Beer Review: $#!+ Ton (Turning Point Beer)

Yesterday, I received my Texas beer mail package. It was packed full of goodies from breweries like Turning Point Beer, Martin House, Celestial Beer Works, Panther Brewing, HopFusion Ale Works, etc. Yesterday saw me already dive into three of the beers (the barleywine, the spicey pickle beer, and then the Fur Slipper milk stout to wash that down).

I came up with a plan during this lockdown to both help local breweries and get to try new breweries that I can’t travel to. So I set up a few ‘local for local’ trades with some guys online (I have a box coming from South Florida shortly). I went around to local breweries – Boneshire Brew Works, Pizza Boy Brewing, Tattered Flag, and Ever Grain Brewing and grab some four-packs, broke them down to make mixed packs to send off. Its a win for everyone. My local breweries get patronage, their local breweries get patronage, and we both get to try beers we most likely never would get to try otherwise. Plus it also gives me some unique beers to review here for the blog which further spreads the word.

So lets check out the first one I tried out.

Beer: $#!+ Ton
Brewery: Turning Point Beer
Style: Barleywine – English
ABV: 11.8%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Our first English Barley Wine, made entirely with English ingredients.

This beer comes from the Turning Point Beer (brewery) – Bedford Texas. Untappd lists it as a Brew Pub, with 153 unique beers and a global average rating of 4.1 (as of 4.23.20). Their Untappd description reads: “We make cool beers for cool people. 1307 Brown Trail Bedford Texas 76022.” You can find their Untappd page here: Turning Point Beer.

After a long day of ….quarantining … and walking the dog for a long walk, and doing things for three young people under my care, and finishing Module Five (Yeast), I needed this. It was just a barleywine kinda night. Slight chill, almost sunset time, about 7PM…. I’m halfway through my glass when my youngest asks to go for a bike ride. I don’t ride bike, so that meant I had to jog along with her while we did about a mile (+) bike loop. With half of a 11.8% barleywine sloshing around my gut. Do. Not. Recommend.

Anway… onto the actual review.

This poured a lovely caramel brown color, with a very frothy full foamy head. The head is a nice off-white (slightly brown) creamy looking head with great bubbles, varied sizes and disperse. It left nice lacing on the glass. It was a sweet looking brown with a hint of amber, clear, and well carbonated.

Aroma is malty, bready, with a bit of a banana smell. It has a slight sweet odor, but not vanilla. Slight spices smell but all very subtle, the predominant aroma was the malty bready biscuity backbone to this beer with everything else being subdued and subtle.

This was a delicious barleywine, one of my favorite styles. It had a very nice kick, but was very easy drinking, and like a good barleywine. Unlike some (most) barleywines you don’t even take notice of the 11.8% on this bad boy. It is definitely malty, and it has a slight appropriate bitterness to it. You get your dose of ‘English’ ingredients in this that rounds things out nicely. Some spices, some herbal elements. As with the aroma, there is a fine feint hint of banana. Nothing too ripe, but it might be where some of the sweetness comes from. This does go back and forth on being ‘sweet’ to ‘not sweet’ as you drink it down, which is interesting how it bounces back and forth between the two so much. There is a nice breadyness and biscuit flavor profile that goes with the high malt on this, giving it a full thick mouthfeel. Its not cloying, nice mouthfeel but not too heavy, no off flavors, just all around a well made barleywine that is amazingly easy sipper.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.92 (as of 4.23.20)

After this, I ended up meeting up with Drew and finishing part two of our run through of Zelda – A Link to the Past. Once we get the YouTube channel up and running, you’ll be able to see it on there. (Coming shortly). I poured myself a sampler (like half a shot) of the Spicy Pickle Beer, and gave Drew the rest of the pint. It took me some courage to even drink that shot. Not. A. Fan. D. Scott loved his glass of it though. I washed it down with HopFusion’s Fur Slipper (Imperial Milk Stout).

Still working through my online beer course, you can check the series out by starting at the beginning and working your way through it here: Beer Education: The Series. Also, look for a post about the grand opening of Hemauer Brewing, that should probably be posted tomorrow.

Stay safe, take it easy, be kind, and cheers everyone!

-B. Kline