Barrelogenesis
Beachwood Brewing - Huntington Beach

 

2016 Vintage
220z bottle poured into a tulip

A- pours deep brown in color with a one-finger foamy off-white head that reduces to a ring

S- plenty of barrel aroma initially with notes of barrel juice, oak, vanilla, caramel & peanuts. Malty base aromas of brown sugar, toffee, raisins & figs. Also picking up a black tea-like aroma

T- caramel, toffee & brown sugar up front give way to barrel notes at the mid-palate, adding oak, barrel juice, vanilla and an enhancing note to the toffee/caramel. The finish gives more caramel and bourbon, with a peppery yet sweet linger

M- medium body with low carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that continues into a warming, slightly boozy finish

Tasted Blind-

12 ounce black waxed bottle this time. Going out of limb here and calling this a brandy barrel aged American barleywine. Up front this is sweet caramel and butterscotch. Towards the middle lots of decadent brandy, berry, and raisin with tingly oak. I love the finishing boozy exhale. Guessing 11% here?

Yep, got this one wrong!

Bottle received from @beersnake1 in Bif 15

Poured into a stemmed glass, dark brown cola like liquid , a brief two finger taupe foam layer appears and then quickly exits any chance of a head leaving a thin taupe ring

Aroma is sweet, brown sugar , toffee, raisins, dark fruit

Taste is sweet, brown sugar , toffee, raisins, dark fruit

Low sudsing, bit of booze but not too much , sweet

A delightful brew paired with pulled pork bbq grilled to a crusty char on my blackstone

Good beer @beersnake1

Pours a very dark brown with a light burgundy tint to it. Head is a finger and a half of off-white fizzy foam.

Aroma is rich with toffee, fig, vanilla, dark fruits, and caramel. Underneath the sugary coating is toasty, caramely, and light bready malts, alongside barrel and bourbon. Bourbon is subtle, adding just a tiny swell of heat at the end to counter the initial lightly sugary notes. Lovely balance that leans slightly sugary, despite the ABV and presence of bourbon barrel. Dark fruits, vanilla, and fig all really accelerate in presence at the onset as the beer warms.

Flavor profile is fig, toffee, vanilla, molasses, brown sugar, and dark fruits. The dark fruits, fig, vanilla, and molasses become more emboldened as the beer warms, with brown sugar dropping to the background. Bourbon has a similar shift, being a minor addition when served at fridge temperature (~40F), but becoming stronger as the beer warms. It's never enough to unseat the balance, just enough to develop a larger presence. Final notes are a bit of char and barrel, with fig, vanilla, and dark fruits alongside.

Mouth feel is medium-thick in thickness with a near still effervescence, offering up a tiny bit of soft bubbles at the start. Texture is near smooth, with a very light silt developing a consistent grit to each sip.

Overall, barrel use really helps develop the underlying barleywine well, giving it a firm, but not overly strong, bourbon presence in every whiff and sip. The typical barleywine sugary notes are present here, but remain balanced within the profile, which is tremendous.

Served in a 15.5oz Spiegelau tulip from a 12oz bottle. Black wax.

 

Fizzy like soda; virtually no head production, and it's immediately gone.

As expected, the nose is a rich blend of bourbon barrels and a strong barleywine malt base. Notes of toffee, leather, oak, bourbon, caramel, nuts, dark fruit, molasses, vanilla, and chocolate.

Sweet and malty on the palate. Grape, cherry, chocolate, plum, toffee, and caramel lead the way before the big boozy hit of the bourbon. After mid sip, while the bourbon effervescently fades away, leaving behind a mild burn and hints of mash, vanilla comes to the fore, along with a slight hint of coconut.

Big beer and hot, but a relatively easy sipper considering the ABV.

Yeah, real quick: pretty disappointing. Like saving your allowance in the 90’s to get some bomb X-Men stuff, then on the first night your Wolverine claw breaks. Bummer. It looked all Barleywine-ish, but still poured a little light. Aroma is strong enough, but like Canseco playing the outfield, I’m not convinced. As a whole, it just doesn’t hit me hard enough. It’s there, but like Jose, it’s still a home run that bounced off his head.

Peace.

Smells like brown sugar and alcohol. Flavor has a touch of hops, bourbon, sweet without being sticky. This is good and feels kind of old school which is nice.

 

2021 Vintage

Appearance: Medium-brown with a slight reddish hue, with a medium-sized beige head that quickly faded. Nothing wrong with the appearance.

Smell: Brown sugar aromas and bourbon aromas dominate the nose. The nose is true to form for an English style barleywine and there's definitely nothing wrong with that.

Taste: The taste profile features moderate bourbon notes, caramel/toffee notes, brown sugar and a touch of vanilla notes from the barrel. I also get some mild oak woodiness from the barrel aging. The beer has just a initial touch of sweetness that subside to a semi dry finish. The beer avoids being overly sweet like some English style barleywines.

Mouth-feel: On the light side of medium bodied with a medium level of carbonation. not bad for the style but could be a touch thicker.

Overall: A good English style barleywine that has a flavor profile that ticks all the right boxes. This one is up there with all the major players for the style. Beachwood represents my home town very well.

2021 bottle, so not sure if it's even the same beer reviewed back in 2016. Poured from fridge temp to a snifter. Pours a gorgeous dark brown/almost black with little head. The nose is very nice and smooth. The bourbon notes hit first. Toffee, vanilla, and wood. Blackberries, figs, chocolate, almonds, port, and prunes. Really nice. The taste is outstanding. Extremely flavorful. It's an immediate attack on the senses. Wow. If you love a lot of barrel on your barleywine, this is for you. At 13%, it's super strong. A bit of alcohol heat is detectable, but nothing off-putting. Huge notes of fresh toffee, vanilla, chocolate, molasses, black licorice, and lots of dark fruits. For the latter, I mainly get plums, raisins, figs, dates, blackberries. There is a bit of bitterness on the back end, which adds a nice dimension. This is not an overly sweet BA barleywine, which happens fairly frequently. This is just so flavorful - I find this to be a notch better than some of the big ones like Sucaba and MoaS. This has so much depth, complexity, and flavor. Overall, one of my all-time favorite BA barleywines.

Warming a little bit helps bring out the fullness of the nose.