Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2023)

Fair State - work life balance, English barleywine. Sweet finish, but I love this one. Need to find their new one.

 

Yeah, Beam me to CW...
Look at 46 seconds in to see me depicted thinking about Brewer's Reserve BB Barleywine.

 

Auspicious that I open the BA homepage and the first thread my eye finds is this one.
For tonight I am popping into Three Ryes Men. Reuben's really outdoes themselves with this one. I guess it isn't TECHNICALLY a barleywine -- they list it as both a barleywine and a ryewine at different points on the label -- but you know what I'm just a rebel like that, so I'm going to count it. Anyway, the three different varieties of spicy rye comes together nicely with toffee and leather and boozy raisins and oak and tobacco... This is a 2023 version, and I guess I haven't had a fresh one in a while (digging them out of the 'cellar' instead), because it's a little harsher than I remember (both in terms of alcohol bite as well as hop bite), but by no means unpleasant. 13.7% and I wouldn't question it, so I am sipping. Perhaps not as slowly as I probably should but still...



This is damn tasty. A perfect accompaniment for a quick weekend work stretch back on the west coast. Cheers!!

 

Brewer description:

Does not compute.

 

I haven't seen it years....

I guess thats why...

 

This cellar reach into 2014
Lots of toffee, vanilla, kiss of alcohol
Would not let this go much longer
Delicious
Cheers all

 

Cycle Sunday 2022- 40 Month BA Barleywine

One of the darkest Barleywines I‘ve ever seen. Mousse-like head that surprisingly sticks around for awhile. Aroma is all molasses cookies, vanilla, maple, and cocoa powder. Ridiculously complex. Viscous, smooth, sweet. Maple takes the forefront. More baked goods, with a slight nutty finish. I’m always incredibly torn drinking Cycle. They have, in my mind, some of the most complex BA beers on the planet, but the sweetness always makes them a chore to finish. I’ll probably cork this one and nurse it over the next couple of nights.

 

Ran across a sixer of this at the liquor store today and thought why not, probably will be the last go around with it.

Old Foghorn: Anchor Steam 2021
This is much better than I remember. Super great barleywine and hoppy as all get out even after 2+ years. Caramel on the nose and taste and a hoppy finish. I would take this over Bigfoot anyday

 

Makes me sad that this will never be seen again. Enjoy it for those of us who never had it, and never will. At least I have 4 of the 2022 2-year Fitzgeralds left

 

I opened a Fremont Brew 1000 for the last UW Huskies game and it helped them win (by a last-minute field goal)—so decided to open Brew 4000 for the PAC-12 championship against Oregon. So far so good. Go Huskies!

Oh. The beer. It’s delicious. Very sweet with tons of complexity. Bourbon, vanilla, pipe tobacco, caramel, toffee—perfect for a dark rainy night.

 

There’s their new one: Fair State Brewing Co-op - Zoomie catcher
The can says it’s a “modern barleywine” but elsewhere they describe it as an American and English hybrid. It strikes me as a colonial mullet, American and hoppy up front and then immediately fading and hitting those English notes in back. Delicious at any rate.

 

Another heart attack game!

 

How was it? I have one of those horchata bottles in my cellar. Haven’t tried it yet.

 

The base is great, so it’s relative to that beer. The horchata flavors were a bit too muted for my personal tastes. YMMV so it may be your thing. Last year Thirsty Dog made a Horchata stout only that was a one-off and it had great flavor.