Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2022)

But here is the description of the new version on their website:

Description: After aging patiently in rye whiskey and bourbon barrels for 13 months, Decorating Pieces of Time carries notes of toffee, light caramel, Fuji Apple, and raisin. The name comes from a Frank Zappa interview, in which he made the statement that “music only exists to decorate pieces of time,” which perfectly correlates to beer.


So, I'm confused. Is it only bourbon, or is it rye and bourbon?

 

Yeah, I saw that the bottle says something different from the description. I would trust the bottle! It's odd, since their description also doesn't match the last release.

I am working on an order. My wife's family is coming out to visit in a few weeks, so I'm getting an order shipped to them. There are some nice looking barleywines up for sale!

 

Yeah, I'm grabbing an Anvil Chorus, in addition to all the barleywines. Always an amazing selection!

 

I did a bunch of imperial stouts last weekend, so I wanted to share the barleywine love this weekend. Its tough loving these big boozy beers, but somebody has to do it!
This is Nod Hill Brewing (Ridgefield, Connecticut) and their bourbon barrel aged repeating trajectories barleywine. The beer is still by design and rested in bourbon barrels over a year before bottling.

Onto my review:

Sampling a 500 ml bottle poured at cellar temp into my trusty snifter. The beer says it was brewed in 2019 and aged over a year in oak. I picked it up at the brewery about 1.5 years ago.
Pop the cap and pour into the snifter, unsurprisingly no head foams up, the beer is still per the label.
The beer pours a rich deep mahogany color showing some garnet highlights when I hold the glass to a light source.
Aroma is huge on bourbon notes. I can smell the bourbon even with the glass sitting across the table from me. Some brown sugar and vanilla mixing , no hops and not really fusol hot alcohol anywhere. Mostly sweeter bourbon scents carry the day here.
First sip reveals a light to medium body with no carbonation (as advertised). Slightly slicker mouthfeel and some warmth on the swallow and on the tip of my tongue with each sip. There is the booze!
Flavor is brown sugar, dark fruit (raisin), some vanilla, rich bourbon notes and a little black peppery bitey booze. no hops anywhere on this brew. This one is quite the nice barleywine that showcases some bourbon for sure. I would definitely buy another bottle of this one, and will next time I head to the brewery if they still have any left!

4.59 in the BA DB

 

Great review! It amazes me how many breweries are doing great barleywines, both with and without barrel aging. Enjoy!

 

2nd barleywine of the evening. This is Tree House Tree of Tranquility. After @DIM opened a bottle, I felt obligated to open mine too! No idea what the ABV is on this one.

onto my review:


Sampling a cellar temp 12 oz bottle poured into my snifter. The beer was picked up at the brewery in October and has been on a shelf in my cellar since then.
The beer pours a dark mahogany color to almost cola brown with very little light passing through. Not quite stout color on this brew. the head is minimal with a thing beige colored dense head of maybe .3 cm. Very minimal and fades quickly to the thinnest of edging.
Aroma is some dark malts with brown sugar and caramel mixing with faint wisps of vanilla and a good dose of pineapple. I also get a bit of a cherry coridal note on the nose. Not boozy or peppery on the nose. Also no hop character.
First sip reveals a medium body with very sticky texture that coats my palate and my lips with each sip. Very gentle and spacious carbonation.
Flavor is rich and fairly sweet. I get dark fruit raisins and again brown sugar and vanilla, adding in pineapple notes and again the cherry cordial lingers after each sip. There are hints of caramel that pop up too. No hops and not boozy. I dont know what the ABV is on this one, but it doesnt show through anywhere.
This is definitely a sweeter beer and if you dont like pineapple, you wont like this one. Im glad its in a 12 oz format otherwise I may not be able to finish the beer TBH. Glad I tried it, not sure Id buy it again though. Very candy sweet.
3.96 in the BA DB

 

Tonight Im starting off with a 2017 vintage of East End Gratitude barleywine. This is part of a swap with @adrock314 quite a bit ago but I figured I would take this one off the shelf tonight. This beer is 11.2% and has been in my cellar since I received it in trade ~2 years ago.

onto my review:



The beer pours a rich chestnut to mahogany color with a dense creamy beige head foaming up 3 to 4 inches even with a very gentle pour. I dont get close to emptying the bottle in one pour. This foam eventually fades to a thick and sturdy surface covering and leaves windowpane lattice after each sip.
The aroma on this beer is some red grape and some caramel with brown sugar, but there is a predominant fusol and black peppery booze note that hits my nose. I also get a bit of earthy hops still kicking around on this one. Nose is bitter if that is possible for an aroma.
First sip reveals a medium body smooth texture and very fine tingly carbonation. Beer feels pretty nice on my palate.
Flavor is some caramel and toffee and then rolls to some dark fruit, raisins mostly. Then I get some bitey booze and slightly astringent hops, plus a pretty dry finish. Im enjoying this 5 year old brew, but think some of its complexity is fading. Ive got a few more vintages to try, but those are for another night. I didnt re-score this in the database, but believe Id go for the 4.0 to 4.1 range on this 2017 brew.

 

My new barleywine for tonight is Cyclops - a BA barleywine from Elysian. Comes in at 15% ABV. 2021 bottle. Just sent one to @DIM so I'm curious what he thinks.

Pours a murky brown/orange with minimal head. The nose is really interesting. Toffee, orange peel, plums, malts, and raisins.

The taste is great. Malty, boozy, raisins, plums, orange, toffee, bourbon, citrus peel, earthy, grassy, and a candy sweetness. Although it's boozy, it doesn't taste like 15% ABV to me. More like 11% or so.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a fairly sweet aftertaste. This is a great beer, and I could see this aging extremely well.

4.18/5 rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

I think I paid $16 for the 4 pack