Barleywine style tasting March 4th

'16. Cellar temp. Aroma is like oatmeal raisin cookie dough aged in an oak barrel. Taste is so mellow, surprisingly slightly smoother (Barleywines bring best alliterations) than the non-Cognac BA version. This drinks like a fine liquor; sweet, not harsh, with a subtle kick at the end. Chewier than the regular version, though overall, I wouldn't say better. Equally good.

 

Starting the night off with a beer I got while in NYC. 21st Amendment's Lower De Boom barleywine, canned on 12/17/15. It comes in a cool little 8.4oz can which I definitely don't mind for a high abv style like this. Coincidentally it is freezing cold in Boston, so this is a good night to have some barleywines here.



This beer pours a nice looking amber red color with a creamy frothy off-white foam head that sticks around for a while. Smells like toffee, caramel, molasses, some cherry, plum, red grape skin, apples, asian pear, rich vanilla, mild chocolate, toasty graham crackery malts, slight booze, some grapefruit and orange citrus, with floral earthy herbal grassy pine. The taste follows similarly with more pronounced toffee caramel molasses notes and some prominent spice added for good measure. For 11.5% the booze is pretty tamed in this can. The feel is creamy and slick, smooth with moderate carbonation. This is a very nice American barleywine packed with citrusy hops and a rich malt backbone. The aroma and flavors in this beer are very enjoyable. This is definitely one I would buy again, and I'm glad I found this in NY because I have yet to see this beer anywhere else so far. Cheers all! I'll be having another one soon.

 

Still one of the best out there, 11 years since last. Really nice sweetness, not too hoppy at all.

Old Horizontal | Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Revisit: 4 Mar 17
22 oz. Bomber
Enjoy By: 13 Oct 2021
2016 Vintage

Been Over 11 Years Since Last!

Poured into a tulip a very nice clean/clear dark golden amberish color, very nice carbonation, with a very nice thick/creamy one-finger off-white head, which also leaves some pretty nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, hoppy, with some really nice cherries, plums, grapes, raisins, figs notes. The taste is really nice, malty, hoppy, really nice sweetness, with lots of cherries, grapes, plums, raisins, and figs. Full body, a pretty complex brew, ABV hidden very well. Overall, still one of the best ABWSA I've had to date. Highly Recommeded! Glad to see it around here.

Bottled Dec 03, 2004

Pours a very nice dark amber color with some carbonation and a small head, nice lacing afterwards. Scents of malts, sweet fruits, tarty fruits as well. Very nice taste, sweet, but with little bite at the end. The alcohol is hidden very very well. Medium body. So far this is the best barleywine I've had, because of the very well hidden alcohol content be careful, you will be looking up at the MOON in a horizontal position, LOL

Cheers!



Stone Temple Pilots Core (180G) (2 LPs) 1992 2013 Remaster Atlantic Records, Music On Vinyl NM

 

Sounds delicious.
I have yet to try any Thomas Hardy's
cant wait for the day.

 

2013 Vintage BCBBW
Mmmm brown sugar, caramel, brown bread, figs, prunes, vanilla, and light bourbon are the flavors of both the aroma and the taste of this gem that is drinking fantastically. No alcohol warmth at this point of its life, also no sherry, or soy sauce, no real oxidation flavors. It is a mellow more blended version of its "younger" self, but that blend has turned it into silky decadence that leaves a slick of deliciousness on palate that begs for another sip. The only real casualty of age is that there is even less carbonation than when this was released. However this is a beer that excels with very low carb. If I might... Holy Fuck This Is Good!!!!

 

Barleywines are one of those styles I'm still learning to appreciate. Some of them I love, and some of them I can't handle. Let's see how this beast from @Prager62 treats me. He was generous enough to send me both a 2016 and 2017.

Three Floyds Behemoth 2016



The beer pours a deep, opaque amber color with a one-finger tan head that's thick enough to coat the sides of the glass. The smell is complex. There's some bright, citrus hops on there, some dark fruits, and some caramel malts. The taste is equally as complex. The hops hit first briefly then the dark fruits come through very strongly. As it fades the caramel and maltiness lingers through to the end. The is a little smell and taste of alcohol also. The mouthfeel is thick and smooth. Overall this is very good and very complex. I would definitely get a could each year to drink and to age, if I had access to it.

 

2012 Monster from Brooklyn Brewing, pours copper colored, enough carbonation to keep
things moving. Smells a bit vinous, Madeira on oak, fig, broad leaf tobacco.
Feel is medium in weight, not to slick on the palate, finish is a pleasantly dry.
Overall aged well, a hint of oxidation may serve a purpose here. 2 bottles remain, i will revisit
in 6-8 months.
Cheers all

 

Wow your self control in drinking those is impressive.

Cheers!

 

I know this might not belong here, and that it says imperial IPA on the label. But, I know that it is a blend of IPA and English old ale so I felt like it could be mentioned.
Plus it is one of my favorite beers.
This one here has a year on it, but I prefer them with a couple more years at least on them, the caramel really comes through then.

Smell: oak, citrusy/resiny hops, marmalade
Flavor: follows the nose
Feel: almost too sweet (but I like sweet), light chalkiness at the end, tiny bit of booze

 

Joining in on the fun. Having some Blithering Idiot. The hops have chilled out nicely in this (still there but faded) and leave lots of raisin and bread. Delicious.

