English Barleywine Vertical Tasting - 2022

Since 2014 I have been brewing an English Barleywine on Memorial Day.  I've used quite a few different recipes for my 8 beers so far.  This is a wonderful style of beer for aging since they are typically strong and sweet which helps preserve them.  I have settled into a pattern where I drink half the batch the year it's brewed and then hold the second half for long term aging.  I will drink 1 beer each years a part of an annual vertical tasting to evaluate their development and to compare the various beers.  This post will detail my most recent tasting (read about my previous vertical tastings:  2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021)

I have 8 beers currently aging.  I started out tasting each beer at the same time but over the last couple years I've begun to really struggle to do that many beers justice in one sitting (these are, by design, heavy and strong beers after all).  Last year I even resorted to spitting out the beer so I didn't get really drunk in the process.  After that I realized the the primary purpose of the tastings, which is to enjoy these beers, had been lost in the shuffle.  This year I've decided to drink one of these a day blindly (with help from my wife), in a random order (thus, the letters), and evaluate them via the Beer Judge Certification Program scoring system.  I'm not a trained or experience beer judge by any any means but I feel like I did my beers pretty good justice in the scoring.

Anyway, this has been a very pleasant week savoring some really delicious beers.  Doing this Vertical Tasting justifies the work I'm doing with the beers and makes me excited to brew a new one this year.

Vertical Tasting:

• 2018 Version (Beer A):

• 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 (36 of 50):
• Aroma (7 of 12):
• Boozy aroma most prominent.   Has some caramel and some overripe fruit like yeast character.  Maybe get a bit of toasty bread in there too.  Has kind of a musty character.  Not picking up on any hops in it.  
• Appearance (3 of 3):
• Pours with 1 finger head that fades down to a thin layer after a couple minutes.  Reddish brown and pretty clear.
• Flavor (15 of 20):
• Toasted bread and dark/burnt caramel flavors up front.  Get a wave of alcohol character in there up front too.  After that first wave a bit of fruit character comes through - apple maybe.  The finish is mostly dark toasty malt flavor with a bit of fruity malt.  There is a mild but fairly deep bitterness to it still on the finish as well.  It's pretty well balanced actually.
• Mouthfeel (4 of 5):
• Medium bodied and slightly sweet.  Coats the mouth and leaves a sticky sensation.  Smooth drinking with a noticeable alcohol warming
• Overall: (7 of 10):
• This is fairly boldly flavored beer with a pretty good level of complexity.  It has a pleasant and rich malt character that I really like.  The fruity esters are more mild and a little strange but not bad at all.  It is pretty easy to drink with a fairly firm hop bitterness which balances the beer nicely - something that feels more like drinking than sipping.

• 2020 Version (Beer B):

• 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 (39 of 50):
• Aroma (8 of 12):
• Caramel, brown sugar, and toasted bread along with a musty and lightly fruity character.  Get a bit of alcohol coming through as well
• Appearance (3 of 3):
• Pours with a 3 finger head that fades down to a thin layer after a few minutes.  Leaves lacing on the glass.  Dark reddish brown in color and pretty clear.
• Flavor (16 of 20):
• Rich, toasted bread and dark caramel malt flavors.  May have a note of chocolate in there too.  The malt flavor lingers into the finish with a bit of sweetness and is balanced by a medium-light bitterness.  There is a slight bit of fruity character in the lingering in the finish but pretty light.  I may be getting a bit of herbal hop flavor in there as well.  Alcohol is pretty well hidden.  Maybe some oak in there too as I get a bit of vanilla.
• Mouthfeel (4 of 5):
• Medium-full bodied and slightly sticky sweet.  Drinks very smoothly
• Overall (8 of 10):
• This beer has a really lovely and rich malt character.  I think it's very complex and interesting to drink.  I like the kick of hop bitterness it has well which gives it a good balance and makes it easy drinking

• 2017 Version (Beer C):

