No style of beer confounds lay drinkers more than barley wines. So, let me say this upfront: barley wine is very much beer, not wine. Barley wines, however, are typically very alcoholic (8 to 12 % ABV) and — for that reason — age as well as wine.
I haven’t always been a big fan of these intense beers, but lately my opinion has swayed. I now find barley wines particularly satisfying during Brooklyn’s cold winters. That’s why — next to some other winter appropriate beers like stouts and porters — my fridge currently contains a warming bottle of Alesmith Old Numbskull. I’ve been cellar-aging this 11% brew for a couple of years and I’m just about ready to crack it. Or should I wait another year? Ugh, tough call.
My anxiety is borne from the fact that barley wines tend to age so wonderfully. Prolonged cellaring allows the sweetness and alcohol flavors so prevalent in barley wines to relax a bit. It was Garrett Oliver — Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster — who first introduced me to the benefits of aging barley wines at Blind Tiger Ale House’s Very Special Keg (“VSK”) night a couple years back. That night Garrett dug deep into his own personal cellar for a keg of ‘99 Monster Ale and shared some with me. The ‘99 Monster was so smooth and delicious that I began tip-toeing into this vast world of barley wine.
Thankfully, I was again able to avoid the stressful decision of whether to open my bottle of Old Numbskull last week while attending Bar Great Harry’s Night of the Barley Wines. One sip of the deliciously hoppy Hog Heaven from Avery and winter’s chill was out of mind. So cozy up to the fire in your log cabin with a nice glass of beer that begins with the word “Old” (Old horizontal-Victory, Old Guardian-Stone, Old Ruffian-Great Divide, Olde Gnarly Wine-Lagunitas, the list goes on). I promise you will not be dissappointed. Cheers and happy drinking.
This is the season! Nice. You inspired me. If you get a chance, here are a few others to look for:
Last year’s 1st Place at the February Barleywine festival at Toronado, now part of SF Beer Week was not an old, but a big — Big Woody Barleywine, from Glacier Brewhouse, Alaska. Second place sounded like a Belgian strong golden, but not: Arctic Devil Barley Wine, Midnight Sun Brewing, also from Alaska. Both outstanding. So if you ever decide to do that Northern Lights tour of Alaska in winter, you’ll have something else to look forward to in these two epic brews. (Or do SF Beer week in the mean time, Alaskan breweries show up and often do well there.)
Two others that are hard to find but amazing: A barleywine called “Great” from little Alpine brewing outside of San Diego. Oh man is it great. Bourbon barrel aged – but delicately, so as not to be overwhelmed by bourbon flavors. You get this amazing soft vanilla-caramel. Another one not named old anything. I don’t know if Alpine ships any to the SF Beer Week festivals, they are very tiny and have a huge fan base in Southern California, and we picked up a bottle there.
If you ever get the chance, there’s an incredible brew that captured the Gold at GABF, and does play with the tradition of old names, from Valley Brewing, out in California’s agricultural heartland in Stockton of all places, comes Old Inventory. Funny name that gets better with age. Man, is that a form of nectar.
Sierra Nevada may seem a little mainstream and available after this list, but put three years on a bottle of Bigfoot and you have a thing of majesty with delectable golden sherrylike notes.
Thanks for the nice site.
Wow- more Alaskan breweries, I’ve got something to look for next time in AK.
For now though, where can I find a barley wine in Manhattan? & could you recommend a store in or near the East Village that has a good craft beer selection?
The Whole Foods Beer Room on Houston and 2nd Avenue has an amazing selection. I just bought a Victory Old Horizontal and Avery Hog Heaven there to age for a couple of years. The Horizontal includes a “best by” date on the side…which in 2014!! Hope you find something!