Sierra Nevada XXX Jack & Ken’s Ale (Black Barleywine - 30th Anniversary)

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Location: Chico, CA
Style: Barleywine
Brewery Website
Rating: A

Today’s tasting is a Black Barleywine from Sierra Nevada that was brewed for their 30th anniversary. The Black Barleywine pours up an opaque ruby-black with a thick, dark-tan head. The nose is malty with notes of caramel and sherry.

On the palate there is a nice bitter malty/chocolate kick. Wine notes are present, along with sherry and caramel. There is an herbal/grassy hops note, but it is just an undertone to the malt. Hops bitterness starts at a moderate level and builds from there. The beer is pretty dry for a barleywine. The 30th Anniversary Black Barleywine is medium-bodied, and while it seems a bit light for a barleywine, it is full enough for this beer. The finish has cocoa and espresso notes paired with grassy and herbal hops.

The Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Black Barleywine is a unique take on the barleywine style. Much like a Black IPA, the roasted malt adds a unique layer of complexity that works well with the barleywine style. The cocoa and coffee notes add a nice spin on the typical barleywine style. If you can still find this in your area, it is well worth hunting down and stashing in your cellar.

Dogfish Head Olde School 2010 Vintage

Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Location: Milton, DE
Style: Barleywine
Brewery Website
Rating: A-

For today's tasting I reached into the cellar to have my first crack at Dogfish Head's 2010 release of their Olde School barleywine. The beer poured up a deep amber with gold highlights and a very short, off-white head. The nose at first reminded me a bit of a highland scotch whisky. There are sweet malt notes, some banana esters as well as some winy notes.

The palate finds rich maltiness. There are fruity notes along with a quick squirt of citrus acidity. Some apricot notes are here from the hops as well. The yeast lends notes of banana and circus peanut. Malt contributions include bagel and pretzel notes. The Olde School has a full body. There is still some nice carbonation left after over a year in the bottle. Alcohol is potent and warming, although quite smooth. The finish sees fruity notes, malt syrup and rich doughy malt notes continuing to ride out.

Dogfish Head has another great beer on their hands with the Olde School. This is a really nice barleywine. There are some nice yeast notes, just enough residual sugar without being cloying and a nice combination of juiciness and fruitiness that compliment each other well. There is also a nice scotch note on the nose that I love. the best thing is that this beer will continue to age well for at least 3-5 more years, if not longer. My only issue is how long to wait before i crack into the next one.

Red Hook Treblehook 2009

Brewery: Red Hook Ale Brewery
Location: Portsmouth, NH & Woodinville, WA
Style: Barleywine
Brewery Website
Rating: A

Today's tasting is the 2009 vintage Treblehook from Red Hook Brewery. The bottle I tasted was bottled on 9/5/2009. The beer pours up amber in color with a slight haze and a few sediment particles. The nose finds malt syrup along with bread, raisins and caramel.

On the palate there is a smooth, rich malt syrup flavor. There are notes of caramel, raisins and rye toast. The hops have citrus and piny notes along with some spice. The Treblehook is full-bodied with a slight syrupy mouthfeel and some residual creamy carbonation. The finish is fairly long and well balanced between malt and citrusy hops.

I tasted the Treblehook at just about the 2 year mark post-bottling and the aging has served it well. The beer is very smooth at this point. Flavor is well balanced between malt and hops. Although it may be a touch too sweet, signs point to it continuing to age well. I'm looking forward to checking back on this vintage in another year or so.

FYI - I have recently spotted some bottles still floating around from this bottling date in my area, so keep your eyes open. It's nice to snag a barleywine that already has enough age in the bottle where it is starting to hit its prime.

Heavy Seas Below Decks Barleywine 2008 Vintage

Brewery: Clipper City Brewing Co.
Location: Baltimore, MD
Style: Barleywine
Brewery Website
Rating: A-

We originally tasted the Heavy Seas Below Decks back in February 2010. I've been cellaring several bottles from the same batch (labelled 2008) and decided to crack one open back in May of this year to see how it has progressed as it has aged. The Below Decks is copper-amber in color with quite a bit of haze and sediment in the glass. The head is foamy and a light tan in color. The nose detects citrus, yeast, banana and a whiff of sharp cheese.

