A Barley Wine for Every Day

The second beer from Central Waters didn't fill my mind with good thoughts when I poured it. It appeared to suffer from the negative effects of oxidation. After I adjusted to the beer, it turned out to be a real winner. This is an example of the kind of strong ale that I've been waiting for this month but didn't quite get yet. It provided a layered, malty, rich experience. There's a herbal bitterness in the back end that clashed a bit in the beer. While having the second half of the bottle, this flavor started to take over and unfortunately resulted in a Ricola quality.

 

Thirsty Dog Bernese
Great beer. This is coming across far less hoppy than the last time I had it. This might be due to the fact that the previous time was on tap and was likely much younger. Would like to try again to get a better grip on it.

 

Would love to. Middle Ages is not given enough credit for their malty beers.

 

When is everybody going to learn that I embrace blasphemy?
(Shroud, you outta know)
OK, I'll add a little more info. The Scotch ale is one of the most satisfying bourbon-yadda-yadda beers that I've ever had. I've had this barley wine before (on tap) and thought it was nice but nothing I'd run back to. This time around, that first sip was fantastic. It just didn't hold it's spell over me much after that. Maybe I'll love it on a different future date. Sometimes a beer just tires me out and frame of mind is always a factor.

 

There have been times when the first sip of a beer tastes heavenly, but I end up struggling to finish it. Volume is an underrated thing here. I liken it to music. Sometimes, the stuff that ends up earning your deepest admiration is the stuff that didn't sound great at first, but slowly won you over... whereas the stuff that proves immediately pleasurable doesn't end up sustaining any satisfaction.

Central Waters is a good brewery. My favorite might be Mudpuppy Porter. 5 1/2 percent and flavorful. Just wish they consistently dated their product.

 

Barrier Archibald

Barrier is a brewery that I would consider local to me. They are a relatively small operation. Drinking this beer, I couldn't help but think of how easy it is to lose a brewery. One of my favorites, Pretty Things, is ending their run. Their beers will be no more. When the brewery lives and breathes due to just a couple of people, it's easy for it to stop. Barrier was almost wiped out by Hurricane Sandy. Hard work (and some support from the brewing community) allowed Barrier to get back up. They are still operating despite any setbacks. They bottle infrequently but this might now change.

This beer exceeded my expectations. It's a highlight of the month so far. It was aged at the brewery for a year. It reminded me of bread pudding with a little caramel, but it managed to avoid being cloying. Really fantastic. I could drink more of this. The amazing thing, is how a little local brewery can put out a beer that overshadows the other beers I've had so far. This isn't due to home-team favoritism. I was once a big fan and drank much of their output. Recently, I've found myself dissatisfied with brewery visits. I was unhappy with their beer, and also experienced far too much substandard beer from other "locals." This barley wine has renewed my faith. Loved it.

The moral of this story? Don't look at your locals with rose-tinted glasses, but keep in mind that they might be putting out beer that will rock your socks off... and you should enjoy it while you can. This one goes out to @ecpho

 

New additions (I hope this is the last group shot). I felt the need to have more English beer in the thread.

 

Kulmbacher Eisbock

Yeah, it's a bock, not a barley wine. This is the Captain America of beers... frozen, thawed out, and pushed to the physical limits. Hopefully Captain American won't be upset by the German comparison. I was hoping to have a lightbulb moment where I'd perceive the differences and similarities between the two types. I gained no such thing. This bottle could be very old, and I'm suspicious that the changes due to oxidation helped to hide the differences between the two beer types. I don't get the clean qualities that might be expected. This beer poured a cola brown and tasted of prunes. At times, it tasted entirely different from any of the strong ales I've had this month (a unique sweetness), and at other times, it wasn't too different (dark fruits). I bought another Eisbock (as the previous post shows) and I'm curious if I'll get a more rigid experience.