Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2022)

Discussion in 'The Bar' started by DIM, Jan 4, 2022.

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Which type of Barleywine do you prefer?

  1. American

    97 vote(s)
    17.0%

  2. English

    295 vote(s)
    51.8%

  3. That's like asking me to choose my favorite child, I love them all!

    162 vote(s)
    28.5%

  4. Neither, if Barleywine is life then life has no meaning.

    15 vote(s)
    2.6%
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  1. DIM

    DIM Grand Pooh-Bah (4,788) Sep 28, 2006 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Barleywine has long been my favorite style of beer. They have a wide range of flavor profiles that allow a lot of room for creativity. They're strength makes me slow down and ponder what I'm sipping. Not as easily found as some styles, which makes finding a new one that much more exciting to me.

    In a thread last year about beer rules, I replied that my rule is, when I see a barley wine I have not tried I buy it. I decided to make that a hard and fast rule going forward. This has meant endlessly open Tavour crates, an exploding beer budget, and a reluctant excursion into pastry barley wine. I can't and won't keep this rule up forever, but it's been a fun ride.

    My favorites right now tend to be sweeter, barrel aged English-style Barleywines. Pfriem makes a great one I tried recently.

    What do you all have to say about this magnificent style?
     
    #1 DIM, Jan 4, 2022
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  2. rolltide8425

    rolltide8425 Pooh-Bah (2,470) Feb 18, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I have a love for all barleywines but tend to lend toward the English as they don't tend to be as hop forward as American ones. I prefer more smooth and mellow as opposed to a higher level of bitterness.
     
    #2 rolltide8425, Jan 4, 2022
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  3. sulldaddy

    sulldaddy Grand Pooh-Bah (5,716) Apr 6, 2003 Connecticut
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Im with you on Barleywines!! Can imagine the beer budget blowup from your approach.....but it sounds like a fun ride!

    I also prefer English style with malt forward toffee and dark fruit notes dominating. I may be off, but also think the mouthfeel tends to be more syrupy and sticky with English style.

    Lotta good ones out there, and a lot in my cellar too. Only downside is that its not really a sessionable style, so easy to get a backlog. Good thing they usually age well!
     
    #3 sulldaddy, Jan 4, 2022
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  4. Rug

    Rug Grand Pooh-Bah (3,454) Aug 20, 2018 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I 100% prefer the sweeter flavors of the English version of the style, but I also would never say no to an American one if it caught my eye
     
    #4 Rug, Jan 4, 2022
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  5. Beersnake

    Beersnake Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,884) Aug 17, 2013 California
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I have a long love affair with barleywine. Old Guardian was the first that I really appreciated. Back in 2012-2014, I would go to Stone Brewing in Escondido and line up (yep, that actually happened at Stone!) to buy a range of different vintages. I still have bottles from 2004 up until the last date it was brewed. Fast forward to today, I am mostly a lover of English barleywines. However, nicely-aged American barleywines can end up tasting a lot like an English barleywine. Old aged English barleywines can start to take on port/sherry flavor. The evolution and ability to age them has always been an attractant.

    I'm pretty similar to @DIM in that I will almost always buy a barleywine if I haven't tried it. I have rated/reviewed 88 different English barleywines and 70 American barleywines. I need to get both up and above 100 soon! Goals for 2022!
     
    #5 Beersnake, Jan 4, 2022
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  6. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I tend to lean towards English style BW's, but then there's SN's Bigfoot, which I absolutely adore. So I guess I can't really make up my mind as to which I prefer.

    I'll finish with a shout out to Big Sky Brewing, which makes a barleywine with my favorite name and label. Olde Blue Hair barleywine. You can look it up online, but the label depicts an old woman in her walker, raising a pint of BW in a toast. Makes me laugh every time I look at it.
     
    #6 John_M, Jan 4, 2022
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  7. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,132) Feb 15, 2010 New York
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    With regards to the poll - just a personal thing, but I don't view barley wines in an English/American dichotomy. Instead, I tend to view them through a barrel aged vs non-barrel aged lens these days. On that front, I'll take non-barrel aged any day. I almost always leave the barrel aged ones on the shelf. My top favorites are proper English ones... and I don't mean English-style - JW Lees Harvest Ale and Harvey's Christmas Ale. With the Harvey's at 7.5% ABV, and The JW Lees at 11.5%, the pair embodies a nice spectrum of barley wine with totally different levels of drinkability. From American producers, I like SN Bigfoot. Unlike many, I want these beers as fresh as possible - that goes for both Bigfoot and JW Lees Harvest. I enjoy those beers with age on them, but more often than not, I enjoy them fresh even more.
     
    #7 zid, Jan 4, 2022
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  8. DIM

    DIM Grand Pooh-Bah (4,788) Sep 28, 2006 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Worthy goals! I'll get to 100 English style soon, 94 so far. I've tried 134 American b-wines somehow...
     
