Best barleywines for the cellar

I'm still a fan of Rogue Old Crustacean.

 

Gawd, they still brew it? How I miss thee, OC.

 

My three favorites to cellar, in order:

Central Waters BA Barleywine (divine after about 12-18 months & just keeps improving)
Pelican Mother of All Storms
Goose Island Bourbon County Barleywine

Pretty sure you don't get the Central Waters on the West Coast, but it's relatively cheap & quite plentiful. I've had it up to eight years old & it's consistently the best-aging barleywine I've ever had. I buy a lot of it...

 

Kuhnhenn BBBW

 

Good question. I'll admit I haven't aged a lot of non-BA barleywines.

 

If you get a good bottle! I've some aged that's been mind-blowingly good, & others that have been south of mediocre. Kuhnhenn's bottling quality does not inspire confidence, but if it did, this one would be at the top of my list.

 

Bells Third Coast is fantastic aged, once had a 2010 bottle that absolutely blew my mind.
Bigfoot, both standard and barrel aged, both tend to get much stronger on the malt as time goes by.
Also heard from many that Old Foghorn keeps wonderfully for years to come.

 

My feeling on BA barleywines is that hold up well for a year or two, not longer, but don't necessarily improve. Definitely stock up on Cental Waters BA barleywine when you can. It is a magnificent bargain.

Abrasive, hop forward barleywines can age beautifully for up to a decade or more. I have had mixed results with English-style barleywines. They often get sweeter than I like after a couple of years. All personal experience of course, try aging all types for yourself. Even if I haven't always liked the result, I've enjoyed the process and experimentation.

 

Weyerbacher Insanity smooths with aging and is quite delicious-

 

DFH Olde School, Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot, Bell's Third Coast.

A few great English ones: JW Lees Harvest Ale, Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo, Fullers Vintage Ale

A couple that aren't labeled as barleywines but I would consider them close enough and they age well: Stone Double Bastard, North Coast Old Stock Ale

If they ever come back: Victory Old Horizontal, Great Divide Old Ruffian, Stone Old Guardian, Southern Tier Back Burner

 

Add Flying Mouflan to your if they ever come back list.

 

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Brooklyn Monster was still good at this late stage.

 

Agreed, one of my all time favorites. I was only listing those with wider distribution.

 

I'm with the group that thinks BA barleywines don't necessarily improve.

Some regular barleywines become absolutely divine.

Current BW or similar styles in my cellar:

• Bell's Third Coast Old Ale
• SN Bigfoot
• Arcadia Cereal Killer
• J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale
• Dogfish Head 120 minute

Here is a list of the barrel aged experiments in my cellar. I don't really expect these to change for the better. Probably about $50 invested total. Small enough number for me to not worry if they don't pan out.

• Revolution Straight Jacket
• Central Waters BBBW
• Firestone Sucaba
• Founders Better Half

 

Mother of All Storms ages fine (have tasted up to 5 yrs), but if you want the non-BA version it's released as Stormwatcher's Winterfest.