Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2022)

Tree House Tree of Bliss. A barleywine aged for 36 months in select bourbon and brandy barrels. This was sent by the extremely generous @DIM in a recent barleywine trade!

Poured at fridge temp. Pours a very dark brown with almost no head. The nose is insane. Brandy, bourbon, maple, brown sugar, toffee, milk chocolate, vanilla, figs, prunes, and raisins. Wow. So intense.

The taste is equally amazing. Big notes of toffee, figs, raisins, brandy, bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, brown sugar, sugar cookies, birthday cake icing. Insane integration of flavors. The ABV seems relatively low to me, but we will never know. This tastes like it's around 10% but it's probably up around 13% given the barrel aging time.

Mouthfeel is thick and viscous. Aftertaste is mostly sweet and full of bourbon and brandy. Overall, an incredible barleywine. So happy to get to try this! Thanks, Dan!

4.46/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

 

I have not been a big fan of the canned Harvest Ale. I have tried multiple cans of the regular and sherry cask versions, and they just didn't seem to taste like the bottled versions. As you said, I didn't see them until recently, so I also wonder about how the older versions were put into cans. Extended aging in some other vessel and then ultimately canned for this market? I much prefer the bottles.

 

So yea, this is an old ale on BA, but I think it would still fit here and be appreciated by the regulars.
This is Cigar City Catador Club Three on a Match Old Ale. 11.1% brew aged in white port barrels. Edition XIII on the label.

onto my review:


Sampling a cellar temp 500 ml bottle poured into a snifter. the beer pours a rich chestnut color with a dense yet fluffy beige head of 2 cm.
The beer is fairly dark and not much light passes through the glass, only on the edges do I see the dark chestnut and coffee colors.
Aroma is toffee, molasses and some red grapes and plum notes. Definitely a bit of fusol booze and general "strong" beer scents. Maybe a bit of oxidation in there too, but no hop character. Definitely smells like a sipping beer.
First sip reveals a lighter body than expected and very smooth mouthfeel and gentle spacious carbonation. beer drinks dangerously easy for a bigger boozey beer. Leaves a little sticky residue on my lips but not a ton. There isnt really any warming booze but there is a bit of a black peppery bite on the finish. The overall flavor is molasses and red grapes with some port character and a bit of plum again.
No hop character that I can pick up.
This beer is tasty and malty, but not overly sweet malt, in fact almost tart with the fruitiness.
Im really glad to have tried this one and would drink it again. Definitely a little bit of a dangerous sipping beer.

4.23 in the BA DB

 

I thought I had reviewed this before, but apparently not. Old Jetty from El Segundo. Barleywine aged in whiskey casks. ABV is 13.4 %

2022 can. Poured at fridge temp. Pours a dark brown with a small amount of off-white head. The nose is fantastic. Big notes of toffee, bourbon, raisins, plums, bread, and malts. The taste is a bit hot. Slight burn on the way down. Big toffee, vanilla, brown sugar, raisins, plums, figs, oak, and that slightly harsh solvent-like note from the booze. Mouthfeel is medium bodied. The aftertaste is actually a bit bitter (hoppy), with a layer of toffee. Definitely boozy. Would love to see how this ages.

3.96/5 rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

This is great!

 

Congrats on the barleywine accomplishment! I might have a couple more to open before 2023 arrives!