Dominion Millenium
- Product Reviewed: Dominion Millennium
- Brewed by: Old Dominion Brewing Co., Ashburn, VA
- Reviewed By: David Brockington
- Original Posted to Usenet: June 8, 1994
Caveat Corner:
This beer traveled over 3,000 hellish miles to
get from its place of origin to my wonderful abode. At either end of the
shipping period, I have it on good information that the beer was
treated very well. However, if you are one of those that does not believe a
bottle of beer deserves to spend any time on a truck traveling across the
continent, take the following review with the appropriate measure of
Burton Salts (and cancel your BAA subscription). That being so stated,
here we go...
Initial Impressions:
As I have indicated before, Dominion has this wonderful policy of
stamping the bottling date on their bottles. This bottle of Millennium was
filled with beer on February 10, 1994. The review took place on May 27 of
that very same year. Since this is a big beer (I would reckon a Barleywine)
the age should have little impact.
The beer came in a brown 12-ounce longneck. Pouring created a
light tan head, which displayed a nice retention. The beer was a pleasant
amber shade, and was crystal clear, showing no signs of haze.
Nose:
The nose screamed malt in all its wonderful glory. It was a deep,
lingering, strong, sweet maltiness. If one wanted to know exactly what malt
smells like, this is a good beer to check out. In the background of this
malt explosion was some hoppiness, and a few warning hints of alcohol.
Flavor:
The first word out of my mouth was "wow." The first thing I noticed
when I calmed down and actually analyzed the profile was the pleasant warming
impact of alcohol, which quickly slid into a smooth malt solo. The maltiness
lingers while the beer finishes with a nice dose of balancing hop bitterness.
My roommate, Marvin Crippen, was overheard stating that this beer is "too
easy to drink too quickly."
Final Analysis:
Definitely a barleywine, and an excellent example of the style.
I would suspect a 1.085-1.090 gravity, possibly higher. This was the
last of my Dominion stock, but from the five beers that I tasted, I
am left wanting more. At any rate, the Millennium was a wonderful brew,
and I hope to have it on tap some day.
**** (out of 5)
Next Up:
I haven't had time to critically review any of my stock lately,
but after Friday I'll have some free time. The next beer will be a bit
of a surprise, then.
Copyright 1994 by David Brockington, all rights reserved
David Brockington,
Seattle, USA
bronyaur@u.washington.edu