English Barleywine Vertical Tasting - 2021

The last 7 Memorial days I have brewed up an English Barleywine beer which was largely inspired by the vintage release model for the famous Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine.  One of the best things about brewing a yearly beer like this is being able to taste it over time to evaluate the impacts of aging (this is a beer that ages very well with it's sweetness and high alcohol) and then also comparing the various vintages.  Unlike the Sierra Nevada version, I am brewing a different recipe every year (or with at least some variation if the same recipe happens to be used).

As expected, I have thoroughly enjoyed doing these tastings and have found that they get more interesting every year as a new beer is added (you can read about previous vertical tastings here:  2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020).  I've resisted reading my previous reviews to hopefully give a fairer assessment of each of these beer.  The number of beers to taste becomes more and more of a factor - both for keeping the palate working properly and from an alcohol consumption standpoint.  Last year I barely made it through.  This year, for the first time, I think I'm going to have to spit out the beer (I'll drink the beer not used in the tasting at a more leisurely pace so it will not all go to waste).

I've typically been drinking half the batch of beer and then saving the other half for these tastings so I should have a good 24 years of beer for tasting each one of these batches.  I'm 42 years old so, hopefully have many, many more of these tastings in me.

Vertical Tasting:

• 2014 Version:
• Overview
• Brewed with Maris Otter and 3 lbs of assorted light crystal malts.  I was hoping for a light colored beer - got a bit darker than I'd hoped.
• Fermented with S04 and Nottingham
• The beer fermented all the way down to 1.016 from 1.101 which is 11-12% ABV
• I aged half the beer on oak that had been soaked in Brandy.  I tasted the brandy one last year so this year I'll do the plain
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Fruity ester and caramel.  A bit wine like in the aroma. Boozy
• Appearance:
• Reddish-brown and clear.  Pours with a thin layer of foam that quickly fades to nothing
• Flavor:
• Dark caramel and sweet bready flavors along with a subtle fruit flavor.  The finish has a bit of bitterness and is countered by a hit of alcohol and a strong and rich caramel and chocolate flavor.
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium-light bodied and pretty dry.  Goes down very smooth with noticable warming alcohol
• Overall:
• Very richly flavored and complex - the finish in particular is very interesting.  The malt flavors are really the stars of the show here.
• 2015 Version:
• Overview:
• Brewed with Maris Otter, Vienna Malt and down to 2 lbs of Crystal.  Still was trying for a more pale beer but ended up darker.
• Used Wyeast 1968 London ESB Ale Yeast
• Beer fermented from 1.096 to 1.006 for 12-13% ABV
• Aged with 1 oz of pre-boiled oak cubes
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Fruity ester is strong - sort of overripe apple or maybe a cider.  Maybe get a bit of caramel a bit further in the background along with a bit of booze.  Maybe some honey as well.
• Appearance:
• Dark gold in color and pretty clear.  Pours with a finger of head that quickly fades to a thin ring.  Has a continuous cascading of bubbles from the bottom of the glass
• Flavor:
• Sweet bready malt with a fruity ester character - sort of apple like again.  Has a bit of bitter kick on the finish which is balanced by dark caramel flavors that linger along with that fruity ester
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium bodied with a bit of sweetness.  Fairly smooth with some alcohol warming
• Overall:
• Boldly flavored and very complex.  The finish is very nice.  Malt flavors are the star here but the ester has a fairly firm presence as well
• 2016 Version:
• Overview:
• Brewed with Maris Otter, 3 lbs of Rye Malt, and 1.5 lbs Double Roasted Crystal 120 L
• Fermented with Wyeast 1335 British Ale II
• Beer went from 1.093 to 1.012 which is 10-11% ABV
• It ended up forming a pellicle during aging although I never really picked up any flavors I'd attribute to wild yeast or bacteria
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Has a spicy yeast character along with a raisin-like flavor.  Also has a dark caramel and graham cracker aroma
• Appearance:
• Dark Reddish Brown.  Poured with a 1 finger head that fades down to a think layer over several minutes
• Flavor:
• Sweet bread, caramel, graham cracker and chocolate.  Pretty boozy in the finish.  Has a bitterness that is balanced by a really sweet and tasty maltiness.  Maybe has a little fruity ester in there but it is far in the background
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium-full bodied and fairly sweet.  Pretty smooth drinking
• Overall:
• Really nice bold flavors and a good complexity - very rich.  Malt really the star on this one.
• 2017 Version:
• Overview:
• Brewed with 2 Row and Golden Promise as base malt and 5 lbs of white wheat malt.  Only used 4 oz of Crystal.  This finally achieved my goal of a pale barleywine.
• Fermented with Wyeast 1335 British Ale II again
• I'd wanted to get a fairly sweet barleywine on my previous version but had kept on getting more attenuation than desired.  This time I finally got one to stop at 1.034 (from 1.098).  So this is an 8-9% ABV beer.
• The beer was aged with 15 oz of Rum soaked golden raisin along with 0.5 oz of oak
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Very fruity aroma - white wine like.  A bit of overripe fruit as well.  Maybe some honey in there as well.  Think I get a bit of bready malt aroma in there too.
