Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2022)

I miss Brooklyn Monster Ale. Though I only got it through trading...

 

I'm not a huge Barleywine fan but I apparently prefer English Barleywine since my average rating is 4.03 vs. 3.88 for American. I rated Firestone Walker §ucaba 4.46, largely due to the superb BBA. So, I can't say I hate Barleywines.

 

English is the objectively correct answer here. I didn’t realize this was a thing people debated.

 

I am a big fan of B United, but I can't say I 100% trust their quality control... and in the case of their canning project, my trust goes down a notch. In the case with your beers, there are two big added factors that could cause inconsistent results: 1) those beers were aged for years, 2) Harvest Ale has intentional batch variation from year to year. You mentioned tartness. Personally, I have gotten some acidity in aged regular Harvest Ale, but it's not what I typically get.

It is my understanding that Scotch Ales of the past were simply sold as "strong ale" within Scotland. "Scotch Ale" was the name they gave to their exported beer and that name worked very well for them in other markets. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

 

Alaskan are the best hands down

 

I agree; this is one of my all-time favorites to age. It does great with 3 or more years on it. I have an '09-'17 vertical still on hand, after drinking down duplicates over the years. Might try breaking them into a few separate mini-vertical tastings with a few years separating them...

 

I’ve rated 22 English and 21 American. I tend to like English a lot more overall, most all of them I’ve given high ratings to. FW Sucuba was my highest rated and one of the best overall beers I’ve ever had. American BW’s I seem to rate very erratic. Some very highly rated but several are some of my lowest rated beers overall. I generally don’t like that aspirin-like bitterness that some American Barleywines have. I find it not very complementary to the heavy malts.

 

I’ve enjoyed the Jacks Abby Makers Series — some of which are marketed as Lager Wines, others as Barleywine-Style Lagers, others as Barley Wine Lager.

Not from that brewery, but shout out to Wheatwine and Ryewine, too.

What should we categorize these as, @zid?

 

Thomas Hardy's Ale was made with bottom fermenting yeast at one point.

 

I should have added that certain Jack's Abby beers should officially be categorized as "style word game beer made by a pretend dedicated lager brewer who wants to make every craft-style beer for rich craft beer drinkers and traders to tide them over until continental lager becomes more trendy and valued... and thank God for Baltic porter"-style beer. It's in the BJCP.

 

Late to the party as well...and, I overwhelmingly enjoy English Barleywines more! The hoppy bitter component of American style BWs seem to clash somewhat with the malty sweetness that I enjoy.

This American style BW, however, did a great job of not allowing the hoppy bitter notes to interfere. This is the kind of American BW that I could drink frequently! Jackie O's did a good job here!

 

Because no one demanded it, tonight’s barley wine is a 2022 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot in a Liefmans glass. This is only my second time using this glass and I decided I love it (very surprisingly). I always thought of glassware as something that influenced color, but until I got this glass, I never thought of glassware as something that enhanced color. Look at how the bottom point of this glass adds a wonderful gradient. This glass helps beers look beautiful.

 

Barley wines are my favorite beers (Russian Imperial Stouts, American Imperial Stouts, and Strong Ales close “seconds”). But I am very frustrated by the low availability of Barley wines in stores (Boston area).
What am I doing wrong? Should it be this hard to find Barley wines? I understand Barley wines are not the popular brew, but how about stocking one Barley wine for every 20 IPA s?
I would much appreciate any advice. Thank you!

 

Welcome to the NotAHazeBoi World
I have that problem , but I am a bigger fan of Imoerial Stouts. 1 non diabetes , non adjuncted imperial stout per 50 Pastry Stouts is all i ask for

 

I had a 2016 Sucaba i got for 9 dollars on the 4th of July last year (2021) and it was top 3 bottled BWines I've had. Don't ask me for tasting notes tho.

 

At first glance lots of people (including me) would probably say English, but the funny thing is that a large number of the most coveted ones (like ATWTD for instance) are catagorised as American.

 

I'm newer to the world of barleywines. There are a significant number of memes and in-jokes I've become aware of being a beer lover and following pages that talk about that sort of thing.

English or American doesn't matter to me so long as I get to pick it apart, learn something and appreciate its nuance/complexity.

I tend to save the 500ml+ offerings for when I can share them with someone else as I'm getting too old to buttchug them myself.