Uinta Crooked Cockeyed Cooper Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine

Intrigued by the bottle, I picked up one of Uinta Brewing’s Crooked Line series, but have been intimidated by its high ABV and 750ml volume, so now that I have a friend over to share in the experience we’re pulling the top off Uinta Crooked Cockeyed Cooper Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine.

Uinta Crooked Cockeyed Cooper Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine poured a dark reddish-brown in the glass with a thin, sticky white head.  The nose carried strong pine, caramel, and subtle vanilla notes.

Uinta Crooked Cockeyed Cooper Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine opened with the pine hops hinted at the in the nose, with a strong undercurrent of sugar, sweetness, and a dark, earthy smoke.  The body grew thick and creamy as the alcohol heat came through, with dry notes of bakers chocolate.  As the ale faded, the bourbon and barrel came through, oaky and dry.

Uinta Crooked Cockeyed Cooper Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine is a good barley wine.  It isn’t too strong, isn’t too thick, and avoids ever getting cloyingly sweet.  There is something missing that makes it lack the depth of some of the best barley wine style ales around, but it stands up as a lighter entry when one considers the ABV of over 11%.

Uinta Crooked Line Labyrinth Black Ale

Thursday at 4 Daughters Irish Pub typically brings some interesting beers on tap, and this Thursday was no exception, featuring an entry from the Crooked Line by Uinta Brewing, Uinta Crooked Line Labyrinth Black Ale.

Uinta Crooked Line Labyrinth Black Ale poured a deep, pitch black out of the tap with a milk chocolate colored head that coated the sides of the glass.  The nose was composed of smoke, dark chocolate, and a semi-dried cherry.

Uinta Crooked Line Labyrinth Black Ale had a thick, creamy, milkshake like semi-sweet chocolate start that was slowly offset by a cherry cordial dark sweetness.   The ale ended on a dry, powdered cocoa ending with just a touch of heat.

Uinta Crooked Line Labyrinth Black Ale is one of the rare ales that caught me off guard.  The black ale hides its 13.2% ABV impossibly well, and the balance between thick and dry makes it a complex but never overwhelming experience.  This is one of the best. 

Uinta Dubhe Imperial Black IPA

Uinta Dubhe Imperial Black IPA, Uinta Brewing's Imperial take on the relatively new CDA style, poured a thick black into the glass, allowing no light to pass through the body or stick, ashy head.  The nose carried forward dark, roasted grain and a strong hop presence of citrus and pine.  


Uinta Dubhe Imperial Black IPA opened with a bright and heated front before a silky milk chocolate pushed the heat to the back of the mouth (where the hops made their appearance).  A slight bitterness that hung in the background for most of the experience came through a bit stronger in the fade, but the bigness of the malt and the heat of nearly 10% alcohol kept it from becoming too prominent.


Oddly, for the big, rich flavors that were happening in Uinta Dubhe Imperial Black IPA, there was a strange hollowness the the experience.  There's nothing wrong with what pours out of the bottle, but I wish it had a bit more earthy complexity.  Whatever... it's only the second Imperial CDA I have tried and it is certainly worth revisiting at a later date!

Uinta Monkshine Belgian Blonde Ale

Uinta Monkshine Belgian Style Blonde Ale, an organic offering from Utah-based Uinta Brewing, poured a golden hue with the slightest tinge of pink with heavy carbonation and a thing white head.  The nose carried forward orchard fruit and wine grapes, with a hint of spice somewhere between white pepper and alcohol heat.


Uinta Monkshine Belgian Blonde opened crisp and light, with sweet pear and grapes opening the experience against a slightly musty background.  The sweetness thickened and darkened as the ale warmed, and it ended with the peppery spice and alcohol heat hinted at in the nose.


Uinta Monkshine Belgian Blonde Ale brought the right amount of funk and farmhouse to the table, but was a tad sweeter than most ales I have tried in this style.  Overall, Monkshine is a good ale, but tastes a little unrefined and young.

Uinta Crooked Tilted Smile Imperial Pilsner

Uinta Crooked Line Tilted Smile Imperial Pilsner, another big offering from the Crooked Line at Uinta Brewing, poured a clear, golden yellow into the glass with a small, long-lasting white head.  The nose was light and subtle; malt heavy with toasted grains, hay, and pepper standing out.

Uinta Tilted Smile Imperial Pilsner opened with a big, clean body of grass and toast with notes of lemon and butter coming though.  The heavy carbonation accented the herbal, peppery hops and kept the body reasonably light.  As the lager settled, the high ABV made itself known with some heat and a dry bitterness that defined the fade of the beer. 

Uinta Crooked Line Titled Smile Imperial Pilsner is an interesting, if not necessarily exciting, detour in beer tasting.  Lagers this big are hard to find, and Tilted Smile stays true to the spirit of a pilsner, with a “bigger is better” aesthetic that mostly works.  I’m not sure if the bigness of Tilted Smile will turn off lager drinkers, or if the mostly-true-to-style pilsner qualities will turn off big beer drinkers, but my palette thanked me and I’m a more informed person for having tried it.  

Uinta Crooked Detour Double India Pale Ale

Uinta Crooked Detour Double IPA, part of Uinta Brewing’s Crooked Line, poured a clear, mild orange hue with a thick, creamy tan head.  The nose carried through a large amount of sweet caramel malt and was surprisingly subdued in the hop department, with just a touch of stewed orange coming through.

Uinta Crooked Detour Double India Pale Ale opened with moderate caramel and malt sweetness and a slightly oily mouth feel before the hops came through.  The hops carried a fairly two dimensional profile of dark citrus and pine, with moments of peach poking through.  Bitterness crept through in the extended fade, as did some of the alcohol heat. 

All in all, Uinta Crooked Detour Double IPA is a good beer, but probably one of the weaker offerings from the Crooked line.  Neither the hop bomb most imperial IPA drinkers are looking for nor complex in composition, this ale tasted just a bit too generic to be in such elaborate packaging.  

Uinta Hop Notch IPA