Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2024)

Jacki O's "Decorating Pieces of Time" Barleywine is sublime. BA in bourbon and apple brandy barrels.
https://imgur.com/mvdAILD

 

Revolution '19 Straight Jacket. Pours a dark amber, brownish color. Aroma is still forward, bringing rich caramel, bread pudding, fig, some bourbon, molasses, some oak. Taste still brings the goods. Raisin-rich bread pudding, rich caramel, fig, prune, dried apricot, some toffee, molasses, bourbon, slight charred oak. This one typically has some bite fresh, but it's tolerable. The age has let the bite subside, as well as some of the sweetness, leaving a dangerously smooth and drinkable 13% BA English Barleywine. Has aged wonderfully. Fantastic!

 

Central Waters - brandy barrel barleywine ale

Still great!

 

I am also cross-posting from the Cellaruary thread:

2021 Founders Nemesis (Black Barleywine). I had this beer back when it was originally brewed in 2010 so was excited when it was re-released in 2021. I drank a 4-pack of it fresh, then bought another 4-pack for the cellar.

The beer is still fairly hoppy but not as much so as fresh - but now has a nice balance with the mildly roasty malt flavor. Still a strong hop bitterness underneath. Medium bodied. Very enjoyable.

 

Holy sh*t brother! You still have one of these? Many good memories hanging with the old gang and Paul Davis drinking his beers. RIP indeed, he was one of the good guys.

 

Somehow this is my first beer from Revolution's Deep Wood series. I saw Halftime had some available and pulled the trigger. Revolution doesnt make to the middle of nowhere PA. I wish had the funds to splurge a bit more.



This is tremendous. Sweet but balanced. Barrel is present but doesn't overpower. I expected a little more spiciness from the rye with it being 60% of the grist. The alcohol is barely noticeable which at 15% is incomprehensible. So happy to have tried this one. I have a few more other offerings from the series. I hope they're just as good.

 

Nouvelle Brewing - Sledgehammer American Barleywine

It’s exactly what it says it is, except it doesn’t say it’s good. It is. It’s good.

 

I was happy to get some from halftime too, hope they get more from the Deep Woods series.

 

Kros Strain Barrelywine 1000 Double Barrel Willett and Barbados Rum, 13% ABV. Pours black with a ring of medium-brown bubbles. Aroma is bourbon, rum, dark fruit, and caramel. Taste follows, moderately sweet, slightly bitter, no notable burn. Excellent mouthfeel, overall world-class. This is slightly better than the other variant I had recently.

4.66/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

Damn, two variants of this in a week. This one is better than the last, with the Barbados Rum lending a hand. Really starting to get into BA barleywines. Note my half-ass attempt to seal the last half of the crowler for later. One of the downsides of large crowlers and a highish ABV.

 

Central Waters Brewing 3-Year-Aged Barleywine Ale. 2024. In the city. So smooth.

 

I knew something was up with the amount of reviews saying it was Belgian-ish, so I specifically had this in mind on a revisit. Drank another bottle and now I definitely see where they're coming from. I'm glad I don't read stuff like that before drinking a beer - I'd rather be in the dark on a first impression than be influenced too much.

 

Central Waters Brewing 5-Year-Aged Barleywine Ale. 2024. This is the ultimate expression of this form of art.

 

Cheers to CW for putting these out at the price point they do. They are among the best out there!

 

2023 (batch 2) vs 2024 (batch 3) Dystopias from Free Will


This malt liquor/American strong ale (barleywine right?) is brewed utilizing a unique fermentation technique along the way, with multiple yeast strains and sugar additions. It is bottled still and is meant to be opened, sipped, corked up, and drank again at a later date.

They don't give much info on the these. This is what they say about batch 2, from 2023. Weighing in at 20.1% it was aged in 6 different barrels for over 2.5 years.

And batch 3 from 2024 is a new, intentional blend of stock aged for multiple years, in many types of barrels. This is 20.1% as well. C'mon guys give us something! Barrel types at least??



These are both freshly opened bottles. There is of course plenty of alcohol wafting out of the glass, no surprise at 20.1%, but it is surprisingly not all that hot. Layers of booze suggesting fruited liqueurs, Brandy, and brown liquors all come together well along with hints of caramel, raisin, and molasses. Just a wonderful pair of aromas. I truthfully can't tell a difference between the 2 batches.

And they taste even better. The booze is a bit less prominent on the palate, but it definitely isn't shy. Beyond all the barrels there are so many subtleties shining through. Honey roasted nuts, Belgian chocolate, tobacco, raisins, light smoke, honey, molasses, sweet cherries, and on and on and on... The only difference I noticed between the two batches is slightly more cherry in batch 2 and slightly more molasses in batch 3. They are incredibly similar overall. If someone had set this up for me as a blind tasting I would suspect that they had poured 2 glasses of the same batch in order to trick me.

The mouthfeel is the same on both. Nice viscosity as evidenced by a lovely legs sticking to the side of the glass and a full, oily texture on the tongue.

I just love this beer. The flavors are so rich and deep yet this is really approachable. I'm so glad this is bottled still so it can be enjoyed in small measures, a short pour is an enormously satisfying night cap.

Maybe I shouldn't even post this here, there just isn't much to parse. Ah well, I love batch 2 so I'm glad 3 is as good.

 

2020 Copestone. Unfortunately this has not aged well. Very surprised. Bought it this year, as they had vintage bottles available alongside the 2023 release. The 2023 was amazing and this is making me think twice about aging it.

 

I was out with a cold for about a week, time to get into the magnificent box @Beersnake sent my way! Barrel Aged Barley Wine from Kiitos. Thanks Tim!



Looks like this was canned in August 2022. It pours a slightly murky, amber tinted brown color with a short lived, smallish head. This is quite sweet overall and very satisfying. Lots of brown sugar dominates here, but I also get caramel, maple, vanilla, light booze, and a really nice lingering raisin note to close things out. The carbonation is light but the body is nicely sticky. Good stuff, thanks Tim!

 

Sorry to hear it...