Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2023)

Glad this week is over. Having Grimm's Last of the Steam Powered Trains, barleywine aged 1 year in Cognac barrels. Give a small portion to my wife's friend before they went out and she was a fan, even my wife kind of liked it.



This is pretty still, just a few, short lived, tiny bubbles. Huge sweetness up front with grapes, toffee, and brown sugar plus hints of molasses, honey, apple pie spice, and raisin. Glorious. The finish dries out quite a bit with prominent oak and strong, boozy Cognac. The finish is good, but I like the start better. Glad to have tried this, thanks to @Braunmeister_1943 for alerting me to its existence.

 

They are pretty different. DDC is double barreled, has Armagnac influence, and spent three total years in wood while SJ spent one. There is certainly some overlap, they are both sweet and both incredibly delicious.

Can't wait to try the new double double cask, probably tonight!

 

2023 Double Double Cask , giddy I am! Very different from last year's version that was in the EBF box.


This year's release came from two separate Barleywines, chosen for their notable flavor and complexity.⁣ ⁣ The first component originated from a two-day boiled Barleywine aged initially for 12 months in large format Cognac and Jura Wine casks before then being aged an additional 24 months in a single 13-Year-Old Forester Bourbon cask.⁣ ⁣ The second component came from one of our favorite English Barleywine recipes that was aged initially in a large format Armagnac cask for 20 months before resting an additional 22 months in a single Early Times 10-Year Bourbon cask.⁣ ⁣ This year’s Double Double Cask blend has an average age of 39 months in various barrels and casks.⁣ ⁣ Double Double Cask pours a near-black with aromatics of rum, candied oranges and chestnuts along with undertones of cacao and creme brulee.⁣ ⁣





Hopes are unreasonably high here for me, but I'm not at all disappointed. This is definitely a different beast than last year's. The Armagnac/Cognac notes are a good deal more prominent here, they come across as sticky, vinous molasses and it is glorious. This molasses note comes across as almost a tangy dark chocolate at times. I also get a ton of fruit here, dried and concentrated to the point of being candy-like, raisin and prune primarily, but also some pear and orange. There is just so much going on here, I also get hints of leather, vanilla, tobacco, honey, and on and on. This is just magnificent, bottled bliss. Kane is King of barleywine blends.

 

I've posted a couple of times about the dearth of hoppy American barleywines. I'm hoping that some of the better known IPA producing breweries will take on the style. Tree House has a great barleywine track record, why don't they make a big, bruising 'murican one?

Tired Hands released this hoppy beast in November, Skofouke. Thanks again to @Braunmeister_1943 for posting here, I would not have known about it otherwise. In his review he stated that if tasted blind, he would call it a sweet WCIPA. Good call. I am enjoying the caramel and short bread sweetness that provide the backbone. The hops have some onion, bitter citrus, and lingering pine resin that aren't quite as appealing. Not exactly what I was looking for but this is enjoyable nonetheless.