    #8 DIM, Jan 4, 2022
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  9. Harrison8

    Harrison8 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,285) Dec 6, 2015 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    English barleywine is my stylistic preference, but do really enjoy a well-aged American barleywine (i.e. let those bitter hops fade.)
     
    #9 Harrison8, Jan 4, 2022
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  10. rolltide8425

    rolltide8425 Pooh-Bah (2,470) Feb 18, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Just remembered I have a bottle of Thomas Hardy’s 50th Anniversary in the cellar. Do I drink it now or let it continue to sit? Don’t think I could go wrong either way.
     
    #10 rolltide8425, Jan 4, 2022
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  11. Harrison8

    Harrison8 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,285) Dec 6, 2015 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I bought Bottle Logic's Arcane Rituals and Dark Rituals while on a work trip. Contemplating drinking them side-by-side, as I've never directly compared a barleywine with it's stout-cuvee blend. Regardless, very eager to dip into a plain English barleywine.

    Very much enjoyed trying El Segundo's Old Jetty '20 (one year of age on it) while I was out there. Should've brought home a '20 and '21 for comparisons sake, but opted to pass.
     
    #11 Harrison8, Jan 4, 2022
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  12. keithmurray

    keithmurray Pooh-Bah (2,967) Oct 7, 2009 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah

    My two favorite Barleywines are from the English style.

    The 2013 Bourbon County Barleywine is a top five beer all time for me.

    The JW Lees Port Cask barleywine was also sublime.

    Pricey, but the occasional indulgence is worth the bread.
     
    #12 keithmurray, Jan 4, 2022
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  13. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I voted American because all too often the English Barleywines (or Barley Wines as the Brits prefer to spell it) are too sweet for my palate.

    It would appear that other BAs seem to prefer the sweetness aspect of English Barley Wines.

    Cheers!
     
    #13 JackHorzempa, Jan 4, 2022
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  14. Mgh2001

    Mgh2001 Crusader (444) Dec 3, 2021
    Trader

    American, English is too sweet. I recently had b5k and had to admit that English style wasn’t exactly for me.
     
    #14 Mgh2001, Jan 4, 2022
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  15. MaltyFlannel

    MaltyFlannel Aspirant (239) Oct 30, 2020 Iowa

    I typically enjoy the english more, which I find more jammy fig-forward, whereas with most american style, I find that it needs time in the cellar or a barrel to smooth out an over assertive hop profile that can turn it into a bit of a bitter bruiser.

    Had my first barleywine of 2022 last night and it was magnificent. Had the fresh, unbarreled version last Christmas and it was as described above, but was really good after about 9-10mo in the beer cellar. a full year in the barrel did it wonders, smoothing out the hop and giving it a wonderful deep coconut/vanilla note.

    BIL!

    [​IMG]
     
    #15 MaltyFlannel, Jan 4, 2022
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  16. jmdrpi

    jmdrpi Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,989) Dec 11, 2008 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Looks like I've got some work to do. I'm at 46 and 62 respectively.

    My biggest take away from looking at the Beer Style lists is how many of the most popular ones from 10 years ago are no longer in production: Old Guardian, Old Ruffian, Old Horizontal, Old Numbskull, Olde Gnarlywine, Flying Mouflan, Old Crustacean, Green Flash Barleywine, Killer Penguin, Smuttynose Barleywine, Cereal Killer, etc.
     
    #16 jmdrpi, Jan 4, 2022
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  17. jmdrpi

    jmdrpi Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,989) Dec 11, 2008 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    And as for the Poll, I selected both.

    Need more "Black" Barleywines! Two of my favorite special releases over the years have been Founders Nemesis and Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary Jack & Ken's Ale.
     
    #17 jmdrpi, Jan 4, 2022
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  18. DIM

    DIM Grand Pooh-Bah (4,788) Sep 28, 2006 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    That is a great list, I miss those as well. FWIW I'm told Mouflan is a seasonal brewery only release. I need to get there sometime.

    I haven't had many, this black barleywine is worth checking out. It's in a mixed 6 from Boulevard.



    https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/575765/
     
    #18 DIM, Jan 4, 2022
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2022
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  19. DIM

    DIM Grand Pooh-Bah (4,788) Sep 28, 2006 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I used to often feel that about English barleywine as well. I lost my sense of taste for about a month at the end of 2020 and when it came back my perception of sweet seems to have been recalibrated. I detect a lot more nuance and appreciate sweeter styles more than I ever have. Still love the big, bruising 'mericans though!
     
    #19 DIM, Jan 4, 2022
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  20. TomFoley

    TomFoley Pundit (945) Mar 19, 2005 Pennsylvania

    I too have a bottle of the Hardy 50th in the cellar. Mine will continue to age, I just hope I remember to drink it before I die.
     
    #20 TomFoley, Jan 4, 2022
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