Imperial Barleywine

Is it called "tits up?"

 

ISO imperial double session sour black rye dry hopped coffee cacao ancho barlewine aged in pappy barrels for 55 years

 

It doesn't really have to mean anything. It's all marketing

 

Without getting into the etymology of the term, here are all the beers on Beer Advocate that I can find that self-identify as Imperial Barleywines:
Chelsea Bourbon Barrel Aged 1,000 Gyle Imperial Mild Barleywine
Backburner (Imperial Barley Wine Style Ale)
Oak-Aged Backburner (Imperial Barley Wine Style Ale)
Imperial Barley Wine Style Ale
Imperial Barley Wine
Jacobsen Imperial Barley Wine

 

I would argue that Bolt Cutter was an imperial barleywine.

Bolt Cutter: Destroyer of Tongues

 

Aren't they big enough already?

 

American Strong Ale is a much larger category than just beers like Utopias. For example Stone Arrogant Bastard (7.2% ABV) is considered an american strong ale. It's a broad, catch-all type category with a lot of overlap into other styles.

 

Saw it sitting on a shelf and almost pissed myself...
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/262/169933/

 

I was always of the impression that the "wine" portion of the term "barleywine" was intended to be a reference to actual wine, which has a typical ABV in the 12-14% range. At least that's what wikipedia seems to think...

So as others have said, calling it imperial is redundant and dumbs down the origins of the word.

 

While I cannot recall the exact ABV (I'll have to double check my bottle when I get home) Legend Brewing in Richmond put out their hottest version of its Barley Wine back in 2012. Previous versions checked in anywhere from 11.5% (2005, 2006, few other years) to 15% (2010). If their is a separate strata for "imperial" Barley Wines, I'd think that the higher octane years would qualify.

 

Feel free to drop some knowledge as to the origins of the term, in that case.

Here's a non-wikipedia link that suggests something similar--that the "wine" portion of the term was in order to reference actual wine.

http://allaboutbeer.com/article/barley-wine/

I honestly don't know for sure. But just saying "no" isn't terribly useful.

 

No disagreement about that. Here, I was merely referring to those American Strong Ales specifically noted for their unusually high ABV, which is the characteristic that gets them placed in this category.

 

If you want to call something an imperial barleywine, it better be sitting north of 15%.

 

I didn't mean to be combative, I just didn't want someone to interpret your first post to mean there's a specific ABV cut-off where a Barleywine becomes an American Strong Ale. It's a confusing style. I think a more accurate name would be "Strong Otherwise Not Defined Ale" but who's going to want to buy that?

 

It's already there, 9-12% for most. 2 bigfoots last me the whole night.

 

No one suggested Vermonster?

 

Not an IPA, but Surly Damien could be called an Imperial Small Beer. Especially 2014, which clocked in at 8.8%. Apparently, this is also a fitting style name for the 9.5% Drake's Son of Headzo.

 

Don't be too surprised, some brewery will do it.

Cheers!

 

ISO - Double Imperial Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine

 

Every barleywine is a session bw if you man up