Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2023)

Glad to have another 4 pack of this vintage coming. This was my last can and still drinking great.

 

Wax Wings - Harbors : 3

DB English-style barleywine aged first in small format rye whiskey barrels, then finished in a white burgundy barrel that finished mammoth rye whiskey. very sweet base barleywine but the barrel treatments compliment it very well. thick, almost syrupy mouthfeel. good stuff. excellent execution of the barrels. cheers!

 

Round Guys Brewing (Lansdale, PA) - Nautical Disaster (Barrel Aged Barleywine)

 

Thanks @Resistance88 this one lives up to the hype!! Sweet caramel with a nice spice from the rye. Would highly recommend! Only downside is that it isn't sold in 4-packs

 

You god damned spoiled Chicago people

That one was one i enjoyed in 4oz pours at the source. I think i had a bottle once at home but didn't like it as it got too....... y'all know the rest.

I'm really glad you enjoyed everything i sent you. I was worried that it woukdnt live up to your expectations as you got a little bit apprehensive toward the end, but it all worked out.

I wouldnt hesitate to do it again, still verry interested DB Caves if you ever see it

 

Yeah yeah yeah too sweet. I can't trust your "too sweet" takes cuz I absolutely loved BA6k.

I'll see if I can track down any DB Caves. Thanks again! All the stuff you sent was good! Still have one bottle left!

 

This beer is a perfect 10. Yes, it is on the sweet side but the complexity and flavor is on another level. Rev is

 

IL taxes blow. But Rev might be worth it!!!

 

Sounds fantastic, thanks for the review Dan! While on our upcoming road trip i need to find a way to get back to JO's to acquire some of this liquid gold. Not sure if i can justify given my May sojourn there but will beg and plead with Da Boss.
Cheers!
Tom

 

Thanks for the re-review Tim! Inspired me to go back and look at my reviews of MoaS. I did a re-review of a 2012 version in 2018 and found it not as inspiring as the barrel had faded and it was very caramel forward. I believe this bottle was in my wine fridge for the entire duration. My notes indicate optimal drinking age is 2-3 years. Awesome you still had a bottle!
Cheers!
Tom

 

Got to enjoy a fresh Bigfoot on tap while at Mills River for the Aaron Lee Tasjan show Friday night, so good! I am a hophead at heart so the fresher the better, but it is all good! Had to do the 45-minute brewery tour while there and came across a Bigfoot display case. Fun night for sure!
Cheers!
Tom


Me on the left, Aaron Lee Tasjan, and my friend Ron who is a professional Trumpet player and engineer. Ron totally cracked me up as he was helping the engineers for the two shows fix the "mids".

And last but not least the Bigfoot display case. Not a great shot but what a history!

 

Boulevard collaboration with Firestone Walker - Barrel-Aged Wheat Wine Style Ale

"Barrel-Aged Wheat Wine Style Ale" has got to be the worst beer name I've seen in a while that wasn't a pun.

From the Boulevard site:
"These breweries were longtime friends and dreamed of doing a beer together."

Are we talking about breweries or people?
The actual story is that they are owned by the same company.

More from the site:
"This beer speaks with wood and grapes."

So now the beer is a person too?

Actual stuff on the beer:
"Two beers with the same mission, brewed and aged in a way that reflects each brewery’s program and how they differ – then combined into one. This collaboration features both brewery’s innovation skills: A wheat wine blended and fermented with white grapes from Paso Robles, and a wheat wine fermented with Kveik yeast in Kansas City. The beers were barrel-aged in a mix of whiskey, rye, and chardonnay barrels then blended together"

I get the Firestone Walker using grapes bit, but they're saying that Kveik yeast reflects Boulevard's skills and program... yeah right.

The result is a very nice looking beer, but for a beer that speaks it has very little to say.

The barrel character isn't strong for a barrel aged barley wine (yeah, I know it's a "wheat wine," but that's still just a barley wine with wheat to me) but because this beer speaks in whispers, the barrel character is still way too noisy for this beer. If you got rid of the whiskey and wood, this might have been a really nice beer - subtle for it's type, and therefore a really refreshing change of pace for the style (that consumers probably wouldn't like).

In the end, this feels like a case of an overly complicated process not being worth it. It comes across like a waste of time for Firestone Walker. But in reality, when Duvel Moortgat says "DO IT," following orders isn't a waste of time.

@Resistance88

 

Just like theHpB collab FW did( no ends only begginings)...the beer is subpar ,a waste of time and an insult to the Pedigree of FW