• 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 (31 of 50):
• Aroma (6 of 12):
• Fruit is most prominent on the nose - raisin maybe.  Has a bit of a musty character as well.  Can smell the booze.  Get a bit of bready malt character in there as well and maybe some caramel.  Smells a bit like BBQ sauce.
• Appearance (2 of 3):
• Dark gold in color and very clear.  Pours with a 2 finger head that quickly fades down to nothing
• Flavor (14 of 20):
• Fruity ester flavor up front.  A bit of bready malt in the finish along with a pretty firm bitter kick.  The ester also lingers into the finish a fair amount.  There is a definite bit of boozy character in there as well.  Maybe get a bit of chocolate in there as well.
• Mouthfeel (3 of 5);
• Medium bodied and slightly sweet.  Maybe a little bit astringent
• Overall (6 of 10):
• A very fruit ester forward beer - it is a bit of strange ester character.  Bold in character.  Not a lot of malt character comes through in the beer so I would say it's not all that complex.  The hop bitterness on the finish is nice - makes this easy to drink.

• 2021 Version (Beer D):

• Overview:
• Brewed using a historical recipe (1954 Tennant's Gold Label) from the Shut Up about Barclay Perkins Blog
• Kind of an unusual beer in that it uses a large amount of Corn (5 lbs).  Also uses 2 lbs of Invert Syrup which is the first time I've used it for one of these beers.
• Used Willamette hops for bittering and East Kent Goldings for flavor
• Aged the beer with 2 oz of brandy soaked oak
• Fermented with S04 while the beer called for Wyeast 1099 Whitbread strain.  I'd understood S04 was a Whitbread strain but may not be quite the same as 1099
• Tasting Notes (39 of 50):
• Aroma (7 of 12):
• Fruity with a sweet malty aroma.  Maybe a bit wine like.  Got a fair amount of alcohol on the nose
• Appearance (3 of 3):
• Reddish gold in color.  Pours with a 1 finger head that fairly quickly fades down to nothing.  Very clear.
• Flavor (16 of 20):
• Sweet bread malt and caramel up front.  This is followed by a nice bit of fruity ester character.  The finish has a bit of bitter kick that provides some balance to go along with the sweet malty character.  There is a bit of alcohol in the flavor as well but it's not harsh at all.  I don't think I'm getting any hop flavor in this one.
• Mouthfeel (5 of 5):
• Medium-full bodied and fairly sweet.  Drinks very smoothly.  Has a bit of alcohol warming.
• Overall (8 of 10):
• A boldly flavored and fairly sweet Barleywine.  Has a fairly simple malt profile and a restrained fruity character so not the most complex beer.  I do think it's delicious and very drinkable

• 2014 Plain Version (Beer E):

• 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 (40 of 50):
• Aroma (9 of 12):
• Rich fruity aroma most prominent.  Smells a bit like a wine.  Also get some caramel and sweet malt in there along with brown sugar.  Some booze in the mix as well.  Don't really get any hops.  A very nice smelling beer.
• Appearance (2 of 3):
• Red in color and pretty clear.  Pours with a small amount of head that quickly fades to nothing.
• Flavor (17 of 20):
• Fruity flavor up front which fades into some toasty and bready malt along with caramel and maybe even a chocolate note.  The finish is fairly dry but has a nice crisp malty flavor.  There is a slight hop bitterness to it.
• Mouthfeel (4 of 5):
• Medium bodied and fairly dry - just a bit of sweetness to it.  It's very smooth.  A bit of alcohol heat to it.
• Overall (8 of 10):
• This is a bold and complex beer.  It has a very nice fruit character (although I'm not sure exactly what fruit it resembles) and a really satisfying bold set of malt flavors.  It's fairly easy to drink but it's also a very nice sipping beer.

