A Barley Wine for Every Day

"Hey wait, isn't that an IPA?" I don't buy into the oft repeated notion that a DIPA "turns into" a barley wine as it ages, but I've included an IPA in this mix.

This bottle claims that Burton Baton is a "two-thread blend of young & wood-aged imperial IPA"... but their website claims that it is a blend of an IPA and an "English-style old ale." Which is it? Regardless, it's cool to see anyone talk about "threads." If it's blended with an old ale, it deserves to be here. The name is fantastic. Referencing Burton ale (which is related to barley wine), I've assumed the "baton" is like a relay race, as if Dogfish Head, an American brewery, is picking up the baton of English breweries and running with it. Maybe that is or isn't the intent. The origin of the beer supports this. It was initially brewed for Michael Jackson's Rare Beer Club and was a tribute to England and the US.

The beer is a cloudy, earthy orange. It tastes of pineapple juice with significant alcohol warmth and piney bitterness. Despite the heat, this beer drinks easily. I don't get any oak, but I bet many others do. It's really nice and entertaining.

(On a related note, I really hope to pick up a new Ballantine Burton Ale before December ends.)

 

The hypochondriac part of me doesn't appreciate that comment, but fortunately, the part of me that lets everything go to Hell speaks louder.

 

I had to follow up Burton Baton with Olde School, a proper barley wine. There's a similarity and it made me wonder if this beer is blended with 90 minute to create Burton Baton, but the fact that this beer is brewed with dates and figs makes me second guess that. I like how the bottle has directions that involve burying it. Why is it that I've never seen people here post pics of a hole in the ground when folks show off their "cellars?" At 15%, this beer should have made more of an impression on me, but I surprisingly found this beer not shouting for attention. It doesn't invoke figs and dates any more than another barley wine.

 

Beers are packaged in these little corked bottles in order for customers to feel justified in paying a lot of money for a little bottle of beer. I really liked this beer. There was some influence from the wood. The beer was rich and with a hint of chocolate. Very slight smokiness or the illusion thereof. Grundy makes me think of DC's Solomon Grundy... and I'd hate to meet one of his humpers.



Keeping with Smutty, I moved to a beer I had before as part of their "big beer series." I really disliked this beer in it's earlier incarnation. I found that it had an unpleasant bitterness. I'm impressed that they moved it to six packs and I wanted to give it another shot. This time around, I didn't dislike it, but I didn't like it either. There was some bittering hop presence but not much malt flavor when considering the size and style of beer. Perhaps this beer would provide a more malt-rich experience if I had it on a different day.

I wish I could say that the six pack Really Old Dog provided as satisfying an experience as the expensive corked Grundy Humper, but it didn't today.