Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2025)

Don't forget, you can recap it and enjoy in small quantities for months or longer like Utopias.

 

Ok, here it is. Lots more words in NBW, and they are all positive. Excellent beer, seems to be the very definition of “malt liquor” but I could buy it being a barleywine too.
Thank you so much for this treat @DIM - I have recapped it and will share it on NYE during my annual bonfire and cellar clearing.
(We won’t be finishing it off, but I do want to share it with friends)
Cheers!

 

Glad you liked it!

 

Decided to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather yesterday and enjoy a beer on the patio with my sons/son in law after Christmas dinner.



4.3/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a Teku Glass. Bottle dated 03/01/22

The beer pours a deep brown, cola-like color with about two-three fingers worth of tan head, that recedes quickly leaving behind very little lacing.

The aroma is dark fruit, caramel/toffee, brown sugar, and molasses. There is also a nice booziness from the brandy barrels

The flavor is similar to the aroma; figs, cherry, plums, toffee, molasses, a mild roastiness, brown sugar, tobacco, and a underlying earthiness. The booziness is mild at first, but becomes more noticeable as the beer warms. Medium/Full bodied, and moderately carbonated.

Overall this is a very nice beer, and the brandy barrels a nice additional layer of complexity to the base beer (Irish Walker)

 

I had one after a year and thought it went way downhill. Glad an extra year or so seemed to get it back to glory for you

 

This local English-style Barleywine is absolutely amazing! I think that @Beersnake would agree!

 

This is my last bottle of this, and I'm sad I'll never be able to get more of it.

Berserk - Valkyrie Brewing - Dallas, WI - English Barleywine - 12%

I loved going to this brewery. It just hit things right with me. This Barleywine was always a purchase when I was there. It will be 2 years in January when the owners closed it and took their well deserved retirement. This beer hit all the notes for the style right. May Valkyrie rest in Valhalla in peace.

 

Steam off that label, it's a keeper!

 

Apple Brandy Ryeway. Liquid candy here. It’s pretty sweet, but it’s not an over the top syrupy body, so it’s ok. Otherwise, it might have been over the edge. Shocking that Rev knows what they’re doing

 

I'm drinking a 16oz can of Hoppin' Frog Black Friday barleywine. Best by Nov 13 2034. Can was given to me at the Green Bay meet, from @Blogjackets.

Taste is sweet butterscotch/caramel, then a flash of orange. next is white raisin. There is a hint of vanilla and bitterness on the finish. Slightly boozy but not too harsh. Semi smooth.
Mouth feel is ok slightly thick, smooth until the finish when you get a little booze bite.

Not bad all. I like it. 4.18/5

 

Lumberbeard: Artistic Trajectory.
This is really good. Almost a clone of VSOJ. Can’t really give higher praise than that. Minimum age of each beer in the blend is 36 months

 

I'm drinking a 16oz can of Ope! Barrel Aged Full Send, rye whiskey barrel. 11.4%, Black Friday 2025 release.

The body is black, this beer is a black BW for sure as it has stout characteristics. Short brown head that leaves a little lacing.
Taste is chocolate, red wine, toffee, a little molasses. There is some raisin, rye, oak and vanilla on the finish. The whiskey note is very mild. Smooth and sweet. The ABV is very buried
Feel is smooth, thick and syrupy. Almost no alcohol heat or bite.
Tastes best at room temp.

I need this to give me courage and go and finish shoveling snow before the sun comes up.
4.33/5

 

Got one… hopefully you get your hands on it as well

 

From a little earlier today but been sipping on it for a while. Cheers!!

 

It was decent. Kind of gave off a cedar aroma rather than oak. Heavier on the dark fruits than say toffee or caramel or chocolate. Super smooth and easy to drink for 10%. I liked the mouthfeel.

 

This is a truly magnificent BA English Barleywine. Goose crushed this, IMHO.



4.75/5 rDev +8.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Pours mahogany brown and settles a dark mahogany brown that edges towards black and features a foamy dark khaki head that lingers for a bit. Gorgeous BA English barleywine.

The nose is led by a big oaky aroma that carries some booze, gliding into a rich caramel and chocolate note, with some dark cherries in the background.

The rich caramel and chocolate flavors are forward on the taste and so delicious, with the dark cherries following, and the oak and booze serenading everything on the finish, with a nice alcohol warming. Wow. Just wow.

The mouthfeel is full and very oily and creamy, coating the palate. This is a magnificent BA English barleywine that is truly a pleasure to savor.