Cross-posted from the Cellaruary thread (in past threads, discussed this beer fitting under the umbrella of Barleywine) ****************************************** After this, only 2 more bottle of HotD Adam in my cellar Batch 101, bottled 10/24/20 https://hairofthedog.com/adam-vintage-guide/ This is drinking wonderfully - complex flavors of bread crust, pipe tobacco, fig, leather, a touch of smoke. Great depth of flavor yet great balance and drinks so easy for a 10% abv beer. One of my all time favorite beers
2016 Doggie Claws from Hair of the Dog. The flavor is fantastic. Dark toffee, figs, peanuts, prunes, light hops, oak bitterness, and a note of fresh pizza dough. Loving it.
I definitely wouldn't call this a barleywine. It is brewed as a historic Dortmunder-style Beer, which means it probably fits more within the scope of the German style appreciation thread. Having had it dozens of times, I wouldn't say it tastes similar to either an English or American style of barleywine. That said, I'm fine if you want to post it here!
Yeah, I know about the historical Adambier "style" and the debate about what its characteristics actually were (good thread here for anyone interested) My comment was more about how the term Barley Wine has been used differently over the years to more broadly cover strong ales. In Allen and Cantwell's book Barley Wine (1998), they list Adam in their list of commercial barley wine examples:
Let me know if you’re still looking for Transient. I live a mile away and am always up for an excuse to visit…
I got this magnificent English Barleywine from @Ozzylizard in an NBS BIF 8 years ago (2018), and I loved it. I still do and, if you read through the end of my review below, I am raising my rating, because it’s held up exceptionally well and I think it’s world class. PS: and I’ll still be +20% rDev, my highest variance to norm that I can find, so I’ve got THAT going for me. 4.42/5 rDev +20.1% look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5 I am a notorious overrater because I love (most) all beers and all styles, but I’m usually within the random distribution deviation (5 or 6%) on most beers, but not on this (IMHO) glorious beer - I’m 20.4% above the BA rating for this, but that’s okay. This scratches my barleywine itch. It pours a rich reddish-brown with a big ol’ bubbly tan head and nearly clear. Gorgeous beer. The nose has toffee and caramel notes - and a big fruity component. I am beyond intrigued. The taste ..... stupendous, IMHO. There’s the significant malt notes with the toffee and caramel, but the fruit comes forward even more - beyond the stone fruit, I get cherry, and tart blueberry notes that mix really well with the malt flavors. I only wish I had a 6er of this to age, because I think it would be even better with some whiskers.
Oh hell yeah, this is a nice take on ryeway, which is one of my all-time favorites. It definitely goes in a sweeter direction than the original. I get some familiar notes of sticky sweet caramel with a nice toasty rye bite. Still plenty of sweet booze, but warm, sugary apple character is a pleasant departure. Great beer.
2020 Old Foghorn from Anchor. Poured at fridge temp. Pours a nice murky brownish red with a little bit of head. The nose is caramel, pine needles, oak, and apricots. The taste is fantastic. Malty, oak, burnt toffee, honey, light grapefruit peel, pine, and stone fruit. Lovely.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I was always happy when I came across Pretty Things bottles and this was a good one.
Barrel-Aged Barleywine from Mountains Walking in Bozeman, Montana. Aged for over a year in bourbon barrels. 10.9% ABV. Bottled in 2022. Thanks to @muchloveforhops3 for this one! Absolutely fantastic stuff. One of the best! Cheers!
