Barrel Aged Barleywine
Zipline Brewing Co


- From:
- Zipline Brewing Co
- Nebraska, United States
- Style:
- American Barleywine
- ABV:
- 14.7%
- Score:
- 90
- Avg:
- 4.1 | pDev: 9.27%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 4
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Nov 12, 2017
- Added:
- Nov 19, 2014
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 4
Brewed for Zipline's second anniversary.
This beer undergoes metamorphosis each year from barrel aging. With each vintage, the brewers select a different combination of barrels. In 2014, the beer rested for 10 months in all bourbon barrels and reached 14.7% ABV. In 2015, we blended bourbon and pinot noir barrels to achieve a decadent infusion of vanilla, black cherry, and oak. For the 2016 vintage, we’ve acquired massive Sherry puncheons and a few select bourbon barrels for a truly rare blend.
This beer undergoes metamorphosis each year from barrel aging. With each vintage, the brewers select a different combination of barrels. In 2014, the beer rested for 10 months in all bourbon barrels and reached 14.7% ABV. In 2015, we blended bourbon and pinot noir barrels to achieve a decadent infusion of vanilla, black cherry, and oak. For the 2016 vintage, we’ve acquired massive Sherry puncheons and a few select bourbon barrels for a truly rare blend.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by yesterdayfaraway from Missouri
4.04/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.04/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
**2016**
L: pours light cooper
S: big barrel, sweetness
T: startes sweet then the sherry barrel completely takes over.
F: finishes a little dry, quite thin
O: good not great. Come to find out, I'm not a huge sherry fan. Haha
Jun 27, 2017L: pours light cooper
S: big barrel, sweetness
T: startes sweet then the sherry barrel completely takes over.
F: finishes a little dry, quite thin
O: good not great. Come to find out, I'm not a huge sherry fan. Haha
Rated by Hopheadjeffery from Illinois
4/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2015 vintage 12.3%
Jun 16, 2017Reviewed by hoptheology from South Dakota
4.33/5 rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.33/5 rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
On tap.
Pours a coppery bronze color with a towering head.
Very floral, fruity, and estery aroma. Banana, clove and grapefruit.
Fruity flavors abound with a heavy malt backing and ahuge alcohol presence. Bananas, clove, grapefruit, white cherry, orange.
Feel is humongous. Just as a barleywine should be. Creamy, lots of carb.
Outstanding performance here.
Apr 03, 2016Pours a coppery bronze color with a towering head.
Very floral, fruity, and estery aroma. Banana, clove and grapefruit.
Fruity flavors abound with a heavy malt backing and ahuge alcohol presence. Bananas, clove, grapefruit, white cherry, orange.
Feel is humongous. Just as a barleywine should be. Creamy, lots of carb.
Outstanding performance here.
Reviewed by MLoxxer from Nebraska
4.49/5 rDev +9.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
4.49/5 rDev +9.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
THIS BEER HAS BEEN RESURRECTED!!! I purchase a bomber of Zipline Barrel-Aged Barleywine, a 2015 bottling whose ABV is 12.3%.
Upon uncapping the bottle the smell told me that this was the barley wine I had been missing. My frame of reference for this style is Young's Old Nick and Rogue Old Crustacean (yeah I know, one's and English and the other an American Barleywine) and hadn't been able to find anything that compared to what I expected out of this style when I started drinking them 20 years ago.
This beer produces very little head, which for something in this gravity range is what I expect. The color is that nice ruby-brown that tells me they didn't skimp on the malt. The aroma is excellent, not a hop bomb like so many of it's contemporaries tend to be. It is after all a barley wine, not a hop wine!
The aroma has that sweet, well-aged, boozy character to it.
The flavor is world class, a text book example of what a barleywine is supposed to be.
Overall I must say that Zipline hit this one out of the park. Although it is not an inexpensive beer, the quality makes it worth every penny. If you are looking for an example of what a barley wine is supposed to be, look no further.
Feb 02, 2016Upon uncapping the bottle the smell told me that this was the barley wine I had been missing. My frame of reference for this style is Young's Old Nick and Rogue Old Crustacean (yeah I know, one's and English and the other an American Barleywine) and hadn't been able to find anything that compared to what I expected out of this style when I started drinking them 20 years ago.
This beer produces very little head, which for something in this gravity range is what I expect. The color is that nice ruby-brown that tells me they didn't skimp on the malt. The aroma is excellent, not a hop bomb like so many of it's contemporaries tend to be. It is after all a barley wine, not a hop wine!
The aroma has that sweet, well-aged, boozy character to it.
The flavor is world class, a text book example of what a barleywine is supposed to be.
Overall I must say that Zipline hit this one out of the park. Although it is not an inexpensive beer, the quality makes it worth every penny. If you are looking for an example of what a barley wine is supposed to be, look no further.
Reviewed by Shawnhamling
4.39/5 rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.39/5 rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
On tap at brewery:Everything a barleywine should be and nothing it shouldn't be. Pours a cloudy deep reddish brown one finger head with good lacing. Smells of dates and booze.
Feb 05, 2015Rated by neckbeardnation22 from Maryland
3.25/5 rDev -20.7%
3.25/5 rDev -20.7%
might age and mellow, but its pretty thin and boozy now,
Nov 21, 2014
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