Barleywine

What is it? Wine? Beer? Is Barleywine Style Ale diffrent? I don't get it...

Since a lot of these show up as winter seasonals it's time to address the questions about it.

First off, it is most definatly a beer. We have England's many wars with France to thank for the name and the style. When it became a patriotic no-no for upper class Englishman to drink wine brewers responded by creating a high alcohol beer (10-12%) that aged well. I believe the first brewery to mass produce this style was Bass.

Beers that are made in the U.S. are labeled "Barleywine Style" 'cause in the U.S. things labeled "wine" have to be made from fruit or honey. They are, in fact, the same as Barleywines.

Second, do we, in fact, want to drink it?

OK, I get that this tends to be a scary style for most new beer folk. It tends to run a little higher in price than other beers, is high alcohol content and generally has BIG flavors. Worse yet, there is no real set flavor profile for this style beyond strong. These can be super fruity or super bitter so it's always a risk trying a new one.

The tips? Worth trying, these are bold brews with a lot of complexity. Try to find tastings or brewfests that offer them if you can. If not, as a very very general guideline the European brewers are more likely to turn out a sweeter product than their American counterparts. And remember brewers that like to use a lot of hops in their other styles will almost certainly go crazy with them here. For example, Rogue's Old Crustation clocks in at a whopping 110 IBUs.

(Quick note, IBUs or International Bitterness Units are used to measure hop resins in beer. High numbers mean bitter beers.)