Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2025)

Great start and a great beer, thanks Tim!

 

Spent all day painting the basement, now working on dinner prep. We're having S.O.B. (shit on a biscuit, way better than shit on a shingle)



I am really liking this local barleywine. Aged in both Bourbon and cognac barrels, it all comes together extremely well. I think they guy that brewed this at Ever Grain is known to @BBThunderbolt ?

 

Cheers

 

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2011

Decided to bust one Bigfoot out of the cellar (actually the fridge) this new year's day.
Appearance: Surprisingly clear, good head.
Smell: Tootsie rolls, caramel with some oxidation.
Taste: Still quite hoppy, caramel falls to the background. Gives a bit of a floral note. Stays pretty bitter as it warms up.
Overall: I would never have guessed this was 14 years old if given to me blind. Maybe half that age. A great beer for aging experimentation!

 

Great minds @Mdog , this 2019 is just entering that hop candy phase. So damn good.



Happy New Year @zid

 

Oh wow, same to you! When the heck is Bigfoot being released? I can’t remember the last time I was feeling so impatient (and Sierra Nevada changed their frustrating beer finder again).

 

Starting off 2025 with a barleywine. This is hoppier than shit. Like a super malt, extra strong IIPA. Better than Bigfoot though. Cheers!!

 

I remember last year’s vintage being much better. This is missing the butterscotch, vanilla and caramel that we crave in these BBA barleywines. Maybe it’ll improve as it warms. Luckily I still have a 2023 in the cellar.

 

No pic, but started out 2025 with a 2017 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot. Was quite tasty!

 

Humble Forager Redwood 33mo BBA English Barleywine, 14% ABV. Pours thick and black with a slight ring of brown bubbles. Aroma is incredible and complex, bourbon, sweet dark fruit, caramel, rum, chocolate, and spices. Taste follows, dark fruit prevailing, quite sweet, faintly bitter, pleasantly light bourbon burn. Mouthfeel is thick, lightly carbonated, leaves sticky lips. Overall world class, the best barleywine I've reviewed, and my third highest rated beer.

4.85/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

May adjust the review and score as it warms further. This is definitely the best of the six 5th anniversary BBA stouts and barleywines. Pretty much a pastry BBA barleywine.

 

The 2012 I had a few weeks back was great, apricot and a little fig to go along with the abundant caramel. This doesn't have the same depth. Plenty of nice caramel and just a little oxidation. Drinking pretty nicely right now.

 

Drinking a 2020 Bigfoot right now on a cold and snowy night here in Cleveland, OH. This beer was packaged on 12/4/19. Been in the bottle 5 years and one month. What an absolutely fantastic beer this is! Notes of toasted, caramel, bready malts along with a bit of butterscotch, some fruity notes of dates and fig, and a still a decent earthy, slightly piney and floral hop bitterness to round out the flavor profile. All of these come through on the nose for me as well. Has a slightly chewy, medium to full bodied mouthfeel. A perfect beer for tonight! Cheers all!

Eric

 

For @Beersnake , @DIM , @Resistance88 , and @RaulMondesi !

 

Did you ever get any of this Tim? @Beersnake

 

I did not. @DavetotheB tipped me off that Wegmans had it! I got some from Wegmans in Collegeville and some from Wegmans in Downingtown!

 

Treehouse “Mighty “ American Barleywine “!

 

2Sp “ST Seditious “ Barleywine! I dare say that this is my favorite Barleywine!