Brewery: Södra Maltfabriken Brewery
Country: Sweden
Size: 33cl
ABV: 9.8%
Price: 30kr
Systembolaget: 32724
Getting old is a terrible thing. You suddenly start having aches in places you really shouldn’t be getting them. Your memory also begins to go a bit hazy, such as mine did when I was buying in beers for the Strong Beer Tasting. You see, I wanted a barley wine so I searched around and decided to buy in Anchor “Old Foghorn”. I had forgotten though that I already had used that beer in my first ever beer tasting back over a year ago. After a frantic search I finally stumbled upon another barley wine to replace it with, and that was the Södra Barley Wine. This is only the second time they have brewed this beer, and I had been meaning to have one of their beers in a tasting so it seemed like the perfect time.
It was deep mahogany in colour with a light head that appeared off white. The carbonation as rather low as I expected and there was a slight cloud noticed too when the beer was held to the light. One whiff on the glass revealed a plethora of aromas. Big sweet malts, honey, plums, sultanas and apricots blended together to form this rich, fruity smell. The beer had a robust body and a taste to go along with it with straw, dates and syrup swirling around the tongue in unison. Straw notes in the aftertaste were found but they were rather short-lived. After swallowing the beer left a nice warmth in the throat.
So how did I find this beer? I enjoyed it and found it in the most part very drinkable. I don’t think barley wine is the easiest of beers to try but this one went down easily. I can’t say it’s the best barley wine I have had but still it was very well made and they have imparted some interesting aromas into it. I would have liked a bit more of that apricot to come through from the smell into the taste but that’s just a personal preference. A very worthy replacement, and I’ve already taken in another of the Södra brews for the Easter tasting. Good job!