Poured up on tap at the 2015 edition of the AZ Strong Beer Festival where it exhibits a slightly hazy coppery gold body that supports a near white head of foam. The aroma pushes up sweet malts, a nice pine hoppiness and some floral hop notes around the edges. The taste starts off awfully floral in hops and it quickly gets bitter and resiny with pine like hoppiness. To midway a sort of soapy sensation bubbles to the surface to take something away from the experience. Wow, this is firmly bitter, firmly resiny and with plenty of sweet backbone for structure. This is a pretty damn good American Barleywine. Even the little bit of a soapiness doesn’t take away from this beer’s elevated level of YUM.

(En fût à la brasserie North Park): Tire d’érable et caramel écossais coulés sur une chaleur accablante et une certaine oxydation qui s’atténue en respirant. Une sensation de sucre d’orge et d’abricot reste sur la langue après que l’amertume corrosive eut foutu son bordel.

[2/21/15] Draught at Mike Hess North Park in San Diego. Clear copper. Aroma of malt, butter and some fruitiness. Sweet flavor, malty, with butter, a bit of caramel, some fruitiness and alcohol. Medium-bodied, a bit oily. Not so good.

Draught at Ground Control. Pours a clear amber color with a moderate off-white head on there. Nose is a little hoppy, with grass and resin being most salient. Taste is a bit bitter, with just a hint of warming booziness for a mouthfeel.

On tap @ Hess North Park. Copper colored pour with a small off-white head. Smell is big time booze, pine, and caramel malts. A whole lot of brown sugar as well. Slightly spicy. Hop bite dominates the back end of the tongue. So much bitterness. A lot of resin and pine. Strong sweetness of caramel and brown sugar. Sort of harsh and alcohol heavy.

Type: Draft Glass: 30cl tulip (10.1 oz.) From: Mike Hess Brewing Price: $5.00 Purchased: Dec. 12, 2014 Consumed: Dec. 12, 2014 Misc.: N/A Poured a honey, caramel, mostly clear color with 1-to-2 fingers of khaki cream, fluffy head. Some bubbly streams coming up from the bottom. Uneven spotty lacing on the sides. Above average retention on the top. (Sight - 4.25) Pretty hoppy on the nose. Got Citra hops, floral hops, soapy pine, lime zest, tangerine, caramel, butterscotch, toffee and some roastiness. (Smell - 3.75) Tasted booziness right away. Also sweet caramel, Citra hops, butterscotch, toffee and soapy pine. (Taste - 3.75) Medium body. Thin texture. Average carbonation. Abrupt finish. (Feel - 3.63) A decent effort at a barleywine. I’d have it again for sure. (Overall - 3.75) 3.76 85 B+

Much more golden orange than I would have expected from this barley wine. Has the mouthfeel almost of a nitro, which I'm not sure if I love or hate. A bit too sweet for me, even for it's style. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Pint on tap. It was on "special" at a bar in phoenix. It’s cloudy and a dull copper color, tiny head fades off, medium adhesion. The aroma isn’t great for the style: it hints subtly at alcohol and malts. Taste is pretty good, bitter and lacks some warmth; it feels like it’s being served too warm. Buttery mouthfeel, somewhat resinous. It’s harsh, not as mellow as the best barleywines that "sneak" up on you. This one is okay, maybe slightly less alcohol.

Hess’ Ordeum Rex is a big, burly brew, and punches where it counts. Save this one for last, because while a lot of Hess’ work produces large, obtuse, delicious flavors, this one will eclipse them all. I had the 2013 version (I think) which poured a damp foxy brown, lidded with a heavy head of cedar wood colored foam. The smell is powerful with hops and alcohol, and barrel aging too (though I don’t actually know if this has benefited from any time in barrels.) The flavor is exceptionally strong, washing away the Dryadalis I enjoyed earlier, and filling it with a heavy, boozy concoction that had me reeling. More oak, booze, and the pointed primacy of hops hit you full in the face. Hops maniac? You’ll love this. I like to think of it as the San Diego take on barley wines. It’s a but clumsy for my palate, but folks with big appetites for big flavors will find this to be a supremely satisfying beer.

Draft at brewery. Had a 3 year vertical. The pour is a rich carmel color, the more recent year is more hazy. The aroma is nice sweet toffee. The taste gets boozier the older the vintage. Has some nice tones, a little harsh on the taste though. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone