle -- just enough to fill my wine glass nicely. The taste was pretty typical for an American barleywine. It came on strong with a nearly overpowering bite of American hops which made me shudder slightly with each sip. The flavor then subsides into a more calm hop-orange flavor that extends for minutes. It plays only a few taste notes, but those flavors that it includes it plays well.
I would drink this beer with any number of strong cheeses that wouldn't be intimidated by the the hop blitzkrieg. A good aged cheddar or manchego come to mind, although the possibilities are likely endless.
