I have never heard much hype about this one, but had a 2015 batch on tap a few weeks ago and loved it. I was able to get 3 bottles from Chicago NW suburbs Binnys (1 bottle per person... Had to go to 3 stores). Did this on Thurs, 1/7/16 Cheers!
Deth's Tar >>>>> Gravedigger Billy > Straight Jacket for me (and I'm an english barleywine guy). Check out the other two if you haven't already. Cheers!
You my friend have found one of Chicago's gems. There's plenty of hype about SJ but thankfully the truck chasers act civil about this one.
Obviously, things change year to year....but my local Binnys had stacks of straightjacket hanging around last year. If you want to load up, you should be able to do so without much effort.
@ryanwbrodie Interesting. Each binnys said they only received one case this year and they had it stored behind the counter. They wouldn't hold bottles ahead of time either
That's silly. I avoided buying it 3 times, then bought it on the 4th cus it was a light pickup day xD
I say this year after year, but IMO this is Revolution's best bottled BA release, and one of the better barleywines I have had. Somebody calls it a "gem" or "best kept secret" everywhere you read about it and it's deserving. It tends to sit because it's pricey and barleywine isn't the hip style of the moment. The only barleywine anyone cares about is Sucaba.
Straight Jacket is great, and Central Waters has their annual BB Barleywine coming in March which stands up great (I have past two years still) and is under $15 for a 4pk of 12oz bottles. I love Scotch ales, and Revolution does a great job with Gravedigger Billy. But again Central Waters BB Scotch Ale is amazing and under $15 for a 4pk and I sometimes like it more than Backwoods Bastard.
I too think this is their best BA offering. It tends to hang around the smaller shops for awhile luckily.
Totally agree with this. Although I am fairly new to Barleywines, so I am not super familiar with everything just yet; just some of the rarer ones.
Agree with what others have been saying. Straight Jacket is one of the best beers that no ones talks about. I'm glad my local bar has it on draft. I think I've put a serious dent in that keg all by my self.
Yeah Straight Jacket is fantastic. Second only to Deth's Tar. This year's batch is absolutely amazing. Drinking some now and loving every sip.
