Trouble with Barleywine

High ABV non-DIPA non-RIS. English--> low hops, American --> hoppy.

Pretty straightforward.

 

Problem is, all of those Barleywines are just ok to Meh.

Get something good, like King Henry, Leon, B1 Abacus, or Great.

What am i talking about i don't know anything about barleywines.

 

I've had a few.....hard to say what this is supposed to DO....purpose-wise.

We popped a bottle of Dogfish Head Fort, categorized by BA as a veg/fruit beer, but, bro, that's up here with the Barleywines.

We had a very fun, incredibly enjoyable, and instantly classic band practice that night.

 

Not a "catch all" for high ABV beers...that's a strong ale.

You are right though, there is quite a variety of different tasting barleywine. Just give it more time and I think you'll come to love the style as a whole.

 

IDC if it is really a barley wine or not, but if you get 3floyd's Behemoth, thats what I want all my barley wines to taste like.

 

or Bolt Cutter

 

Just have a Sucaba.. All your "troubles" will be long gone

 

This thread is insane. Evidence: someone called Fort a barleywine.

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style19.php

 

Hmmm... Informative.

 

Agreed somethings been done to the barleywines they've had if they think Forts a barleywine

 

Old Ruffian'll set you straight : )

 

If you divide them into two separate styles - American and English, I think you will find a decent amount of similarities between different beers in the same category. I don't drink a ton of American-style barleywines, but English-style barleywines are all very malt heavy with little to no hops. I find that they often have flavors of caramel and toffee.

Blithering Idiot and Foghorn are decent examples of English-style barleywines. Some of my favorite examples of this style have been fairly old J.W. Lees, which are not cheap ($8 minimum for 9.3 oz or so) but relatively easy to find. Get one with about ten years on it, or get a few different years and compare.

 

I would agree with most of your analysis but I also think you could make the same argument about a lot, if not most, beer styles varying in flavors, abv, and other characteristics.

I've always had a preference for English Barleywines for their sweetness and minor hop character. I've really liked Olde School, Bolt Cutter, Sucaba, and King Henry.

This winter I tried a lot of American Barleywines but just couldn't get into them. The likes of Old Ruffian, SN Bigfoot, Old Guardian, and Arcadia Cereal Killer are probably good examples of the American style, they're just not for me. The one exception though is FFF Behemoth. Great beer, don't care what its classified as.

 

I would add Deschutes Mirror Mirror to this list.

 

Don't forget Flying Dog's Horn Dog. A really good english barleywine that's easy to find.

 

Unfortunately this is one style I haven't reay explored tooo heavily, but of those i have tried, here's my reccomendations:

English style: FW Sucaba/abacus, Alesmith BA old numbskull,

American style: SN BA Bigfoot, Lagunitas old gnarlywine, Avery hog heaven, stone old guardian (also by stone, any of the vertical epics that fall into the barley wine territory....to lazy too look theough my notes as to which ones they were)

 

Get yourself some Doggie Claws and sit on it for a year. Amazing things will happen.


That being said I'm a fan of all the barleywines i've had and consider them one of my favorite styles. I agree there is variation between them, but I've always been able to classify them as either English or American

 

That's so funny. Fuller’s Vintage Ale is given as an example of an Old Ale and Fuller's Golden Pride as an example of a Barley Wine. They're actually the same beer.

 

Weird. I've never thought of Third Coast Old Ale as an American Barleywine. Always seemed to lean toward English to me. Not that I give a crap, I'll drink it regardless.