So here’s the thing. I’ve always enjoyed the beers of Atlanta’s Sweetwater Brewing Company, but they haven’t always been my favorite local brewery. In the past, that distinction belonged quite definitively to the also local Dogwood Brewing Company. Much to my chagrin, they went belly up a few years ago.

Sweetwater’s motto is “Don’t float the mainstream”, but I think to a degree that at times they’ve done just that, at least as far as craft brewed beers are concerned. Since Dogwood left the local beer scene, however, Sweetwater seems to have taken up the mantle from them as far as brewing some pretty extreme beers is concerned. The latest example: Donkey Punch! Barleywine, a seasonal offering in Sweetwater’s “Catch and Release” line.

I got an e-mail from Sweetwater announcing the arrival of Donkey Punch! several weeks back, and awaited with much anticipation its release on September 21st. So, I called them directly when that day arrived. A very nice young lady answered the phone, and advised me that they were only just bottling Donkey Punch! today, but that it would be available in stores sometime the next week.

“Drat!” I muttered to myself; I wanted it right away. But I waited and managed to find it the next week. “Bully!” I cried upon spying it, and snapped up two one-liter swingtops at a measly $8.99 each, one for drinking, one for lying down. At 10% alcohol by volume and 90 IBUs of bitterness, this is a beer that will certainly be interesting to try with a bit of age on it.

To get to my Donkey Punch! Barleywine I have to first tear the gold foil from the top of the imposing liter bottle and then pop the swing-top open. Immediately, I get a whiff of nuggety, herbal grassy hops before I even have a chance to pour some of the beautiful reddish amber liquid into my wide mounted brandy snifter glass.

When I do, I see a light, almost wispy head of creamy foam form atop the liquid. I swirl the liquid around the glass and allow some of the aforementioned aromas to rise to my nose. Ah, hop heaven, along with some delightful fresh bread notes. Time for a sip, I think.

The thick, viscous liquid rolls luxuriously across the tongue and leaves chewy notes of caramel, fresh doughy bread, sweet candied fruits, and bright citric orange peel. Indeed, the beer is packed with wonderful yeasty and malty flavors up front.

Very quickly, though, the hops start to make their presence known. They first impart a minty aroma, then get really grassy and bitter really quick. Herbal and aromatic with a new-mown grass character, I’m thinking English Fuggles or Goldings here though I’m not sure. The finishing bitterness is truly intense, long and dry, mouth-puckering and brutally effective. A warming kick of alcohol seals the deal, too.

Wow. This is a really, really intense beer. It’s a perfect beer for a nightcap after a long hard day, and certainly a warm and welcome treat on a cool fall or cold winter evening. A full liter of this stuff is a lot for one beer drinker to consume in a night. At 1000 ML x 10% alcohol by volume, you get 100 ml of alcohol. The average 12 ounce bottle of beer has 355 ML at about 5% alcohol by volume, yielding 17.75 ml of alcohol. So, a bottle of Donkey Punch is like drinking 5.63 bottles of average beer.

I drank about three quarters the bottle tonight and resealed the handy swingtop. I’ll get back to you on how it fares in a few days open, and aged unopened too.

Update
As promised, it's now several days later and I'm ready to polish off the rest of my bottle of Donkey Punch! As one might expect, the carbonation is pretty much gone, but that's not really a problem for this style. All of the other wonderful flavors still come alive here in this delicious brew. So, if you can't finish it all in one night, it's OK. Just wait a few nights and get Donkey Punched! again.

---

Update: August 4, 2011:  Just popped a bottle I had been aging since I bought it four years ago. Very nicely aged, a bit more mellow and bready than when young. Still packed with notes of caramel and a hint of chocolate, soft fruit is also discernible.  Surprisingly, this one still has a generous dose of grassy hops in the finish and an impressive bitterness after four years. The alcohol burn has become a bit more harsh in the finish, too.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

 

 

 



Home