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Barley Wine
For a start it’s nothing to do with wine and all to do with beer. Like close relatives old ales and winter warmers it is a beer to be sipped and savoured. A coat of many colours is worn: dark, ruby red, chestnut-brown or even golden. Whatever the hue, it is a full-bodied, rich-tasting and fruity beer to be sipped with great relish, preferably in front of a roaring log fire while the winter weather does its worst outside. With an alcoholic strength rising from 7% onwards it is definitely not something you swig in pints. Well you can, but beware: it was called a sitting down beer because there was less distance to fall. In its UK home it has long been a minority style, though go-ahead US craft brewers have produced their own barley wines and upped the hop ante.
North Cotswold Brewery, Moreton In Marsh, UK
Global Arctic Warmer, 15%
North Cotswold looks back to the 19th century when Arctic Ales were strong and rich uber-barley wines that were sent to the icy wastes and drunk when the cold became too much. This is only the second of its sort that has been produced in the last few years, while Harwich Charter Ale also had a similar character. Part of this beer’s attraction is the strength, its rich dark maltiness and a refreshing tangy lambic-style grapefruit sourness that appears mid-palate as a balance to any inclination to over-sweetness. In colour it’s a very dark mahogany with chestnut tints. The nose is a big beast with rich fruitcake, mocha coffee, ripe plums, milk chocolate, spirited alcohol and an underlying organic earthiness (the hop) in the background. The palate is a spirited big hitter of malt sweetness, creamy evaporated milk, espresso and vinous fruit such as currants; then there’s also the aforementioned tangy, slightly sour character you would get in a lambic — this stops the sweetness from taking too much of a hold. The finish is rich, unctuous, big and bold, creamy, warming, vanilla, malt with a firm but not overbearing bitterness. Never mind the Arctic, after watching an April game of cricket that has been scoured by a northerly wind this is the sort of beer that warms the cold cockles of the heart. Available bottle-conditioned.
It’s also available on draught — where a shy nose of dark vinous fruit, chocolate and mocha coffee appears on the nose; the mouthfeel is smooth, with layers of treacle, toffee, Demerara sugar, all tempered with an assertive hop bitterness. Whether in bottle or on draught, this is gorgeous, elegant, sooty and smoky — a beer to cherish and chew, to contemplate.
Anchor, San Francisco, USA
Old Foghorn, 9.4%
Chestnut red colour. On the complex nose yeasty esters (ripe apricot) plus Christmas cake, hints of whisky-like alcohol and an element of earthy Burgundian hoppiness, a bubblegum aroma which emerges after time. Very smooth on the palate despite the fiery whisky alcohol which is apparent on the start and finish. A peaty, malty character also makes its debut followed by a Christmas/Dundee Cake (with a tinge of white pepper) mid palate with a bitter, hoppy, fruity, marzipany finish which lasts for ages. A star of an after-dinner drink which is a superb accompaniment to a cheese such as Stinking Bishop.
Added 30/4/06 Bottle is dated best before May 2004 so brewed 2001/2002? It gets smoother with time, though the hop bite remains to cut through the fat and cream of a Camembert and actually accentuates its creaminess. The whisky fieriness remains but there’s also marizipan and fruit cake along with the hop spiciness.
Samuel Smith, Tadcaster, UK
Strong Golden Barley Wine, 10.2%
Rarely seen example of a barley wine from Yorkshire brewers Sam Smith. Served in a 180ml bottle, traditionally called a nip, either to be drunk like a brandy at the end of the night or mixed in with the ordinary bitter to give a bit of a bite. it is pale gold in colour, unlike most barley wines, and has a fine lasting head after being poured. On the nose there is rich malt, fruit cake, alcoholic esters, marzipan and a hint of herbal hoppiness. On the palate there is rich malt at the start then more marzipan, fruit cake (plenty of it), fiery alcohol reminiscent of whisky, a barely recognisable underpining of citrus (Goldings?) with a bittersweet finish which lingers in the mouth; there is also an echo of the rich citrus fruitiness. Brilliant.
King & Barnes, Horsham, UK
Christmas Ale 1996, 8%
King & Barnes no longer brew, having been bought out by Hall & Woodhouse in 2000 and the Horsham brewhouse subsequently closed. In the 1990s, K&B were known for a wide selection of bottle-conditioned beers, including this classic seasonal barley wine. This was drunk several years after being brewed and is included for historical reasons.Described as a barley wine, this is a fruity and hoppy ale and the perfect accompaniment to a chilly winter’s night. Dark golden brown in colour, it starts with a zesty mix of malt, fruit and hops on the nose, followed by an explosion of fruit, vanilla, caramel and toffee in the taste, well-balanced by a surprisingly refreshing hoppiness which leaves the palate wanting more. K&B describe it as liquid Christmas pudding but it would go well with any sticky delight as well as the cheese board. Best after at least a year in the bottle. The bottle conditioning mellows the sweetness associated with this strength of beer and allows the hoppiness to be retained.
Country Life, Bideford, Devon, UK
Devonshire 10-Tender, 10%
Chestnut brown in colour. Sweet, alcoholic, fruit cake nose. Well rounded, voluptuous barley wine style, with a fruit cake and fiery alcoholic character, which is tempered with a malty smoothness. The finish has an alcoholic warmth and hop tingle.
O’Hanlon’s, Whimple, Devon, UK
Thomas Hardy Vintage Ale, 2005, 11.7%
Spectacularly complex reddish-chestnut barley wine. The nose has suggestions of ripe dark stone fruits, possibly currants that have been steeped in port for a long time, roast malt, alcohol, a peat-like smokiness and a floral hoppiness. Port-like on the palate, it’s luscious and alcoholic, summoning up thoughts of Stollen-cake, brandy, pear-drops, baked bananas, butter toffee creaminess, fruit cake and ripe apricots; meanwhile a spicy, peppery hoppiness keeps any inclination to oversweetness in check. Smooth but fiery and will become more wine-like with age.
Robinson’s, Stockport, UK
Old Tom, 8.5%
First produced at the turn of the century and thought to be named after the Mancunian brewery’s cat at the time. This is a classic barley wine that will keep out those cold winds sweeping down off the Pennines. Almost black-blackcurrant in colour, it has a stupendous nose of toffee and malt followed by hints of caramel and fruit. A superbly balanced, mouth-filling, fruity, vinous and warming ale that also contains hints of the smokiness of whiskey. A drink to round the evening off. As for food, sticky toffee pudding is one of the suggested accompaniments.
Greene King, Bury St Edmunds, England
5X, 12%
Special strong ale that is put into a 100-barrel oak vat and aged for two years before being blended with a 5% Burton Pale Ale with the end result being the classic Suffolk Strong (6%). 5X is not available commercially and this was a special sample tasted at Thornbridge Hall in October 2007, where it had been sent for the British Guild of Beer Writers wood-aged beer seminar. Is it a barley wine or maybe a stock ale, or maybe as some have suggested it is more in the spirit of a Belgian sour ale? Whatever style you put it in, this is definitely one of the those it’s-a-beer-Jim-but-not-as-we-know-it moments. The nose is reminiscent of a very dry Fino, musty, yeasty, meaty, almost tangy; the body is thin but there’s plenty of woodiness, raisins, a sour-sweetness which extends to the finish. After the initial shock and awe of the sour-sweet character, it’s very drinkable, though in small quantities not pints.
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