• Appearance:
• Pours very clear and golden in color.  Has a 1 finger head that fades to a thin ring over a few minutes
• Flavor:
• Sweet and fruity flavor hits first followed by a light bready flavor and a small bit of caramel.  The finish is very lightly bitter and is quickly overcome by sweet bready malt that lingers along with some fruit.
• Mouthfeel:
• Full bodied and pretty sticky on the palate.  Drinks smooth
• Overall:
• Complex and interesting with some nice flavors.  Has a pleasant balance of fruit and malt
• 2018 Version:
• Overview:
• Brewed using a historical recipe for Eldridge Pope's Hardy's Ale from the Shut Up about Barclay Perkins Blog
• Used a mix of 2 Row and Maris otter, 3.5 lbs of Flaked wheat, and 1.5 lb of crystal
• Used Nottingham yeast and, per instruction, allowed it to ferment in the 70s.  It was an agressive fermentation which produced a very strong and estery aroma.  The beer didn't turn out to be overly estery fortunately.
• Fermented out to 1.030 from 1.105 for an ABV of 10-11%
• This was the most aggressively hopped beer so far (7.5 oz of low alpha acid English hop in the boil) with an IBU target of 84.  Was very bitter just after fermentation but this had settled to a nice balance after 6 months of aging.
• Aged the beer on 2 oz of boiled and toasted oak
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:  
• Dark malt and caramel aroma - cookie like.  Light fruity ester character in there as well
• Appearance:
• Dark gold in color and clear.  Pours with a 1 finger head that is slow to fade.  Leaves some lacing
• Flavor:
• Sweet rich bready malt, some toast and dark caramel.  A bit of fruity ester in the background.  The finish has medium bitterness that is balanced by the rich malt flavors that linger for a bit.  A little boozy
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium bodied and lightly sweet.  Smooth drinking.  Warming alcohol is detected
• Overall:
• Complex with bold flavors.  Malt is the star of the show
• 2019 Version:
• Overview:
• Brewed using a historical recipe for Eldridge Pope's Hardy's Ale from the Shut Up about Barclay Perkins Blog
• Used a mix of 2 Row and Maris otter, 4.5 lbs of Flaked wheat, and 1.5 lb of crystal
• Used WLP 099 Super High Gravity which is supposed to be Eldridge Pope's house strain
• Fermented from 1.120 to 1.010 which is a crazy 16% ABV
• Hopped with 8.5 oz of Fuggle
• Aged with 1 oz Cabernet soaked Toasted Oak
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Fruity ester character - overripe fruit.  Some booze in there.  Maybe a bit of caramel as well
• Appearance:
• Dark gold and very clear.  Pours with a 1 finger head that fairly quickly fades to a thin ring 
• Flavor:
• Fruity ester and sweet bready and caramel malts.  A bit of toasty flavor in there as well.  Has a chocolate character too it.  Gives the impression of sweetness.  Finishes with a medium bitterness that is balanced by rich dark malt.  Some booze in there as well.  Maybe get some hop flavor out of it as well
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium-full bodied and fairly sticky.  Smooth drinking with warming alcohol
• Overall:
• Very rich and complex beer.  Has a very nice combination of malt and yeast character
• 2020 Version:
• Overview:
• Brewed using a historical recipe for 1940 Truman Stock 1 from Shut Up about Barclay Perkins Blog
• I ended up using Vienna and Melanoiden Malts with the idea of replacing the "high dried malt" called for (may have been way off base on these).  Recipe also used a lb of Invert #3
• Used 7.5 oz of Cluster and Fuggle in this batch
• Fermented with Wyeast 1028 London Ale which is supposed to be the Truman brewery's house strain
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Caramel with toasted bread and a bit of fruity ester.  Some booze.  I think I get some herbal hop character in the mix as well
• Appearance:
• Reddish brown and fairly clear.  Pours with a 2 finger head that slowly fades and leaves lacing on the glass
• Flavor:
• Sweet bready malt and dark caramel character.  Some fruity ester in there as well.  Also get chocolate and some booze.  Get some hop character in there - herbal and grassy.  There is a medium bitterness on the finish balanced by sweet malt
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium full bodied and a bit sweet.  Smooth drinking
• Overall:
• Complex and boldly flavored.  This one has a nice contribution from hops and yeast

So, I found all the beers to be very good this time (especially the chocolate character I've started picking up which could be either grain, oak, or age).  Putting together rankings was very difficult based on this.  The beers are all complex and have their own subtle variations.  So difficult to do any of them justice even by themselves and impossible with this many.  I find myself repeating the same descriptors which are accurate but really don't tell the full story of the differences between each beer.  Still, ranking them is too much fun to pass up, but there is a bit of arbitrariness to it.

2021 Rankings:

1. 2014
2. 2018
3. 2020
4. 2015
5. 2019
6. 2016
7. 2017

This tasting was a real endurance test for my palate and my stomach.  Even spitting out the beer this was testing my limits.  I don't think I can evaluate 8 of these beers in a sitting and give good notes let alone assess them against each other.  I think next year I'll start doing a small number at a time and apply a scoring system to them for ranking purposes.  I'm going to also drink these blind and randomized so that my knowledge of the beer doesn't have as much chance of influencing my review