IPAs vs. Barleywines? Recommendations?

Try Bigfoot, and buy enough to age some for a couple years(or 10), Bigfoot is a beer that changes incredibly with age. It starts out as a very hoppy bitter american type barleywine, and with about 4 years it is pretty much an english barleywine with big dark fruit and malt presence, and almost no hops . Also Trade for MOAS and Sucaba if you want an exceptional example.

 

I love beer styles on both sides of the spectrum (hoppiness at one at extreme and maltiness at the other). IPAs and DIPAs are about as hoppy as you can get, and I've found that certain ENGLISH barleywines are about as sweet and malty as beer gets. Arctic Devil, Mirror Mirror, and J.W. Lees Harvest Ale, for some English examples, are quite sweet.

In sometimes stark contrast, I've found most American barleywines I've tried to have a very pronounced hoppiness and/or bitterness that reminds me quite a lot of my favorite dank DIPAs, just with more caramel and maybe some some nutty, toasty, dark fruity flavors as well. If you know you like intense hops, then I'd say just about any American barleywine will definitely please you. (But if the idea of a richly sweet beer doesn't scare you, English barleywines are an awesome style to explore as well.)

My favorite American ones are Old Guardian, Old Ruffian and Avery Hog Heaven, which seems to be seldom mentioned. The label description doesn't dub it "HOP heaven" for nothing. Hog Heaven's probably the dankest, most hop-forward barleywine I've tried. Delicious!

 

Old Numbskull from AleSmith should also not be overlooked. IMO it blends both American and English styles together nicely with a touch of forward hops and a big malt/caramel finish.

Also, an under-appreciated English style that shouldn't be too difficult to find on the East Coast, Our Finest Regards from Pretty Things Beer is legit

 

Second the old numbskull and I humbly submit hog heaven by Avery- one of my favorites

 

As others have said, with your predilection for hoppy beers (IPAs) start with American barleywines - these incorporate hops to balance the sweetness of the malts.

However, you should also explore other styles such as English barleywines because you likely will find other styles that you enjoy. Just as you might enjoy mixing up your eating options between American, Italian, Mexican, and Chinese food (and others), it is nice to learn about many styles of beer for when you are craving particular flavors that are not hop-centric.

Check out Beer Styles to learn about and find those that are highly rated and available to you locally. Once on that page, simply select a category that interests you and a list of rated beers will pop up for you to explore.

 

I found that Clown Shoes Crunkle Sam was a nice introduction to American Barleywine.
It left me looking forward to my next Barleywine.

 

GL

 

I'd say that ipa and dipa and barleywine are not that similar and should not be conflated. A dipa that is close to a bw is generally a heavy handed mistake. An old dipa is NOT a bw and I say that as someone who is a dyed in the wool bw fanatic. Bw are based on a heavy malt flavor, medium to heavy mouthfeel, and various levels of hopping, but the fruit, brown sugar, caramel, and alcohol notes are essential.

I'd assert that barrel aged bw and other styles are distinctive and should not form the basis upon which the style is assessed or understood. Also, while English bw tend to be lower in hop bitterness and sweeter overall, that is not a blanket statement, and American producers of English style bw tend to brew these beers in sweeter renditions that are less attenuated. For example I just had a JW Lees port barrel bw and found it to be initially sweet but finishing much drier and more restrained than anticipated, with lots of woody tannins. Meanwhile the Hammerhead barrel roll BW I drank tonight is classified as an American bw but turned out to be sweeter and less hoppy than the JW Lees. Bigfoot is a classic American BW but an experienced drinker can easily discern the crucial difference in comparison with something like a 6 month old Torpedo or Pliny or Dreadnaught or Heady Topper or whatever.

Sorry if that was rambling or didactic - I just drank an entire 750 of Hammerhead people! Hope you get where I'm coming from though.

 

Can't go wrong with Mirror Mirror, Old Rufian, Crunkle Sam, and Old Numbskull. Billionaire was great but it's retired now and hard to find the stragglers.

 

Bigfoot is virtually indistinguishable from a DIPA, so that would be the perfect gateway barleywine for you.


For English examples, I would try to find older bottles of J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (preferably 5+ years) and North Coast Old Stock Ale with 2 years or so. Unless it is barrel-aged I rarely drink English barleywines fresh, in my experience English barleywines that don't improve with age usually aren't worth buying.

 

Easier said than done.

On topic, even though it's labeled an IPA, you can't convince me otherwise that 120 Minute isn't a barleywine. Definitely one to try if you're looking for a big, (somewhat) hoppy example of the style.

*looks at list of reviews*

Oh.

 

Had Evil Twin Freudian Slip recently. It was pretty good and definitely a good transition style from a DIPA.

 

Bigfoot has a MUCH stronger malt backbone than DIPA's, I guess, IMHO. But then again, F yea It does.

 

When it's really fresh though I barely notice the malt flavors at all. There is the mere sensation of malt presence, of malt body, without really anything else. It's hoppier than quite a lot of DIPA's in my opinion. It's certainly more bitter.

 

Had some Bootleggers Knuckle Sandwich and chased it with a 2014 Stone Old Guardian.

 

IMO it is the rich toffee malt of fresh Bigfoot emphasizing bitterness from the hops rather than citrusy/piney/dank flavors. I know a few people who enjoy Stone IPA but say they think Arrogant Bastard is way too bitter, despite the two being pretty similar in IBU.

 

Stone Old guardian is nice transition. Its a bit more malty than a DIPA but its not as sweet as an english barleywine. I would also throw Great Divide Old Ruffian into this as well.

 

American for both. Although, I think there possibly better English barleywines... depending which style you put King Henry in?

 

Sierra Nevada Torpedo

 

You should try the barrel aged "Guardian's Slumber," it's pretty awesome.