Northern Rivals
Fair State Brewing Cooperative

Caramel color, light reddish tan head, some nice lacing. Snot locker get some burnt sugar, caramel. Taste is similar, some fruit and resinous hops. Medium bodied, well carbonated. Single can purchase at Beer Bazaar.

 

My first of this style so my rating may be low. It’s like a “quadru-bock”. Dark fruit and alcohol. Lingers on the tongue. Beautiful can art.

A - Pours a clear dark amber with a sturdy tan head. Nice amount of clingy lacing.

S - Aroma is brown sugar, molasses and piney hops.

T - The taste is molasses, raisins, figs, dark cherries, plums, caramel, burnt sugar and a nice piney hop bite.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a nice soft finish.

O - Really solid. Not overly sweet like most American barleywines.

Dark amber pour into a Duvel glass, finger of khaki head with struggling lace. Nose brings dried fruit, dark rum, caramelized grain.

Taste shares toffee, caramel, figs, cherries, dark kilned malt, subtle woody resin, dark rum. Mouthfeel is sticky and full. Finish has some ABV heat, but it falls in line with the aforementioned sweet party quite nicely.

One of the best barleywines I’ve tried! I like that it’s not overly hoppy and the bitterness is more subdued. It’s a little sweet, but never gets cloying.

Chestnut brown, off-white head. Aromas of dark fruit, especially raisin, with big rugged barley, mild pine hops, and mellow toffee. Taste is a dark fruit explosion with big barley and caramelized sugars. Simple but sound and really hits the notes well. Feels smooth and clean with rustic flair, but compact and decently light. Lesson: make your rivals into partners

Released November 2024; drank 4/20/25 @ the Yarchives.

Semi-opaque brown/orange appearance.

A rough pour yielded a huge tan head; a thick curtain of tree-rung lacing remained.

Caramel & pine notes in the nose.

Medium thick, sticky mouthfeel.

Pine, caramel & soap flavors; booze heat emerged as this warmed.

Way too dry plus a sticky sweetness that borders on cloying; clashing flavors made this a tough swath for me to mow. Not one I'll return to.

Canned Drank 4/19/25. Drank 4/19/25
Pour is a deep mahogany, clear with a hbig cap of dense, tight, lightly khaki foam. Excellent retention and great lacing.
Nose is deep figs, toffee, brown sugar, molasses
Taste is toffee, figs, molasses, caramel, some dark fruits, malty sweetness, but not over the top; nicely balanced with a bit of mild bitterness.
Full bodied, but not too thick.

Overall, a very enjoyable barleywine. Glad I picked this up.

Fair State/Central Waters collab Northern Rivals American Barleywine, 12% ABV. Pours deep copper with a 3+ finger light-brown head that left lots of foamy lacing. Aroma is fruit (like juicy fruit gum) and caramel. Taste is caramel and dark fruit, somewhat sweet, and equally bitter. Decent dry mouthfeel, overall excellent.

The pour was a dark mahogany with an aggressive light brown head was measured in inches, not cms. Forced me to pause a few minutes to put a 12 oz beer into a 16 oz snifter.
The taste is caramel, figs and raisins that plays with a sweetness and is stopped short with a nice piney backstop.
The feel is a touch thinner, a little viscous but way too easy to quaff, and quaff quickly.
OA, actually a really good barleywine that checks all the boxes but doesn't really leap out as amazing. Keep in mind that this was up against some stiff competition for comparison.

 

 

From a 12oz can:

Appearance: Dark ruby-amber, big head.

Smell: Big fruitiness, then sweetness, caramel.

Taste: Moderately sweet caramel, then transfers over to dark and red fruits. More caramel and some piney hops in the finish.

Overall: I'm liking these Fair State barleywine releases, this is also a collab with Central Waters. American style, but not overly hoppy, good caramel and fruit flavors.

Aroma is fruit/dark fruit/hint of fruit cake/fruit jam and medium sweetness. The flavor is fruit/fruit jam, malts and a medium sweet/slightly hoppy/creeping alcoholic finish.

An excellent American style barleywine . One of the better ones I’ve had

L-Mahongany colored....nice perfect off white head...

S-Malty with earthy hops..

T-Caramel led maltiness...not as hopped up as some American BW's....some toffee....caramel...earthy hops....very nice...

F-Full bodied..creamy...smooth..not overtly dry on the finish like some..

O-Fair State combining with Central Waters on a BW figured to go well and it did. Maybe expected a bit more from this collab (like 5.0 rating) but regardless this is excellent.

 

 

Appearance: Pours a completely clear, deep ruby to bronze color with a massive medium-tanned head. SRM of 19. (4.25)

Aroma: Strong aromas of deep caramel, rich bread pudding, and maple syrup upfront. Some fig and bourbon aromas follow. (3.75)

Flavor: Strong flavors of rich caramel, maple syrup, with brown sugar sweetness to follow. Some bourbon and alcohol heat round out the end. (4.25)

Feel: Heavier body, lower carbonation. Smooth, rich, and some alcohol lingers off the end. (3.75+)

Overall: A barleywine release from Fair State in Minnesota and collab with Central Waters in Wisconsin. Central Waters makes some great barleywines. This has great caramel, maple syrup. The bourbon notes and alcohol show here, but not off-putting. It's also not overly sweet. It's rich, complex, and shows the alcohol in a pleasant way. I'm not a barleywine person, but can begin to appreciate the greatness here. (Rating: 4.08)