Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2023)

Barrel-Aged Vermilion from Perennial. This is a 2022 bottle that has a specific barrel aging. It's an English-style barleywine aged 24 months in whiskey barrels. Barrels were comprised of 23% Heaven Hill and 77% Buffalo Trace. Comes in at 13.6% ABV.

Poured at fridge temp. Pours a nice dark brown with a very thin layer of light brown head. The nose is bold and robust. The barrel presence is abundantly clear on the first sniff. Waves of bourbon, vanilla, toffee, molasses, raisins, and a relatively subtle layer of baking chocolate. Some nice bready notes come through as well.

The taste is amazing! Bourbon all day, along with some black licorice (surprising!), toffee candy, a slight smoky taste, dark chocolate, plums, red wine, vanilla, a slight leathery note, big malts, and a boozy layer.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and there is a slight burn on the way down. The aftertaste is mostly bourbon-soaked toffee. Lovely beer overall!

4.46/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

 

LAST CALL for the very first Barleywine/Stout BIF. Send and receive barleywines and stouts from another part of the country and share your thoughts here and on the NBW thread! Don't know what a BIF is? Want to find out more? Have some FOMO? Want to interact with some amazing BAs? Head on over here to get the details:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/barleywine-stout-bif-sign-up-thread.674429/

 

We have 21 participants - we just need one more to even things out!

 

I just like even numbers

 

Nooooo!!!!

 

Kicking off the evening (late afternoon) with a 22-year old barleywine. J.W. Lees from 2001. Zero noise when the cap came off, and not a drop of carbonation. The nose arrives with intense notes of prunes, figs, pears, oak, leather, and slight molasses. Some burnt toffee in there, but it's not dominant. Also a hint of smoke.

The taste is amazing. More sweet than I would have expected from the nose. Port, toffee, prunes, figs, an earthy note, leather, burnt marshmallows, and a background of sweet candy. Some molasses and anise comes to the foreground as it warms.

Just a lovely beer on which to sip. I will savor this for a while. Cheers all.

 

continuing to consume bigger beers to clear space in the cellar. This is Jackie Os and their Endolith bourbon barrel aged barleywine. 13.6% ABV brew.


onto my review:

Sampling a cellar temp 2022 vintage of this beer. Although unsure if any other vintages have been made.
Pouring into my large snifter. The beer pours darker than I anticipated and is more of a dark cola brown in the glass with almost light passing through the glass. A little bit of dredge shows up towards the end of the pour and I stop with about 1/2 oz left in the bottle.
A small dense khaki colored head foams up about 1 cm and is nothing within a few minutes. Not even an edge lacing is left in the glass.
Aroma is toffee, brown sugar and some bourbon notes, definitely malt driven nose on this beer. But also not boozy or fusol at all. Hops absent.
First sip reveals a medium body with a bit of a sticky texture that coats my lips and palate on each sip. Carbonation is mild , gentle and almost non existent, but not quite still.
Flavor is what the nose advertises with toffee and brown sugar notes plus a bit of rich molasses too. The bourbon comes through also and lingers after each swallow. I dont get any wooden barrel notes nor vanilla anywhere, but also never any booze. No fusol heat, no peppery bite. Makes for a bit of a dangerous beer.
Quite a tasty beer that checks boxes that I like, it isnt the most complex BA barleywine Ive had, but what it brings is all good stuff.
4.19 in the BA DB