On the palate the Below Decks is smooth, winy and has a slight syrupiness to it. Notes of banana and sweet apples are here along with some dark rye toast notes and a touch of mesquite wood. There is a hop bite with notes of juniper and pine. As the beer has aged notes of golden raisins and caramel are starting to peek through as well. There is a warming alcohol sensation. A faint, fleeting note of sharp cheese is detectable as well. The 2008 Below Decks has a medium-heavy body and has done a good job of retaining its carbonation as it approaches its third birthday. The finish has lingering notes of yeast, fruity esters, rye and a bit of oily hop resin.

At three years old, the 2008 Heavy Seas Below Decks is developing rather well. Yeasty esters are still readily apparent, and the caramel and raisin notes that many barleywines start to develop with age are starting to make their presence known. My only concern is a bit of an odd note of sharp cheese. I'm not sure if this is specific to the bottle I tasted, or whether this will lessen or become more pronounced as time goes on. I guess I'l find out when I check in on this batch in another year or two. I will definitely be stashing away another 4-pack of this year's release based on how well the 2008 release has aged.

Victory Old Horizontal Barleywine

Beer! goes horizontal today with Victory's winter seasonal barleywine:

Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Location: Downingtown, PA
Style: Barleywine
Brewery Website
Rating: A

Today's tasting is Victory's Old Horizontal Barleywine. The Old Horizontal is ruby-amber in color with a hint of gold. The head is slow-rising and climbs up to a massive volume. The head is a ruddy tan in color. The nose is very fragrant of fruit, with notes of berries, citrus, and apricot. There is a wininess to nose that is characteristic of a barley wine as well.

Upon tasting, there is a sweet fruitiness up front that quickly gets taken over by syrupy malt. A bitter kick is here from the hops, which takes on a bit of an herbal character. The Old Horizontal is well-hopped, but not over-hopped. Flavors of maple, pretzels and cherries are also notable. The Old Horizontal is heavy with a slightly syrupy body and leaves a bit of a warming sensation. The finish has piny hop resin over malt syrup.

Victory has really hit the mark with this year's showing of the Old Horizontal. It is very drinkable and enjoyable right now. I especially like the fruit notes both on the nose and the palate. What I am most excited about, however, is the promise this beer shows for aging. I'm kicking myself for not grabbing a few extra to tuck away for aging, so I'm hoping to grab some before they're all gone in my area. The big fruitiness and hops paired with the syrupy malt is generally a recipe for great aging. I'm really looking forward to revisiting the Old Horizontal in a year or two.

Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot Barleywine

Brewery: Weyerbacher
Location: Easton, PA
Style: Barleywine
Brewery Website
Rating: B+

Today's tasting is the Blithering Idiot barleywine from Weyerbacher. The beer pours with a short, light-tan head that fades fast. It is a cloudy amber-brown color with lots of fine sediment floating in the glass. The nose has a big wine note, along with sweet oatmeal/cereal. There is a faint fruity hops aroma in the background as well.

On the palate the Blithering Idiot has an initial sweet note up from that fades to an off-dry wininess. There is a big warming sensation, which is not surprising at over 11% ABV. There is a fair bitter kick from the hops and some citrusy notes as well. Yeast and brown sugar play complimentary roles. The Blithering Idiot has a fairly heavy body, which along with the high alcohol definitely make this a sipping beer. The finish has lingering cereal sweetness with bitter and citrus hops highlights.

Weyerbacher have a pretty good barleywine on their hands with the Blithering Idiot. The flavors here are pretty standard for a barleywine that is this big. There is still a good deal of residual sweetness here, but the hops do manage to poke their head through a bit. This is a beer that will do well with a year or more of age under its belt.

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2010 Vintage

Please bear with me as the posts may be slow to roll for a while due to the birth of my son. Hope to get back up to speed here in the next few weeks.  -E

Brewery: Sierra Nevada
Location: Chico, CA
Style: Barleywine
Brewery Website
Rating: B+

On the tasting block today is Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot barleywine. I am tasting a bottle from this year's (2010) bottling. The Bigfoot pours a deep amber brown color with a thick, light-tan head. The nose has aromas of citrus, caramel, honey and oatmeal.

