Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2024)

My neighborhood tasting group had another Bigfoot tasting last night. It is so easy to get sucked into buying these Bigfoot verticals in Mills River and gladly pay almost 3x the normal retail price of a current year Bigfoot pack...guess we are paying for proper storage

The vintages were 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022, 2024. I liked the 2016 version the best. The 2012 hops alpha acid must have been off the charts as i found this to be the 2nd hoppiest after 2024 which is a nice vintage. We started with a Celebration as we were told at our recent SNBC event that Bigfoot is a Double Celebration, which was much fruitier compared to Bigfoot. I approached this by sipping from each vintage as a side by side. Given we had two-six packs, we got about 4 ounces per vintage. Needless to say, my palate was destroyed about halfway through

Post "proper" tasting we had a 2023 and Spiced Bigfoot (this one you want to have on its own as it was weird). And oh yeah Tomas @Resistance88 , i thru in a token Marshal Zhukov from Cigar City which was well received!

Regardless, i totally dig Bigfoot, always fun to do these tastings!
Cheers!
Tom

 

Hell yeah Tom, thanks for sharing! That looks like a great time once again.

 

Split a bottle of E.H. Taylor Bigfoot at friend's house tonight. Bottled fall 2022, 4-6 year old BA Bigfoot was blended together and dumped into fresh E.H. Taylor barrels for another year. This treatment took the abv all the way up to 15% from the 9.6% of regular Bigfoot.



I enjoyed this fresh, the aroma in particular, but there was a bit to much booze and harsh wood at the finish. That was not my impression this time. This is the best kind of adult candy right now. Rich caramel and plenty of chocolate meld well together. The booze ain't shy but it's plenty sweet and smooth. This is much closer to what I expected to taste initially, not quite up there with some of the best double barrel barley wines I've tried but it isn't very far behind.

 

Have you had this yet?

 

I hear you on big bottles. I'm glad you waited and I look forward to your thoughts on this beast!

 

Insanity, a 13.3% English Barleywine aged in whiskey barrels, from Weyerbacher Brewing Company. Early in my craft beer career, Weyerbacher brewed it annually and always distributed to New Jersey, and I would buy a case each year. It hasn't been brewed for several years and this year's batch is only available at the brewery. So, so good!

 

Yes, it doesn't sound a million miles away from classic Gold Label.

 

Disappointing to hear Taylor Bigfoot is a tad harsh.
I am forever grateful for the opportunity to try this Dan!
Cheers!
Tom

 

Glad to be able to send one your way Tom! Last night's bottle was not in any way harsh I am happy to say, that was my initial impression in 2022. Cheers!

 

A nice American style bourbon barrel aged Barleywine from 5e Baron of Aylmer, Québec. Reminiscent of Bigfoot to some extent. Cheers!

 

Would love to see how this is with 5 years on it... or more

 

I'm curious to see how they develop, I don't think there's a decline on the horizon.

 

Barleywines can't decline since they're already at the bottom .

I hope they release these again cuz i missed the winndow to grab one .

I'm not a Bigfoot fan , but my wife loves it. I got a few for her and she had a 3 year vertical that I'll drink soon since she only drinks 4oz or so

 

It's okay, you don't have to say it we all know where your heart truly is. Don't worry, we won't tell Stout.