 

saurez family?

 

I had planned on pulling something out of the cellar for this event, but then this hit shelves this week and I couldn't help but buying two of them(that was the limit).


I had my first one last April, which was a 2015 vintage and about 1.5yrs old at the time. i wanted to try yhis one fresh, and set the other away for at least 3 yrs.



The aroma is enticing: sweetness with many layers. The flavor brings a very noticeable warming presence with this one. I also remember getting that with the aged version, but I remember getting more malt complexity. The layers don't match the nose. I get more light flavors, almost akin to apples and pears, than the sticky caramel and date notes that came with the aroma. I can tell it is still changing as it opens up, though.

 

THSdrummer, checking in! After running errands for the better part of the day after a mid-afternoon brewery stop, it's time to start tasting some barleywines. First up:



Great Divide's Old Ruffian.

Pours a murky rustic bronze color with a finger of khaki head on top. Lacing is strewn about tightly at the start of the glass, but disappears as the beer warms. Aroma is features barleywine-esque notes of raisins, fig, and caramel with an underlying hop profile that contorts the aroma and gives it a distinct American fingerprint. Hop notes include herbal and resin. Flavor profile opens with a smooth, sugary sweet induction of raisins, fig, caramel, and earthy barley before the hops take precedence in form of herbal and resin notes. The resin hop notes stick all the way to the toffee finish. Together the resin and toffee form a sort of bittersweet ending. Mouth feel has a medium thickness with a filling, sort of grainy texture. Overall, while certainly a barleywine style with all its malty goodness, the hop presence could make this a little polarizing for some. It keeps each sip interesting as the malts and hops work to reverse the work of each other.

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 4 | 4 | 4 | BA Score: 4.08 | rDev: -3.1%

 

Amassed quite a collection of Barleywines, many of which I've had before at one point or another. Also have Olde School that I don't want to pull out of cellar and 2015 and 2017 Bigfoot which I thought of doing vertical, but I decided to do a standard, BBA, and adjunct.



Decided to go with Bigfoot as the regular old Barleywine. A good classic American Barleywine. Bottled 12/4/15.



Pours a deep coppery Brown with a one finger off white head. Dissipates within a couple minutes to a little veil of bubbles and a halo. Some alcohol legs.

Aromas of rich toffee and malt, dates, prunes, sweet dark fruit. Lesser notes of caramel, brulee, papaya, and a hint of nuttiness.

Taste is sweet dark fruit up front, mostly prunes and dates, some raisin, caramel, toffee, and some of that nuttiness that came through on the nose. Then as the sweetness mellows out the bitter starts to come through, playing on flavors of black tea, rooibos, dark chocolate, burnt sugar, peat, and pine. It's a rather bold bitterness drawing off from both char and herbal qualities.

It's light to medium bodied, fairly smooth with a light tingly carbonation. Slightly astringent and a touch of heat from the alcohol.

This is a very bold and classic American Barleywine, starting off similar to it's English brethren but bursting with bitterness on the finish. It's a sipper but not incredibly intricate. My favorite part is the tea like flavors as the sweetness fades and the bitterness enters.

Cheers!

 

Those are fuckn' awesome brews.

Cheers!

 

Evening all.
The very willing beer man at Binny's recommended a couple of Barleywine brews to me. This is one. North Coast Brewing Co. Old Stock Ale

from today's review:
2016 batch "BY JULY 2032"
12oz bottle poured into a stretch snifter is a cloudy amber colored body with little head, but a slight ring and islands of bubbles. Active bubble-up through the murk and a little spotted lacing.

Aroma is malt, oak, booze, and a hint of sour.
Flavor leans bright, but that might be carbonation driven. Caramel malt, oak, and I think I taste almost a smoke flavor.
Mouthfeel is lighter toward medium and a little carbonated tickle on the tongue. Finish is oily, but clean.

With more research, I wonder whether the sour aroma I detect might be leather.

 

Very tasty brew!

Cheers!

 

Had 2013 on draft about a year ago and it was amazing, probably one of the best barelywines I've ever had, wish I still had a bottle!

 

I believe name recognition, or more so, style recognition has a lot to do with it. A lot of people consider themselves to be a fan of stouts or IPAs - dark or nearly clear - heavy or light. Barleywines are a funny little mash up of all of those, and combined with the fact that they really don't get brewed as much as they should lend people to not really knowing about the style. When I first joined BA, my status on my page (remember those?) was something like "I've never had a Barleywine. Anyone want to discuss or share info on the style?"

Reading that ABV on the list when you know you'll only be able to get one or two beers and then have to drive home also could be shying folks away. It may taste like 8%, but the listing says nearly double that. Regular folks seem to think anything double digits is high, but personally, I think that's low

By the way, that 15.9% ABV one sounds delicious. A local brewery just released a barleywine for their 100th batch of beer. While I missed getting a pour from the keg (seriously, it sold out in a day!!) I did snag a bottle of it. Thankfully it was one of the very, very few beers this brewery has bottled. I don't have it cold for tonight though. Another brewery in town still has their brandy aged barleywine on tap. Technically, it's out of season for them and I'm scared by the time I get to make it up there, it'll be gone. I can't wait another year to try it.