On the palate there is a distinct wininess along with a mild acidic note. The malt has a pretzel-like flavor. There is a notable bitter hops bite that is powerful without seeming out of balance. At 9.6% ABV, there is an obvious alcohol presence. Minor flavor notes of raisins, toast and mineral water sit in the background along with a slight residual sweetness. The finish has a lingering bitter hop bite. The Bigfoot has a full body without being too heavy.

I have been a big fan of Bigfoot since the first time I tried it. While every year's brewing has produced good results, some years are "A" quality right from day one. This year's brew seems to be a little rough around the edges to me. Notably, the bitter hops notes seem to clash a bit to me. I'm holding high hopes that the 2010 Bigfoot will age well (as most Bigfoot vintages do). I think there is some great promise for this one after a couple of years in the cellar smooths out the rough edges a bit. Good to drink now, but will likely be great to drink in 2-3 years.

Heavy Seas Below Decks Barleywine

Brewery: Clipper City Brewing Co.
Location: Baltimore, MD
Style: Barleywine
Brewery Website
Rating: B+

Todays tasting is the Below Decks, which is a limited release barleywine from Clipper City's Heavy Seas line. The Below Decks is a deep reddish-amber in color. It it rather hazy and has a fair amount of sediment. Be sure to take proper pouring precautions if you don't want sediment in your glass. The head is golden tan in color and fairly short. The nose has citrus notes of grapefruit with some pineapple. There is also some yeast and an overall aroma profile similar to an off-dry white wine.

The Below Decks Barley Wine has hard cider and sweet malt flavors. Honey, apple, pear and yeast are all present on the palate. There is also a pleasant bitter kick, with some pine and floral hops flavors noticable. There is a strong alcohol component present. The Below Decks has a medium body with a bit of a drying mouthfeel. The finish has notes of sweet bread, lambic and honey.

Some barleywines are pretty drinkable right away upon their release. Many more do their best after some time to age in the bottle, much like a big red wine. The Below Decks seems to be tending toward the latter. There are some nice flavors here, but some additional time in the bottle should bring soften up the edges a bit as the sweetness starts to fade and the flavors start to marry. The label does suggest that the Heavy Seas Below Decks will age well (as many bottle-conditioned barleywines do), so I will be cellaring the rest of this 4-pack. I'll check back in a year with an update.

Thomas Hardy's Ale 2004 Vintage

Brewer: O'Hanlon's Brewing Company Ltd
Style: Barleywine
Location: England
Brewer website
Rating: A+

What better way to bring in the new year than with an old beer? Tonight I'm dipping into my secret stash and cracking into a bottle of 2004 Thomas Hardy's Ale. It is with great sadness that I recently learned that the Thomas Hardy Ale will no longer be produced. This is truly a one-of-a-kind beer, and I hope a new brewery decides to pick up production of this ale in the near future. Tonight I am tasting bottle No. P49102.

The Thomas Hardy Ale is a deep molasses brown. With no head to speak of, it looks remarkably similar to black coffee. The nose brings scents of bread and raisins, with a caramelized sweetness. It has the aroma of a fine sherry.

Sweetness, acidity and bitter notes are all present on the palate in delicate balance. There are flavors of raisins, caramel, honey and bread. There are both bitter and fruity hops notes as well. Despite 5+ years in the bottle, the Thomas Hardy still has a ever-so-slight bit of carbonation. This faint hint of a fizz quickly gives way to a light syrupy mouthfeel that clings to the tongue pleasantly. The finish is reminiscent of dark wheat toast covered with honey and jam.

This is truly a classic beer that will be sorely missed. While this isn't a beer for everyone, it's proof that a well-crafted beer can stand the test of time and age as well as a vintage port. If this beer interests you, I strongly suggest you snap up a few bottles if you can still find them. I am already eagerly awaiting 2014 to open my next bottle and celebrate its 10th anniversary.