Barleywine Suggestions

If you like english stuff that freudian slip is awesome tried one bought three more.

 

Sucaba ftw

 

Check out Arcadia's Cereal Killer Barleywine; it's a very good one in the English style. You may have to travel to IL or WI to find it, or trade for it, but put it on your list of beers to try.

 

o woops. I work for a liquor store so I get a discount

i think the msrp is like 14.99. I get 15% above cost price so Around 11 is my price

 

You're living the dream my friend!

 

Ha ya it's nice. But when I graduate I really want to work for a distributor doing sales/merchandising so that will lead to FREE beer! even better.

 

Sucubabacus - 10 - 12 $ a bottle? I'll take 20

 

A rare and special treat. I see 2 entries for it on BA; one from Bass Brewers Limited and one from Museum Brewing Company / White Shield Brewery. How can I tell which one I had? I put my review on the Bass Brewing listing.

 

I bought one of those and one of the S&J Barley Rynes. Can't wait to try them.

 

maaaan why is there so much hate for monster ale!? it's freaking delicious!

also some favs: Old Cellar Dweller
Phillips Mass Extinction
Wooly Bugger

 

Although I agree BBBW is outstanding, regardless of qualifiersof bang for the buck. However, for a newbie to the style, I'd recommend Y2K over BBBW. I think BA might confuse him from what is typical from the style. After trying Y2K then move on to BBBW.

 

I was in the same boat not long ago. In fact, there are still a few styles I want to try. What I like to do is get on here, go to "beer styles" and click on the style i'm interested in. Then I click "view top beers." From there I pick some of the top examples and read some of the tasting notes and reviews of others. This helps give me an idea of what that style tastes like. Then if I want to try it I will make a list of some of the top brews and head down to the store to find one. Hope this helps.

And I really enjoyed the Sierra Nevada bigfoot and Avery Hog Heaven. Expect a combination of very sweet and hoppy with lots of alcohol.

 

The very best barleywines - a lot of barrel-aged versions of American barleywines (the less sweet style of barleywine) and English barleywine legends likes Sucaba and King Henry, aren't going to be easy to find. So, keep your eyes open for...

American barleywine-wise, try the already-mentioned Sierra Nevada Bigfoot or AleSmith's Old Numbskull; Uinta, Mad River, Green Flash, and Blue Point all make reasonable American barleywines. Nebraska Brewing makes an excellent, but pricey - (and I don't know if its hard-to-find or not) - barleywine called Fathead. If you happen to spot a Solstice D'hiver, from Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel, pick it up, too.

English barleywine-wise, good on ya if you can get your hands on a King Henry; Sucaba is way more available, but its still limited. Schlafly makes a reserve barleywine, but that's probably not well-distributed; we have Harpoon's Leviathan barleywine in my area, and it's great. I haven't found many other English-style barleywines on par with the KH and Sucaba. I suppose the American style of barleywine is more popular in America (?).

Barleywines are definitely a favorite style - one of the most flavorful and powerful beer styles.
As an aside, as you explore them, and if you like them (particulary the English styles), don't hesitate to try some old ales and wee heavies (Scotch ales), as they often share very similar flavor profiles and qualities. Old ales: North Coast's Old Stock Ale is legendary, and Founders has their Curmudgeon. Scotch ale (wee heavy)-wise, Founders also represents with their Backwoods Bastard and Dirty Bastard; also check out AleSmith's Wee Heavy.

 

I would agree with most that SN Bigfoot is a great into Barleywine.

I got into the Barleywines in 2011 and did an immediate experiment with aging. I took some SN Bigfoot (probably the most readily available Barleywine out there) and decided to age some for a year to compare with fresh 2012 SN Bigfoot. The result was: Fresh Bigfoot Good, Year old Bigfoot really good. I have put some 2012 aside to age for 2 years to see what happens.

From my experience with Bigfoot I've decided to age my Barleywines for about a year as best as possible. (unless barrel-aged, in which case I like to drink them a little fresher) Unfortunately that decision as created a huge collection of Barleywines theoretically aging to perfection.

 

Unless it was an old beer, it would be from Museum Brewing Company.

 

It was released a long time ago (1 time per year release) so it definitely won't be easy, as it flies off the shelf regardless of price. They've released Parabola and DDBA since Sucaba was released (February?).

 

Troegs Flying Mouflan is a good, affordable, readily available option too.

 

You should probably drink it as soon as you get it. No point in aging it if you don't know what it's like fresh.