Weekly Beer Focus - Barleywines - Feb 18-27

Cris_Whetstone · February 18, 2011, 4:12am

They are not THAT strong. Still less alk-ee-hol than most wines.

I am jealous though. Cold is keeping me down. Might have something lighter in small format in a bit but I still need to pick up some B-Wines for this tasting week.

Brett_Glasscock · February 18, 2011, 6:18am

Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2010)

Now this is more like it. A great balance of citrusy hops and honey-like malt with a long and complex finish. Quite carbonated (possibly too much?) and maybe slightly too sweet but I really enjoyed it.

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · February 18, 2011, 8:31pm

ok, here’s my first two, which were bought and consumed primarily for comparison purposes. I actually liked one of 'em, although I can’t see myself buying it other than to age it for a few years.

2011 Stone - Old Guardian
NOSE: fig; minerally – like wet chalk/cement; baked yam; smells like a cross between an English Old Ale and a Belgian Tripel, two styles I’m not particularly fond of.

BODY: golden-tan head dissipates quickly; strikingly rich amber color; medium-full to full bodied

TASTE: hoppy dryness; loads of sweet malt; can taste some of the 12% abv. on the rear palate; yams/sweet potato; structurally, seems to be well-balanced; hint of molasses; tastes kinda like a carrot smells; gets sweeter as it warms to room temperature.

2011 Stone - Old Guardian "BELGO"
NOSE: predominated by sassafras rootbeer; quite different than the regular OG; I prefer the Nose on this one; background coriander/curacaó peel; touch of the wet chalk/cement minerality; smells like many bretty beers I’ve had; Wrigley’s Doublemint Gum.

BODY: golden-tan head dissipates quickly; strikingly rich amber color; medium-full bodied

TASTE: sweet sassafras/rootbeer sweet maltiness; it’s got some of that Delerium Belgian spice thing going on — call it coriander/curacaó peel; the 12% abv. doesn’t reveal itself on the palate as much as it does with the regular Old Guardian, but after a few sips it’s obvious this is a strong beer; tastes “cooler” than the “warmer” tasting regular Old Guardian; I actually like this beer, and would be curious to see where it goes with age – I’d like to believe the sweetness would subside, leaving a complex cool-spiced/minty sipping brew in its wake; might go buy another to sock away before heading overseas for a few years. As I understand it, the only difference between the Old Guardian and this Old Guardian BELGO is the use of a Belgian yeast strain in the BELGO — to me, it makes all the difference in the world.

Jorge_Henriquez · February 18, 2011, 8:58pm

Had a small sample of this:

Smuttynose Wheat Wine (Big Beer Series)
A big-ass, yet pretty, beer clocking in at 12%. A lovely amber/gold colored. Wheat beer nose amplified to 150% with a bit caramel/butterscotch note thrown in for good measure. Lots of hops but all in check. I liked it, but could NOT have a full 12 oz. at lunch. Ended up with a Smuttynose BigA IPA.

Chris_Oxford · February 18, 2011, 9:21pm

I have 05 and 07 Killer Penguin from Boulder Brewing to choose from, or an 09 Chicken Killer from Santa Fe ( i think it’s called) and a few othe BW’s in the wine fridge…but best of all I just put a 2005 barleywine in the fridge on Wednesday that I made. Only have 4 left…dropped a 6 pack of this and broke all of them when we moved back in July

I will have several this weekend and report back!

Cris_Whetstone · February 19, 2011, 1:17am

Is this a Barleywine?

Jorge_Henriquez · February 19, 2011, 2:11am

Yes; made partially with wheat malts.

Matthew_Brown · February 19, 2011, 3:00am

Smells a good bit like an Aventinus but hoppy.

Joe_Hauck · February 19, 2011, 10:50pm

Uinta Crooked Line series “Cockeyed Cooper”

Wow, Sweet malt with a really nice balance of tropical fruited hops. The Bourbon oak barrel ageing dries up the finish to keep this from becoming too sweet. A really well made beer. The Salt Lake brewery’s seem to be really stepping it up a notch lately. Hides it’s ABV pretty well on the palate, but i’m definitely feeling it.

