Barleywine suggestions?

Grab a four-pack of Freudian Slip by Evil Twin and then drink over the next 3 years.

 

BCBBW is the best beer I have tried. Don't even start with it. It will mess up all barley wines in the future for you because they will not stack up against this beer. I'm serious. Ever since I had the stout, stouts I loved before are not getting it done. It made my beer snob pinky finger go crazy on otherwise good tasting well done beers that just couldn't stand up to the bourbon county beers.

Old guardian has always been a favorite of mine but I do feel like it hasn't been the same beer the last few years. If you like Hoppy beers try the hopped version. The combination of the sweetness and Hops made my tongue feel like a hop cone after awhile.
Lagunitas Gnarleywine is an excellent choice!! Great beer fresh and even better aged and prices really well for a barley wine at 4.99 a bomber. Fantastic choice!
Cheers!

 

BCBW and Bigfoot. If you're chasing bigger ones...ADWTD and King Henry.

 

BCBBW is possibly my favorite "thing" in the world.

Having said that, I absolutely loved Mirror Mirror and it's still sitting on shelves in Texas all over the place. I have no idea about Florida, but if it's turding up these parts, maybe it's everywhere.

 

Great thread, even more so when I've just recently posted about desperately trying to enjoy this category.

I had never associated Old Ales with Barleywines...I enjoy quite a few Old Ales, so apparently for me that's my gateway into the style? If so, I need to expand within that category and then push outward.

 

Bell's Third Coast Old Ale is one of the better American barleywines I've had.

For English barleywines, I'd go with Weyerbacher's Insanity. I was not a fan of Blithering Idiot, at all.

 

Oh dear. This is my beer weakness. my "beerkness" so to speak. Uinta Anniversary seems underloved, but available in FL, Bigfoot is always a crowd pleaser, Old Guardian makes me smile stupidly for hours, Old Gnarlywine is awesome, Third Coast is a must have..... And with exception to the Uinta selection, they all age very well (I cannot emphasize enough - do NOT age the Anniversary one from Uinta....)crimony, I could go on forever. Then we have the "old ale" category......

 

Drinking a Jackie O's Brick Kiln right now and enjoying it not a big barleywine guy by all means but this one drinks really good.

 

Yeah! The Beer Temple still has 2014, as well. I pick it up each time I go there. It is amazing what will sit in Chicago.

 

Or doesn't sit... There are cases of Mirror Mirror sitting around (awesome) but Sucaba sold out like a Hot Shot in Baltimore...

 

I've only ever tried one barley wine, Sierra Nevada big foot ale. I found it way too bitter for me. Not the back end bitterness that doesn't linger like a good ipa, this was upfront bitterness that was a bit overwhelming for my palate.

 

CW doesn't get too far from WI.

http://www.seekabrew.com/distro/index.html?b=Central Waters

 

Drink the the English Style! They are usually way smoother than the American Style which is more in yo face!

 

January of this year is when I decided to truly dive head first into craft beer, and while building a custom six pack at my local liquor store I saw one four pack of Bourbon County Brand Barleywine for $23. I had heard how phenomenal all things bourbon county were so I wanted it but didn't know if I would like it, so I didn't want to drop $23 on the four pack so I included one bottle in my six pack. When I actually went to try it my girlfriend took the first sip and goes "Oh my God! That is incredible!"(she isn't a big beer fan and hasn't liked hardly any of what I have tried) Sure enough I took the next sip and instantly wished I had gotten the four pack lol. That one is awesome if you can get your hands on it. It's a style I am planning on exploring more this year, see Bigfoot, Old Guardian and Old Ruffian in my liquor store so I may be trying those soon.

 

Am I the only one who was disgusted with this year's Gnarlywine? I wish I liked it considering the price, but it was sickeningly sweet to me and just tasted off all around...couldn't get through the bottle. Any chance I got a bad bottle? I originally bought 2 but gave the other one away because I was so put off by the first one.

 

I'm sure it's been said but Stone Old Guardian. It was my introduction to the style and I love them now. Once you get used to them, the variations they do are awesome as well. Specifically this year's Extra Hoppy and 2013's Oak Smoked (my top-rated beer).

 

I agree that SN Bigfoot is the way to go. If you haven't had a barley wine before, I would recommend sharing it. If not use to it, they can be very tiring to drink because of how thick and flavorful they are. The first time I tried Bigfoot, it tasted like a very thick, flavorful IPA. Not a bad thing, but I did have a hard time finishing it because of that. Also make sure to have a glass of water (or maybe a couple).

 

For a barrel Aged BW go with Central Waters. Trade ya some for some Jai Alai

 

Olde Hickory Brewing just released an amazing Barrel Aged Englishstyle barleywine called Omega Point. The base is called Irish Walker, both are really good. Limited to NC and maybe SC though, but you might be able to trade for some. Also, for more readily available barleywine's Old Guardian is pretty solid as is Great Divide Old Ruffian. Sucaba is supposed to be amazing and I have a bottle but I am letting it age a little bit, so I can't tell you from personal experience.

 

I hate to be the contrarian, but I would strongly recommend *against* making SN Bigfoot your first foray into barleywines.

Even by the hopped-up standards of the American take on the style, Bigfoot is over the top. I love big, hoppy beers as much as anyone, but for the longest time I thought I didn't like barleywines because the first one I ever tried was Bigfoot. Honestly, triple-IPA seems like a more apt descriptor than barleywine for that beer.

I would also avoid Bourbon County Barleywine for the exact opposite reason of avoiding Bigfoot. BCBBW might be my favorite barleywine, but like Bigfoot, it's an anomaly for the style. Not only is it aged in barrels, but those barrels once held BCBS, so it has some of those residual imperial stout characteristics that impart a fairly significant change to the beer. You definitely need to try this beer, but maybe after you've tried a few others.

While I prefer the English style, there are plenty of American barleywines that are good. My recommendations (non-barrel aged) for a starter barleywine would be:

Bell's Third Coast
Victory Old Horizontal
Great Divide Old Ruffian
Free State Old Backus*
Perennial Vermilion*

*these see a pretty limited distribution footprint, but I'd be happy to help out if you were interested in trying either.