"Imperial" Beers

No. Similar to what @drtth stated, there's a resemblance but not much more. An old DIPA, from my experience, has a lingering bitterness that is pretty non-descript. Almost like the bitterness of an antibiotic, whereas an old barley wine has more sweetness and the heat is tempered to a warmth as opposed to the still present medicinal heat of an old DIPA. I've had old 90 minutes, Hopslams, Nugget Nectars and goodness knows what else - they weren't really something I or several other BAs (or non-BA's, don't want to imply elitism here...) could confuse with a fresh or old barley wine in a blind taste test.

 

Interesting. I think that with the 3-6 mo. old DFH 90 I was picking up receding amounts of that "nondescript" bitterness you mention but by the time of the review in 9th month it was lost amidst the sherry-like flavors. Despite my plan to get to a year, however, I never did push that case to last beyond about 10 mos. :-)

 

Yes, Imperial Wit's I'm not sure about either. I think I had a Sam Adams one a few years back that is one of the worst beers I ever had and I generally am a supporter and don't bash Sam Adams beers either like many BAs.

 

Only a massively imbalanced with too much malt DIPA perhaps. Even the fresh Old Guardian I had that was dry hopped with Pekko Hops was still deep in malt and sweetness. So much so that the malt side had a quality that was almost off-putting. I admit that drinking it was premature since Old Guardians are typically built to age at least a little bit, but I was dying to find out what Pekko did and did not want to risk any of that particular drop off. Being said, no way on earth, even with a raging sinus infection could I confuse this with Enjoy By.

I'll look at a few more same brewer barley wine / DIPA side by sides, but I maintain that the despite similarities, there's still a difference.

 

I never did a 9 month, only a year and regrettably, about two years. Now I'm compelled to try at 6 and 9 months. Perhaps the oxidation does something unfortunate after 9 months that effects the way I pick up the bitterness, but I didnt' get anything sherry like out of it. Burton, however, is pretty damn nifty at a year. Didn't get that antibiotic bitter from it at all. Given the results, I would age Burton with wild abandon.

I'm still trying to find a sweet spot for 120. What are your thoughts?

 

Is there any style left that hasn't been imperialized? I wasn't aware.

 

Well since I didn't hit the 12 mo. mark with the 90 it could indeed have shown again more strongly at that time if I'd been patient. From what I remember it wasn't all that noticeable in the earlier months any way as the malts took over and the sherry flavors emerged. So I probably wouldn't have even thought of it at all as for me it was way in the background and not characterized until I read your comment.

I agree about Burton with age. Love that beer at almost any age I've tried it.

Can't say much about the 120 since I've only had it 2-3 times and relatively fresh then. I'm fairly cautious with high ABV beers and often only use them as a counter point to other things at group tasting events, e.g., my 5 year old 750 of Fort was a wonderful small sample treat at a mixed tasting and dinner party we hosted. (We supplied the beers and other folks brought pot luck for the after tasting dinner and discussion.)

 

Sure. Kvass and Low alcohol beers.

 

Picky, picky, picky. "Imperial" is worth every penny. :-)

 

1 none
2 none
3 yes

 

I've had this wheat-wine on tap a few times and while it's not dubbed "Imperial", at 13% it pretty much is.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/11814/173015/

 

I'd put Ruination in the same category as Enjoy By, as in unmistakable. Given some extra thought though, perhaps an old Hop Stoopid could blur the lines further, as could most any Lagunitas DIPA, as I have always found even their most hop forward stuff pretty sweet. Sucks, to me at least, is indeed damn sweet and with a few months on it would closely resemble a fresh, hot barley wine.

 

1. I think any imperial beer style can be acceptable if it tastes good.
2. I'd like to see more imperial brown ales and imperial black ales
3. Yes

 

Besides IPA's or Stouts/Porters the only other style of imperial I can recall gravitating towards are Imperial Red ales/Amber ales. Here's a local one that I've been enjoying recently:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30629/95678/

 

The closest DIPA to barleywine that I've had was a Founders Devil Dancer. Way too malty and boozy for me, but I only got it once so maybe I can't judge it too well yet. http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/17538/
edit: sorry Triple IPA I guess