Jorge_Henriquez · February 20, 2011, 1:52am

Lagunitas Gnarlywine 2009

Pours a medium, burnt orange hue with a surprisingly thick head. Strong aromas of salty caramel, orange marmalade and pine sap. Very smooth and complex in the mouth with more carbonation thatn one would expect from the style. Notes of dried figs, burnt sugar and candied citrus peel backed by a strong hoppyness. Big, but not hot. No real bitterness. That said, and knowing it’s a different style, I’ll take Nrown Shugga over this one.

Brett_Glasscock · February 20, 2011, 7:30pm

I thought this was pleasant enough but somewhat nondescript. Fairly strong hop bite that overpowered the malt and prevented any great depth. It was enjoyable enough but seemed more like a malty DIPA.

Joe_Hauck · February 20, 2011, 8:35pm

Brett,
Not that I have a lot of experience with Barleywine although I have had a few, I think malty DIPA is probably the best description you could give to someone who has never had one. The barrel aged versions seem to keep the sweetness down and are the one’s I’ll seek out in the future.

Cris_Whetstone · February 20, 2011, 9:17pm

I’m not so sure i would agree with that. I don’t think barleywines have been hops bombs traditionally like modern DIPA’s are.

Joe_Hauck · February 20, 2011, 9:27pm

I guess traditionally is the key word there. I should have said MOST domestic modern versions. I have found most to pretty hoppy, but mixed with a lot of sweet malts.

Brett_Glasscock · February 21, 2011, 2:28am

I guess it depends on what I meant by malty (so my fault there), but in my (admittedly inexperienced) mind a barley wine has a lot of both hops and malts. I guess what I was trying to say by malty DIPA was that the hops overpowered the malts, when my preferred barley wines are more balanced between the two.

But I agree somewhat - fresh Bigfoot is definitely super hoppy and could be confused for a DIPA. Same with the Bruery’s Old Richland, which they called a barley wine.

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · February 21, 2011, 2:41am

With all y’alls’ discussion about the overt hoppiness in some of these barleywines, I’m starting to think I am no buffer to reality when it comes to the level of hoppiness in a beer.

Cris_Whetstone · February 21, 2011, 2:43am

“Starting to think”!?!?

Josh_Beck · February 21, 2011, 4:36am

Just so all y’all f&ckers know, I bought 3 bottles of Barleywine today. Well, technically it’s ale, but it’s like 10-11% and is called a barleywine in online descriptions. And it’s 3 bottles of the same beer. A surprise new bottling from a favorite brewery of mine, so hopefully it doesn’t suck. When I get around to drinking one, though, is another guess. Tonight it’s Bize and Marc Colin…

Cris_Whetstone · February 21, 2011, 5:04am

My hero!

Brett_Glasscock · February 21, 2011, 5:24am

Dogfish Head Olde School

I don’t have anything against Dogfish Head, but, except for maybe Bitches Brew, nothing of theirs is anything I go out of my way for. So I didn’t have very high expectations for this BIG barley wine. However it is real winner. Smells of raisins, red wine, port wine with even some slight sourness thrown in. Taste was pretty similar to smell and even though I found it fairly sweet, the port wine/slight hop finish rounded it out very nicely. At 15% (!), this beer is quite strong but I surprisingly did not find it too hot in any way. This may or may not be (I honestly don’t know) the most traditional b-wine out there but for me it is the most interesting one I’ve had this week and a new favorite. The ABV is getting close to liquer level, and indeed that may be an accurate description of this barley (port) wine beer, but this is the first one I’ve had that has even remotely reminded me of wine. Maybe they are supposed to be related in name only, but it was a nice combination and I’m glad I have one more bottle to set aside for a year or so.