It was a big palate adjustment when fresh but totally agree better with age as a friend has shared several bottles over the last few years.
I was only going to have a single barleywine tonight, but as I was going through my beer fridge in my garage, a 2010 Bigfoot fell from the top shelf and the cap popped off. Beer everywhere, but I had to enjoy the little that remained in the bottle. Great beer!
And now the beer I was originally planning to grab before other barleywines started to fall from the sky. 2016 Thomas Hardy's Ale. Cellar temp, and tasting great. Cheers!
Might as well put this here too... @CarolinaCardinals Opening a Sierra Nevada Narfoot. 5 years in barrels, 60% Narwhal and 40% Bigfoot. I'm enjoying this but I'd MUCH rather try these separately. I had a short pour cold while I made dinner, enjoying the rest now at cellar temp and I'm enjoying it more. There is definitely more stout here, dark chocolate covered cherries and some nice, bitter char. Some caramel and a bit leafy bitterness at the end seem Bigfoot-y. The booze is nice and the oak is pretty prominent with a strong tobacco note. Good stuff and I'm glad I have another bottle, but it's like the 2 beers almost cancel each other out in a way. The parts are greater than the sum. Tom said this didn't seem like a finished product, to me it almost seems overdone. Maybe too much time in oak?
I was definitely a bit worried about this which is why I didn’t buy any. I just love each barrel aged in their own.
Two Threads from Temporal Artisan Ales in Vancouver - a blend of two barleywines - one was aged in Blanton's barrels for a year and then for an additional 3 years in a rye ex-cognac barrels. The other was aged for 10 months in Buffalo Trace barrels. 14.45% ABV. This is fantastic. The bourbon and cognac mingle nicely. Some toffee, molasses, blackberries, and vanilla are there too. I believe @Resistance88 has one of these to open. Now is a good time!
I do have one , but ewewwwww. I really need to open it and that Adambier i got when i was there. I forget i have those
I was knee deep in work. Just got off a 17hr day and slammed an Extra Lush TIPA Stovepipe. Best sub 4 dollar, $3.86 exact Stovepipe in existence right now ,(9.8%) This has been my wife's favorite from last 4 years.
Shugga Lagoonitas Against the advice of counsel, and risking severe jeopardy to my pending legal case… Pours clear, rich golden copper with slight sediment fog late in the pour. Plumb pudding has a mildly sweet aroma of caramelized sugar , followed by prunes and just a ton of malt. Flavor has a similarly mild sweetness with bitterness a step ahead. Raisins, pine tar, and burnt sugar. A long finish that opens mild then builds. Full body, neoprene texture, abv as expected although without warmth, and a soft fizzy carbonation. And for some reason I am nostalgic for the classic Sinatra of my youth.
Dan, you got a point regarding maybe too much oak. My unfinished business thought relates to can the two distinct brews meld better together in time? One can only hope!
Amplification Zone from Bottle Logic. A barleywine aged in Old Fitzgerald bourbon barrels with coconut and vanilla. 14% ABV. Poured at fridge temp. Pours a nice dark brown with a small amount of fizzy head that disappears in moments. The nose is figs, coconut, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, biscuits, maple, and a note of pecans. The taste is incredible. Huge notes of bourbon, toffee, and vanilla. The coconut is there, but somewhat muted. Some chocolate, raisins, figs, plums, cookie dough, sight maple, and a touch of honey. Exceptional.
I might like this a bit better without the vanilla, but this is pretty damn great as is. $5 a can! Loving Ever Grain barreled beers lately. They don't make many but they've been awesome. Skookum's head brewer left 2021 to come here.
