Oak Aged Burly Friar Barleywine
Church Brew Works

 

Got a growler of an oak aged barleywine right before Christmas ('10). I'm assuming this is the same beer, although I don't recall the waitress mentioning the Burly Friar name.

A: Color is very dark brown, if not black, and opaque. I had very little head in mine, but that could be because I held unto my growler for a week or so before opening.

S: Very aromatic, smelling of tobacco, some cherries, and lots of oak and wood. A bit of alcohol in the aroma reminds me of bourbon, although I don't think it was aged in bourbon barrels.

T: Picking up lots of smokiness, with more oak,tobacco and woody notes. Beneath all the oak, there's a hint of sweet maltiness. Beer finishes with a lot of smoky flavors, reminding me of a German smoked beer.

M: Medium to full bodied with little carbonation (but again, that could just be that my growler was a few days past it's prime).

D: Very nice sipping beer on a cold winter night. Pretty complex flavors hold your interest. Beer gains complexity as it warms.

Here is what the Church Brew Works website has to say about this beer:

It's time to welcome our next high gravity (and thus high alcohol) specialty beer. Very big beers
like this have been brewed in England for hundreds of years. The name Barleywine was not used until about 1903 when the Bass Ale brewery called their Bass No. 1 a Barleywine A Barleywine is a massive beer and the is no exception. It is dark in color and very big and malty in body. This year we took this beer to another level. We aged this batch for a full year in American oak barrels. This imparts a deep hearty oak flavor in the beer. Almost like drinking a nice whiskey. The aroma will be malty sweet with a whiff of alcohol. We used almost 7 lbs of grain per gallon of beer. It is technically quite a sweet beer, but the high level of hops and the oak balances the sweetness making it less apparent. The mouthfeel is very full with a residual sweetness, and a noticeable warming feeling as you finish a sip. As always, respect and enjoy. As with all Small Batch Specialty beers, we will be serving the Burley Friar in the 10 oz specialty glass.

Note: Burly Friar Barleywine makes a great "nightcap".
Details:
Grain Used: Pale Malt, Dark Caramel Malt, Munich Malt
Hops: Chinook, Amarillo
Original Gravity:23P (1.092. S.G.)
Hop Bitterness: 60 IBU's
Approximate Alcohol: 11.0% ABV

On to my review:

The body is a dark brown with just a touch of tan head. The tan head that is there sticks around for quite and bit, and leaves some nice rings and sheets of lacing behind.

The smell is sweet, reminding me of molasses and toffee. A punch of alcohol is in there also.

Up front comes a lot of sweetness in the form of fairly mild dark fruits like prunes and plums. Next comes some more sweetness, but with toffee, molasses, a touch of brown sugar and even a bit of tobacco. Any hops in this beer have died with the year of aging, and are replaced by a very slight spiciness from the Ameircan Oak. After a year of aging, I actually expected a lot more oak character here.

Mouthfeel is medium in carbonation and on the lower end as far as body and thickness goes.

For 11%, this is one drinkable beer. In fact, this is a great barleywine all around. Possibly my favorite offering from The Church Brew Works to date.