Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2023)

I don't think that means what they think it means...

 

I think your right...Who cares what they call it I guess...all that matters it was good

 

Why do you say that?

 

Most breweries don't specify if it's English or American-style Barleywine. "Imperial" simply means high ABV. That still doesn't tell you what style of Barleywine it is. And there's no such thing as an "Imperial Barleywine", since just about every Barleywine is in the double digits.

 

ah...good info...never new that, thanks

 

What others have said. It doesn't describe anything other than being a bigger BW than most but what is the threshold anyways for the style? It's like saying a Double Imperial Stout is a stout that is over 12% or whatever.

 

Seconded. I loved Seven Gates or whatever it was called, and the peanut butter stout at Christmas, but they went down Weird Beer Avenue and I tuned out.

Having said that, I just went by their Strasburg location today and would have stopped had I known they canned a barleywine.

 

Barley and Barge by Jackie O’s. Cheers.

 

Central Waters Brandy Barrel Barleywine Ale



The last one from the stash @DIM (who spent his first days in a manger) gifted me nearly a year ago, and whoo-boy is it a good one. I've often seen "leather" as a description and this is one where it was evident on the nose. I don't recall ever having brandy- need to correct that- but the flavors I'm getting from this beer are outstanding. One of my favorites. Not too hoppy, not too sweet. Just delicious.

Thanks Dan. It's been a wonderful year.

 

Delicious

 

They have a tasting room right along the main drag near the center of town. Drove by and was too lazy to park. Now I'll be making a trip just to get the barleywine.

Pretty much everything you gave me was outstanding, but this Central Waters really hit the spot. Thanks a million.

 

If "imperial" means stronger, and the barley wine being marketed that way is very strong, then it seems like the brewers knew what it meant.

It's probably true that "just about every barley wine is in the double digits" if you are only looking at posts in this thread (barring Bigfoot)... but I think it's an exaggeration to state that in the broader picture. On the topic of the beer in question being in the American or English style... one might even be inclined to state that an American 15.6% ABV barley wine isn't English in style based simply on that ABV (but I know people won't like that thinking). Cut the ABV of it in half, and perhaps one could say the beer wasn't a modern American style barley wine. Was there ever a pre-2000 English ale marketed as a barley wine on the label that even came close to 15%? If anybody knows of one, please let me know.

Just to show that there's nothing new in beer, here's an example of an English barley wine marketed as "imperial":

What was the ABV of that Tetley's Barley Wine? I don't know how much it might have fluctuated, but at one point it was about 7.4% ABV. As far as the "threshold," there's no such thing really. I'm sure some folks would think that a beverage at 15.6% ABV has crossed a threshold and is no longer beer. That would be their threshold. That Tetley's Barley Wine was certainly stronger than the Norman & Pring Imperial Strong Ale coming in at a whopping 3.7% ABV. Look out!

I wonder if the brewers felt the same way. At 11% ABV, they might have been going for a historic mild rather than the mild of today, but with it being aged in bourbon barrels, that would automatically invalidate that approach (with "mild" meaning un-aged in a historic context). I assume this was their way of marketing something resembling a modern mild in construction, but at 3 times the ABV and aged in bourbon barrels. Of course they took the traditional approach of slapping every term they could on it.

 

This one is really good!

 

Another example of how you can just look at a barleywine and know it’s going to be amazing

 

Very specifically in this case, when you share a bottle of Mother of all Storms with your friend, @scream, and your friend and his son show you pictures from trips to Pelican Brewing, and the son is the head brewer at this brewery, you know what this beer is aiming to achieve.

 

Enjoying this one from ShortFuse, a bit sweet but tasty!