Where the Buffalo Roam

Watching a little NCAA basketball on a lazy Saturday, I was feeling bold, so I reached for a 473mL can of Where the Buffalo Roam. Brewed by Cameron’s Brewing Co., it comes from Oakville, Ontario. For some reason, the can comes in a box, which strikes me as excessive.  This barley wine packs a liver-battering 13% alcohol and 90 IBUs. Oak aged in bourbon barrels, the Buff is jumbo brew with a cloudy dullish brown-orange colour and a thick and durable cloud of off-white head.

For so strong an ale, Where the Buffalo Roam has an understated aroma, with toffee and raisin notes, and a blast of boozy warmth. To the tongue, there is nothing understated about this stuff, though it is quite mellow. The front end is sweet and a bit woody, led by dried fruit and treacle notes, while the finish is remarkably bitter—not in a hoppy sense, exactly; more of a molasses bitterness.

Where the Buffalo Roam has a bruisingly high percentage and a huge amount of flavour. But for all of that, it is a multifaceted brew. It’s too big to be subtle, but it does contain multitudes. As with many barley wines, I found this beer to be a bit too sweet, but unlike the bulk of brews in this style, I didn’t find this ale to be particularly spicy.