The Fine Line Between Beer and Wine

In spite of its name, Barleywine (or Barley Wine) is actually a beer, though very strong and often intensely flavored with fruit and/or hops. These ales are always above 8% ABV, and in many cases, climb into the 12-15% range. They are heavy, rich, dark in color and generally an assault on the beer lover’s pallet.

A homebrewer's take on
parti-gyle - note that one
is darker than the other

The first beer to be marketed as Barley Wine was Bass No. 1 Ale, around 1870, but the term "barley wine" had been used before in other contexts dating as far back as ancient Greece. In those days, beer was made using a method called parti-gyle brewing. Without going full-on “beer geek,” this basically means that the grains were re-mashed (sometimes three or four times) after the wort was drained away. As you can probably imagine, the wort was much stronger the first time through than it was during subsequent times, and those “first runnings” were prized and reserved for special occasions and special people.

Simply stunning

Today, barleywine production makes use of modern brewing techniques that give them a wide variety of big, complex ales that age like fine red wine. English varieties are quite different from their American counterparts in that the American versions are insanely hopped to make for a more bitter and hop flavored brew, typically using the high alpha oil hops found in the States. The Brits tend to make barleywine that is more rounded and balanced between malt and hops, with slightly lower alcohol content.

Some examples of excellent barleywines include Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery’s Olde School Barleywine, Avery Brewing Company’s Hog Heaven Barley Wine, Stone Brewing Company’s Old Guardian BELGO Barleywine and Dominion Brewing Company’s Millennium Barleywine. Those are just a few wonderful brews that I’ve had; I’m sure there are more.

Note: As I mentioned above, the ABV on these can be quite high. Tread with caution.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!