It is young but I have to be at work by 7am. Still sipping my stout. @micada should post his barleywine here that I gave him today…
I'm at home contemplating my spring cold and the prospect of a rainy day watching my son's baseball tournament. Turf fields and these guys don't like to issue refunds. Back one day soon!
Hey Tim, i am in the middle of my second DIPA so no go today as i was not fortuitous enough to come from a Canadian gene stock of highly efficient livers Maybe tomorrow?
Goose Island BCBS Two-Year Barleywine Reserve English Barleywine, 17% ABV. It pours out of the bottle medium-brown, but in the glass in appears extremely dark brown, with a ring of light-brown bubbles that left no lacing. Aroma is toffee/caramel, dark fruit, and bourbon. Taste follows, plus oak, slightly sweet slightly bitter, with moderate bourbon burn. Mouthfeel is thick and dry, overall excellent. 4.34/5 rDev -4% look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25 @Beersnake here we go! I somehow never had a Bourbon County Barleywine before. I was a bit hesitant to try this one because I've never liked any bourbon with "old" in the name, and once again that holds true with Old Fitzgerald. IMHO this pales in comparison to GI King Henry II and Revolution VSOJ. We'll see what happens as it warms. I still tried to score it fairly.
Etymology from Fort George. Barleywine blend aged for 20 months in Basil Hayden, Russell's Reserve, Russell's Rye, 25 months in Westward Whiskey, 30 months in Westward Whiskey, and 40 months in Willett barrels. 13.4% ABV. This is my second time trying this, and it's incredible.
2014 Beer Michigan Barleywine. An American barleywine made from 100% Michigan grown malt and hops. Bought at the General Store last fall while visiting the Eccentric Cafe with @Whyteboar. Cheers.
Getting into Unknown Impact No. 3, 1 of 250 bottles, from Cherry Street Brewing in ATL. Many thanks to David @ATL6245 for the opportunity to try this rare beer! Have to say the base style is true to EBW form as i get a lot of raisins and prunes with the malt base. Barrel comes across too strong as Bourbon dominates the back end rather than compliment the base beer. As a result, the malt base is overcorrected but is still sippable. Cheers! Tom
Revolution V.S.O.J. 2024 BBA English Barleywine, 14.4% ABV. At 4.87, tied for my 2nd highest rated beer. I still may change this to 5.0 Getting ready for deconstructed kabobs for supper. We do veggies in one basket and chicken/shrimp/beef in the other.
That, admittedly, was a crap shoot as I had not had that particular one before. Cherry Street puts out a lot of barrel aged beers and I've had some really good ones and I've had a fee swings and misses. Do you think some aging would improve it?
Cross posted this in the New Beer Weekend thread! This is Barreled Souls and their Black Bombs over Barley. A 14.3% barleywine aged in smoke wagon bourbon and Jamaican rum barrels. Onto my review: Sampling a cellar temp bottle poured into my snifter. Picked up at the brewery last August and has been in my cellar since then. Bottled on 6/30/2025. The beer pours a dark black coffee color with no light passing through my glass. Much darker pour than I expected to be honest. A dense creamy head of 1.5 cm foams up and gradually fades to a sturdy edging layer , I get dense clingy lattice when I swirl the glass or take a sip. Sort of sticky legs like a merlot slide down the glass behind the lattice. Aroma is a mix of malt character with dark chocolate and fudge mixing with raisins and some sweet bourbon. I do get a little bit of rum note and some brown sugar. Nose tends to be sweeter side, but isnt cloying or candylike. No hop character here and its not particularly boozy on the nose either. First sip reveals a medium body with very fine and tingly carbonation, only lightly sticky texture and the beer drinks pretty easy. A little coating on my palate after each sip and hints of warming on the swallow too. So definitely some warnings of the higher octane of this beer! FLavor is what the nose advertised, again malt forward with some chocolate covered raisin and toffee notes mixing with a little bourbon and some sweeter rum, and hints of charred wood and a little roast too. No fusol bitey flavor and no hop character here either. Are there any hops in this beer? This is quite tasty , I am glad the rum isnt overpowering, as its not my favorite booze. This has a prett complex and well working flavor profile, and Im sure the ABV is going to sneak up on me by the end of the bottle. Id drink this one again. 4.35 in the BA DB
Given it was packaged in 2023 probably not. Interesting that Cherry Street puts out a lot of BA beers as i had them pegged for a brewery that was just getting into barreled brews and in this case maybe had overdone the barreling. Fonta Flora here in WNC is kind of similar in that their BA brews are hit and miss as well - they have a dedicated shelf at Appalachian Vintner but i do not want to pony up $30-40 for a 750ml uncertain bottle despite the Untappd aka Yelp good to great ratings. I appreciate the opportunity, David!
I think I bought 6 bottles of this. I have one left. I often think of how long I want to age this one for. Since I've had so many of them, I might let this one go 10 years for science. Not sure I'll be able to resist that long, though
Never Ending Story from Barreled Souls in Maine. This is solera barleywine, coming in at 13.8% ABV. Barrel info: 34% - Solera Puncheons (2 x 500L Tawny Port Puncheons and 2 x 500L Sherry Puncheons) for 29M 19D. 24% - Penelope Red Wine Finished Bourbon for 11M 16D then blended into our Solera Puncheons for 18M 3D. 42% - Penelope Red Wine Finished Bourbon for 17M 21D then blended into our Solera Puncheons for 11M 28D The taste is intense sherry. This could almost pass as sherry, to be honest. Very far from beer. People who don't like sherry will hate this. I like sherry, so it's good for me. Also getting toffee, maple, honey, raisin, melon, raspberry jam, and brown sugar. Quite sweet, but really good. A small bottle is definitely enough.
Can't wait to try my bottle. I'm honestly glad the rum isn't too overpowering. Beer with too much rum doesn't work for me.
I believe @Beersnake has abandoned us. He’s now exclusively drinking kettle sour smoothies. Such is life. Beer Michigan Barleywine second pour. Cheers.
It's been a long time since my last 2012 bomber bottle but i was fortunate to grab the last couple of bottles in Bellingham, WA last summer. The 2022 edition is very caramel and toffee forward, more ABW like than EBW. Barrel is balancing, brings a touch of vanilla and bourbon heat. This is working as a very nice sipper dessert beer after lunch earlier and pairing with some baseball. Updated/upgraded to 4.48. Cheers! Tom
