Cross posted in the New Beer Weekend thread! Figured I would go big with my beer choice tonight. This is Barreled Souls and their Extended Aged Dickel's Cabin bourbon barrel aged barleywine. 16.1% ABV . Onto my review: Sampling a cellar temp 500 ml bottle poured into my snifter. Beer was bottled on 5/20/2024, picked up at the brewery in August 2025, and has been in my cellar since then. The beer pours a rich mahogany color with creamy dense beige head of 1.5 cm. This foam slowly fades to a sturdy surface covering that hangs around the beer for most of the sampling. Dense lattice forms from swirls and sips. Aroma is rich and malty with brown sugar, toffee, raisins, and a good bit of bourbon. I swear I get some cinnamon here too. No hop character and not fusol or peppery. I like the nose on this one. First sip reveals a medium body with very fine and tingly carbonation. Pretty smooth texture with little sticky coating for such a large ABV beer. Flavor starts with some brown sugar and toffee with hints of pipe tobacco and some plum and then a punch of bourbon right in my jaw. This is followed by black pepper bite and some serious warming on the swallow. Warmth lingers in my belly too. Woo! A bit of a bruiser here! No hop character anywhere. Definitely gonna sip this one for a bit, but very excited for the next hour or so! Would gladly drink this again! 4.31 in the BA DB
Old Man Split foot From Beer Tree, it's a gem. This is a wonderful example of a deliciously abrasive American barleywine. Sweet caramel and butterscotch up front with just a little char character to them. I also get sugar cookies and some odd jammy-ness, is pineapple jam a thing? The finish adds just the right amount of pithy bitterness and nice dose of heat. Great beer.
Here's to @cavedave! Covert Artisan Barley English Barleywine, 11% ABV. From the weenie 6.3oz bottle, it pours dark-brown with no head, hence no lacing. Aroma is toffee and vanilla. Taste is toffee, moderately sweet, slightly bitter. Decent mouthfeel, with almost no carbonation. Overall excellent. 4.18/5 rDev 0% look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 Untappd had someone's opinion that this is an American Barleywine, but the brewer doesn't say, and to me it's not bitter enough to be American.
This is what i would call a "Strong Ale" and barely qualifies at 9.8% but thought it was worthy of the thread. Enjoying the first bi-monthly drop from Sierra Nevada's new club "Friends of the Family". Barrel-Aged Ruthless Rye was aged in barrels that once held Ruthless Malt Whiskey, that was distilled from Ruthless Rye ale. Needless to say, it is spicy rye forward and hoppy. Rated 4.24. Cheers! Tom
I think this is a personal record for cross posts today but because it contains 40% Bigfoot i gotta bring it here! Just cracked "Narfoot", a 60%Narwhal/40%Bigfoot blend rested in barrels for 5 years. This was released as part of Sierra Nevada's Friends of the Family club a few weeks ago. Rated it a 4.33. There are definitely two distinct flavors. Getting a lot of cocoa from Narwhal while Bigfoot brings the C hops, the citrusy undertone, and a under the radar hop. Barrel attempts to tie the two together and lends oak, vanilla, and fresh whiskey. Finishes balanced. I am going to put the other bottle in a closet for 1-2 years and see if this pulls together more. Cheers! Tom
Abyssalism 2023 from Freak Folk Bier Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine (13.8%) the bourbon dominates, but very nice
I need to do that Dan. Do you recall if you poured a 50/50 split? I am kicking myself as i should have bought out the 2016 BA Bigfoot available stock that a few of us enjoyed a few years ago. When my friend and i were there for the Bigfoot tour a few weeks ago, we asked the Gift Shop guy Harrison if he knew of any more 2016 bottles lurking around, but he claimed not to know of any existing in Mills River. It would have been perfect to blend with a BA Narwhal! Cross post this from WBAYDN ... ↑ Enjoying my first 2026 Bigfoot. Caramelly, citrusy, pine resin, and smooth. I would say it is hoppier than the average fresh Bigfoot. Will be contrasting a 2019 Bigfoot with the next round. Classic American Barleywine! Cheers! Tom Click to expand... Getting into the 2019 Bigfoot and it is definitely less aggressive hop wise as the caramel malts are more prominent giving me a dark fruit flavor to go with the citrus theme. Mind you, the hops are still there and balance this bigger beer nicely. Listening to some Foo Fighters on the Sirius Lithium channel. Cheers! Tom
Luck has nothing to do with it. A buncha beerdorks on my side of the coast would say the same with you having access to Tree House. All beer is the same. All beer is good.
It’s boozy! I was with my wife’s uncle, so I wasn’t completely dialed in on the beer. I bought a can to rate at home (hopefully in the next couple of days)!
I actually think about that every time I drive into their entrance. It’s exactly 1 hour from my house. Definitely lucky in that regard
