Bourbon Barleywine
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

Bourbon BarleywineBourbon Barleywine
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
 
Virginia, United States
Style:
English Barleywine
ABV:
13.3%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.93 | pDev: 11.7%
Reviews:
26
Ratings:
145
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 12, 2023
Added:
Mar 15, 2014
Wants:
  8
Gots:
  47
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Elivictus:
Photo of Elivictus
Rated by Elivictus from Pennsylvania

3.41/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Nov 10, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of JayQue
Reviewed by JayQue from Virginia

4/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a stubby brown bottle into a USAF Academy snifter, this beer features a surprising long lasting foamy cream colored head (for a beer this strong) and a mahogany brown color. From the sides of the glass. No light comes through, yet for some reason, if you hold the glass up, there is some golden light shining through the bottom of the glass. Lacing consists of small, wispy streaks of foam on the sides of the glass. Alcohol by volume for the 2023 version is 11.1%% abv not the 13.3% listed here from 2014. Aroma and taste feature bourbon barrel and woody flavoring, sweet malt, toffee and some dark fruit (cherries and figs). The flavor is quite good and I was pleased that the bourbon barrel flavoring did not overwhelm the other flavors in the beer. I like barleywines and the toffee, malt and moderate bitterness were allowed to shine in addition the the bourbon barrel flavoring. Mouthfeel was fairly light for a barleywine and smoother and less boozy than most fresh/unaged ones. The bitterness was just right and it was an overall fine slow sipper.
Jun 12, 2023
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

4.35/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Bottle from Modern Liquors. Murky brown pour, lasting creamy head. Big malty aroma, some wood, some booze. Taste continues the malt assault , caramel, chocolate, tootsie rolls. Barrel aging adds some heat, and compliments in a nice way. Wow!
Jun 01, 2023
 
Rated: 3.5 by 1971bernat from Virginia

May 12, 2023
Photo of Treyliff
Reviewed by Treyliff from West Virginia

4.1/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750ml cork and cage bottle poured into a snifter
2016 Vintage

Pours a deep amber with a one-finger foamy off-white head that has good retention. Smells of caramel, toffee, brown sugar, some earthy tobacco and oaky bourbon. Tastes of sweet caramel malt with notes of brown sugar, raisins, figs with bourbon barrel undertones. Medium body with moderate carbonation, foamy mouthfeel with a slightly warming finish. This one has held up well.
Apr 07, 2021
 
Rated: 4.03 by Kurmaraja from California

Dec 14, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by Zekenyce from New Jersey

Oct 09, 2017
Photo of agreenman19
Reviewed by agreenman19 from Connecticut

3.88/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
L - pours a gritty, dirty copper. Thick and hazy with minimal head. Looks like syrup. Sun-kissed yellowy tan foam upon swirling.

S - whiskey heat and oak. Subtle orange vanilla cream. Caramel, raisins, dark fruits.

T - toasted marshmallows and grain. Little bit of bourbon wood and some medium-dark fruits a la figs and dates. The alcohol is shockingly well-hidden, but you can start to feel the ol' tongue numbing and lip tingling after a few sips. Has a doughy toasted white bread finish.

F - disappointing to say the least. A sinfully silky smooth syrupy feel would have gone great with this, but instead we get a kinda light, kinda thin, and overly carbed half-added attempt.

O - this is a bold barleywine, but a bit unbalanced and unrefined. It hides the alcohol amazingly well and that's the best thing it does. Flavors are muted and muddled, but like I said before, they are strong and potent. It's by no means a bad beer, but there is room for improvement. One thing is for sure though... it is going to light me up.
Apr 08, 2017
Photo of garymuchow
Reviewed by garymuchow from Minnesota

4.03/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to larryi86 for this 2016 version.
Sweet bourbon aroma with some alcohol and corn. A little intermingling of candy sweet malt and caramel, but mostly bourbon upfront.
A nice tan heads leaves before too long leaving a small bubbly haze on top. The dark amber shines nicely in the light with a brown red gold glow.
Bourbon is still dominant but there is more blending in the taste with the barleywine character showing greater presence esp. up front. An immediate warm shot to the gut and a ping in the prefrontal cortex ("ping"), but that's to be expected with a beer this size. A very long finish of alcohol warmth with enough hoppy bitterness to notice it - it's kinda' nice and then the bourbon. The wood character shows but it tends to be background and not much for any vanilla (and just as I write this the vanilla shows - must have needed a little opening up), more character presence than flavor.
Moderate but not much bigger heft, but nicely smooth and carbonate just enough.
This is a quality drink. While the bourbon is bigger than I prefer, it's still in the range of balanced as enough of the barleywine character shows through.
I may edit this some through the day, as I anticipate a many hour process to get through this one.
Dec 18, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by shirtless_mike from Indiana

Dec 04, 2016
 
Rated: 4.61 by GreatStoutman from Texas

Nov 19, 2016
 
Rated: 4.4 by Ctb6582 from Maryland

Nov 09, 2016
Photo of argock
Reviewed by argock from Virginia

4/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from a 750 ml corked and caged brown bottle into a clear glass tulip. 2016 vintage.

A: Hazy chestnut brown with amber edge with minimal head and no lacing.

S: The aroma has grown on me with warming with more pineapple, coconut, and vanilla coming through with fig and date malt components.

T: Flavor is oak barrel heavy and very pleasant with the funky pineapple, vanilla, and coconut joining to leave a very fruity initial impression that is tempered mildly with medium caramel and fig and date. There is a slight boozy flavor component, but in the grand scheme, the alcohol is well-hidden.

M: Silky with even carbonation, medium body. Dangerously drinkable.

O: Enjoyable but a little muted in all areas but very drinkable for the huge ABV.
Oct 01, 2016
 
Rated: 4.05 by Daniellobo from District of Columbia

Sep 29, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by Sweffin from Wisconsin

Sep 18, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by stakem from Pennsylvania

Aug 21, 2016
Photo of TheSixthRing
Reviewed by TheSixthRing from California

4.25/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2016 release

Appearance - Pours ruby brown with reddish highlights. The head is khaki in color and peaks at a finger's width before fading in fair succession. The result is a mostly barren surface with a thin ring of suds around the edge. Not much lacing but none expected for a BA beer.

Smell - Aromatic, with lots of deep toffee and lesser caramel upfront. Hints of fig, oak, molasses and a bit of booze make up the rest of the aroma.

Taste - Flips the script on the nose. More Molasses and dark fruit fig upfront, with lesser notes of toffee and a hint of toffee. Oaky undertone. A bit of vanilla and tobacco come into play. The finish delves into more wood, dark fruit and a hint of booziness that lingers well into the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Full in body with low to moderate carbonation, A bit sticky in texture with a slightly boozy, bone dry finish.

Overall - A wonderful BA barleywine that's ready to drink now, or just as likely to age with amazing results. Reminds me a bit of some of my favorite old ales, specifically North Coast Old Stock, so I'd pause before trading for it again, but I'd be all over this if it were to become widely available.
Jul 07, 2016
Photo of tigg924
Reviewed by tigg924 from Massachusetts

4.31/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.25
Pours hazy, orange-brown in color with 1/2 inch head. Taste is big bourbon, vanilla, English toffee, barrel, and light alcohol. No beer this big has any right to be this smooth. One of the smoothest big beers I have ever had. Sweet and tasty. Big winner from Hardywood. I will look for this and try to pick this up again.
Jun 25, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by skaboom420 from Pennsylvania

Jun 05, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by calcnerd from Pennsylvania

Jun 03, 2016
Bourbon Barleywine from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 145 ratings