Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2022)

Just got an email from East End about the upcoming Gratitude day on Feb 19th so I thought I'd share as it's pertinent to the thread. Looks like they are releasing it in 12oz cans this year and will also have new variants available: Bourbon BA, Rye BA, Scotch BA, and a new Wheatwine. Individual 4pks and limited mix 6pks will be available along with some vintage bottles (which are almost always available I think). I'm planning on going to the release - feel free to message me if you would like some sent your way.

 

Good. More.

 

Picture seems to add 10lbs of dark. What a confusing beer. It’s like someone flipped the lights on at the orgy and it’s immediately apparent you are not in the room you thought; in fact, you are so out of place that you’ll never be allowed back into a Joann Fabrics focus group ever again.

Super sour at first (I mean regular sour for a sour beer), but pretty thick in body. After a few sips the bourbon aroma sends its flavor to front stage but light sourness chases everything. Maybe picking up spruce in an intermission where I exhale into the cold night to hasten my dog’s squat along, underneath the… pine trees.

 

Mostly irrelevant since it was a one-off, but one of the best beers I ever had from Fat Head’s was Liquid Courage. It was a collaboration with Jackie O’s. I was actually there the day they brewed it and Brad Clark sat and talked with us for a while. I would call it an American style, as I remember it being very hoppy.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/19544/103384/

 

Damn! And I was at Roswell Park, Wednesday. If only I had been keeping up with this thread. Hopefully they still have a selection next month.

 

Yes, you MUST go there. Shouldn’t be a bad ride. 33 to 90 to 290…30 minutes or so. You’ll be glad you did.

Barleywines aren’t very popular around here, so you should have a good shot at most everything.

Hit up Thin Man, too. Their BA Awesome Jenkins lineup (stouts) has been killing it lately. Recent BA Barleywine is aromatic and toward the lighter side from the Four Roses, IMO.

I haven’t tried them yet, but Eli Fish in Batavia has some interesting barleywine options. Kenny from Premier recommends them.

 

If it tastes good, call it a potato. I’ll drink that potato!

 

No amount of beer could've prepared me for the roller coaster ride of this paragraph

 

Love barleywines, but outside of Bigfoot I no longer see them. Are they still getting made?

 

Yes, but infrequently. Generally seeing most of my examples from local, non-distro breweries. I know I've picked up a half dozen or more local to me the past couple years this way.

On my work trips to LA and Oakland, I was able to try or bring home ~6+ barleywines. Drake's had two on tap, one of which was in bottles. Seattle work trip had Three Ryes Men and Sucaba vintages available, and this was in the summer.

Untappd lets you filter tap lists by style. It's not the best way to find barleywines, but at least you can quickly see if the venue has a barleywine on tap / to go. I wish they'd let you search the area for a specific style.

 

If we limit things to beers designated as barley wines by brewers, consider how few responses there'd be if MrOH's post stated this instead: Love barleywines that aren't aged in spirit barrels or with spirals, but outside of Bigfoot I no longer see them. Are they still getting made?

 

I was wondering when the first mention of JW Lees would appear. It's a cold icy day here in the Northern Piedmont and I was thinking of an appropriate beer as a companion today when I spotted this thread. Barley wines are not my favorite style, but I have a soft spot for JW Lees. I suppose a visit to Bestway is in my near future...........And cheers!

 

I would assume that spirit barrel aging has become the norm rather than the exception... and what makes that interesting is how it shapes people's expectations for a style. Craft beer fans tend to think of (older) styles as frozen, but something like this is actually a change to the style to a certain degree.