Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2022)

I would like you to know that I guessed correctly that was from Caddyshack before looking at your next post...if you or anybody cares : /

 

Unfortunately I was unable to find Luke Skywalker sayin, “I care.” So you get THIS…

BTW, this new trick is going to get me trouble.

 

So, does it pair well with gingerbread houses?

Hope your feeling better already.

 

Perfect

 

Perhaps I aught to actually contribute to this thread, rather than making snarky comments. I have been in a happy mood lately, and this next one fits right in.

§ucaba 2019 - Firestone Walker



Reviewed fresh at https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2210/41121/?ba=SLeffler27#review

And with age from the cellar…

No significant change in appearance or head performance.

The aroma is much more rich, with the raisins and brown sugar being more clearly defined. The leather and English drawing room holds up too, actually more like a musty 19th Century library, with light mustiness. Added prunes and a booziness similar to bourbon. It is a delight for the olfactory.

Sweetness has faded a little, letting the bitterness have a slight lead. The nose carries forward pleasantly. Whiskey is here and more decreeable with age. Raisins and figs sing. The finish has also shifted slightly bitter. Warmth is a good friend to this beer, bringing more character to the previously mentioned notes, and now the licorice comes very late.

Body is a tad thinner than full, and more slick than lush. These two bottles were bought together, and I previously failed to catch the label abv is “only” 11.3%, which seems about right. The residual sugar seems less pronounced, which is consistent with the above perceptions.

My only regret is that I have no ascot, curved pipe, and cozy fire by my side. Then again…. That just might work out this coming weekend ;-)

 

If you haven't finished these yet, try another blind comparison... but this time put them in opaque cups and see if you can identify them correctly without seeing color.

 

It was less than two decades ago that the "pop the cap" was pushed through to raise the ABV from 6 to 15%, 2005 to be exact. Oscar Wong, founder of Highlands Brewing, and a couple of Charlotte breweries, were instrumental in getting it passed in Raleigh.

 

3 Floyds - Coconut Pillar of Beasts

cheers!!

 

it was good!

 

Excellent, in fact. I bought only a single beer to try it, and then returned for a four-pack.

 

for sure. i kind of can’t believe it took me this long to scoop up a 4pk. i’m usually all about floyds, especially the BA 4pks.

 

Barrier Archibald

Had this last night on the one year anniversary of its canning. The beer is older than a year though - it’s aged at the brewery first. I don’t know what it was sitting in when aged… or for how long. A variant of this beer was aged with bourbon soaked oak spirals and released at the same time. I liked Archibald much more back when it was a bottled beer. I held on to this one can after buying a 4 pack about a year ago.

This can still didn’t feel like a great treat to me, but I’m sure others would like it. I drank two macro lagers before this barley wine and that likely influenced my perceptions of this beer because I was very surprised by how oaky and bitter it tasted at first. I didn’t think the beer was aged with oak, but who knows. Maybe the brewer added oak spirals that weren’t soaked in bourbon… or maybe it’s just me. Probably the latter.

 

Revolution - Lumberstruck

my last can and i’m sad.

cheers!!