Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2023)

Absolutely fantastic review, bro!!! I'm trying my darn-dest to save this set for a share, but reading your reviews makes me want to crack them open now! Ha!

 

Celebrating the Big West Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for my UCSB Gauchos with this world-class barleywine!!!

Review here. Wow! I mean...this is everything I want in a triple-oaked barrel-aged barleywine! Those sweet caramel-toffee notes upfront with a beautifully balanced and integrated, triple-oaked bourbon barrel boozy finish! Yum!

If I was nitpicking, I just wish it was a touch heavier on the palate and...uhhhh, who's idea was it to put this in a 8.4 oz bottle?!?!? So small!!! I took my time and let the beer warm/open up...really savored every swallow...and it still went by way too fast! Ha! Cheers, fellas!!!

 

Founders Sweet Repute - Wheatwine with Maple Syrup aged in Bourbon Barrels. Definitely get the wheat and mild bourbon in the aroma - but the maple I only pick up in the taste. taste starts a little sweet, but finishes drier.

 

Damn, your write up has me regretting not grabbing that when I was there yesterday!

 

An incredible Barleywine from Roosters. Heavy stone fruit with a good does of alcohol and a tiny bit of hops.. this is one of those borderline Ameican/Eniglsih.. not sure ,but it's one of the best brewed here

 

Comparing them side-by-side and blind with friends is definitely the way to go if you’ve got that sort of patience.

 

Nope, I haven’t posted in the wrong thread by mistake. In their barley wine book, authors Fal Allen and Dick Cantwell used Stille Nacht as an example of a Belgian beer that sits outside of the typical Belgian categories and could stand proud if slipped into a barley wine tasting. Personally, I don’t think of barley wine when I think of this beer, but at the same time, I like certain examples of challenging the rigidity that can come with concepts of beer styles. Although such marketing isn’t the case with Stille Nacht, I can also somewhat appreciate how cultures outside of England have used the term for their own beers (with the US being one). I’ll include this beer here with the spirit of thinking outside the box that the authors embraced and people can decide if they agree with them or not. Cheers.

 

Thanks, bro!!! UCR had a GREAT year this year! Their Coach was Big West Coach of the year...well-deserved.

I am taking a little credit for UCSB's current winning streak...They were on a three game losing streak, I was invited to go a late February game and talked to the team at their pre-game practice...hung out with them in the locker room. They won that night and haven't lost since! I keep telling the coaching staff that I am taking credit for the NCAA tourney berth! LOL! Cheers!

 

Central Waters Barleywine - Brewer’s Reserve 5 Years

Last one of these besides the Iced. It sits
almost plum colored in the glass (although in actuality it’s quite garnet when held to the light). Its thin khaki head is fairly short-lived, but sticks around slightly longer than younger vintages, and leaves a surprisingly long-lasting and messy crown. There’s also some visible churning from the center once the head is gone. We’ll come back to that later, but appearance-wise, it lets me swirl the glass and get a new head for a good long while. In this category, I’ll easily rank them 5, 2, 4, 3.

This one’s smell is sweet and boozy. I got strong cocoa when I first cracked the can, but once poured, cherry, fig, prune and vanilla stand out the most, with some stale hops behind. This category remains the hardest to rank, as each vintage smelled great in its own way, but I’ll say 3, 4, 5, 2. The 3-year had some really nice caramel and vanilla going for it. The older vintages were boozier smelling, and the 2-year’s aroma was very fruit forward.

The chocolate character in the 5-year does show fairly strongly right up front in the taste — which is much less fruity than the nose implied (although the prune, raisin and fig are all still present). There’s also a blend of some nice wood, vanilla, caramel, cola and distant piney hops. To me though, the characteristics were a bit easier to pick out and worked in better harmony in the 4-year. In this it’s more monotone, if that makes sense. Probably 4, 3, 5, 2 in the taste department.

The mouthfeel has a nice oiliness and stickiness to it, but coming back to the visible churning, it has way too much carbonation for the style. I don’t expect a barleywine to be belch inducing, and the unending fizz here honestly detracts from the taste and overall drinking experience. For mouthfeel, I’ll put them as 4, 3, 2, 5.

Overall, the 5-year introduces some clear cocoa characteristics I only got a whisper in younger vintages. It’s definitely smooth and complex, but the extra year might have melded things a bit too much in comparison to the 4-year. And the carbonation level was easily the worst of the bunch. I suspect if tasted blind (and/or decanted) I’d appreciate this more than the 2-year, but given my high hopes for this one going in, I’ve got to set the overall power rankings at 4, 3, 2, 5.

Here’s hoping the Iced is the best of the bunch.

 

I have a copy of that book too. Also notable is that they lump Hair of the Dog's Adam into their list of commercially available barley wines. Certainly what beers get classified as Barleywine/Old Ale/Strong Ale is sometimes pretty subjective.

 

Stille Nacht is the same style as Duvel.

 

Massive Spire - StrangeBird



Not quite what I was expecting. That head took about 30 minutes to settle down and left thick chunks of dense sea foam lace clinging to the glass. The head never actually dissipated completely. That longevity was likely due in part to the perfusion of carbonation causing a tumult below. Seriously, it was audible through the foam.

Aromatically, the hops dominate with spruce and caraway. Toasted malt and sweet toffee are certainly present, but they are kind of like drums in a brass band. I found myself checking the label to be sure it says “barleywine”, which it clearly does. “Barrel Fermented American Barleywine bottled conditioned” no typos there BTW. “Maris Otter, Rye, Cara 80, Simco, Idaho 7, Citra. Hoppy, Rye, Barleywine - Oh So Fine! 70 IBUs”

And it’s bitter! Sweetness is several steps behind. Orange, without the brightness normally found in citrus. Earthy pine straw and resin. Sun-tea that was forgotten and left to brew from 10am till twilight on a long hot August day. Yes. Sun-tea. Over cooked caramel and spicy rye. The finish is eternal and surprisingly modest, possibly only in comparison with the other flavors.

The body is dense, with the texture of plush and unctuous fur. Alcohol as expected, though without any warmth. Initially the carbonation was like licking a needle gun. While still pervasive after 20 minutes in, the carbonation was a soft prickle that covered the pallet. Meanwhile, sticky malt builds on the lips.

Definitely not the barleywine I had expected. This bottle may have some age on it, like maybe 6+months (no date), as I first saw it a while back, and this was the last one in AJ’s cooler. As experienced, it is more like an English IIPA than a Barleywine, which I know is splitting hairs. No matter, however one categorizes it, I definitely enjoyed the while shebang.

 

1st time trying anything from J.W. Lees. I’m very impressed.

 

Well except that it's 12%abv, which is why it was mentioned in that book's section "Other Beers Defying Classification" on high ABV beers that where outliers in their styles. It also talks about beers like Samichlaus and EKU 28 which are doppelbocks but much higher abv than average. In 1998 when the book was written (unlike now) beers of that high of alcohol content where a rarity, so "barley wine" simply being more of an overarching term for strong beers made more sense.

You would really dislike their discussion about classifying Russian Imperial Stout as "a dark barley wine". They reference Michael Jackson as having this opinion, anyone have any more info on this?

 

Big Foot? Truth be told, I am literally drinking one right now, but the only BW represented is Big Foot? Yes, the world has gone mad indeed.

 

That 1986 yeast strain is the best! Everything after might be disappointing.

 

Heeeeee heeeeeee.