• 2019 Versions (Beer F):

• 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 (36 of 50):
• Aroma (7 of 12):
• A bit boozy with an unusual fruity ester character.  Also get a fair bit of bready, toasty malt and caramel.  I think I also smell some oak in there.  I don't really pick out any hops here.
• Appearance (2 of 3):
• Dark red and very clear.  Pours with a 1 finger head that quickly dissipates to nothing
• Flavor (16 of 20);
• Sweet bready malt up front along with a dark caramel flavor.  In the middle I get a wave of booze along with some fruity ester character.  The finish has a fairly assertive bitterness which a bit more agressive than the malt flavors.  I may get a bit of herbal hop character in there as well
• Mouthfeel (4 of 5):
• Medium-full bodied and slightly sweet.  Drinks with just a bit of astringency.  Has an alcohol warming effect
• Overall (7 of 10):
• This is strongly flavored beer with a nice level of complexity.  Has a slant towards strong malt character with a more restrained fruity ester character.  Quite a boozy beer which is nice in a Barleywine of course.  I really like the bitterness to it as well.

• 2016 Version (Beer G):

• 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 (40 of 50):
• Aroma (9 of 12):
• Booze along with some sweet toasted malt and caramel.  A little bit of fruit in there as well.  Get a bit of wine-like character and some oak.  Maybe get a bit of herbal hop in there as well.
• Appearance (3 of 3):
• Brownish red in color and very clear.  Pours with a 1 finger head that quickly fades to a thin ring.  Bubbles continue to cascade up
• Flavor (16 of 20):
• Boozy up front along with some dark caramel and toasted malt flavors.  Maybe get something like chocolate in there as well.  Slight bit of fruity ester in there.  There is a fairly assertive bitterness in the finish along with more booze and a nice lingering malt flavor.  Get a little bit of grassy and herbal hops in the mix as well.
• Mouthfeel (4 of 5):
• Medium full bodied and slightly sweet.  There is a warming sensation on the palate.  A little bit of astringency that prickles the back of the throat.
• Overall (8 of 10):
• Big bold flavors in this one.  Quite boozy.  It's got a good amount of complexity - mostly focused on depth of malt flavor and not a whole lot of fruit.

• 2015 Version (Beer H):

• 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 (38 of 50):
• Aroma (7 of 12):
• Fruity ester along with a bit of booze most prominent.  Get a bit of bready malt in there as well along with some caramel.  Not picking up any hop.  Maybe get some oak as well.
• Appearance (2 of 3):
• Pours with a 1 finger head that quickly fades to nothing.  Reddish brown in color and clear
• Flavor (16 of 20):
• Some sweet malt up front - bready, toasty and caramel flavors.  This is followed by a hit of booze.  There is a fair amount of fruit in the middle.  The finish is fairly bitter.  This balances the sweet malt in the finish pretty nicely.  I get some herbal and grassy hop flavor in this one.
• Mouthfeel (5 of 5):
• Fully bodied and a bit sweet.  Got a pretty smooth mouthfeel and leaves a bit of a warming sensation
• Overall (8 of 10):
• This beer has bold aroma and flavor and a pretty nice level of complexity.  It is mostly malt focused but has a bit of fruitiness.  It seems very boozy which isn't a bad thing for a Barleywine.  I like the balance of it with some pretty good bitterness to go along with the fairly sweet beer.

I could have confidently guessed on some of these but, for the most part, I was largely unsure about what I was drinking.  I feel like doing these blindly enriched the experience quite a bit.

2022 Rankings:

• 2014 (40)
• 2016 (40)
• 2020 (39)
• 2021 (39)
• 2015 (38)
• 2018 (36)
• 2019 (36)
• 2017 (31)

So, compared with last year, I still think that the 2014 (my first attempt at the style) is a very good beer (tied for first) and that my odd experimental beer (2017) with pilsner, wheat, and rum raisin is the weakest of the group.  The other beers have shifted around in the order quite a bit but with all getting pretty good scores   The biggest mover of them all was the 2016 version featuring Double Roasted Crystal malt which went from second to last to tied for first.  I had no idea which one this was during the tasting.  I plan to repeat this tasting method next year and will be interested to see how things play out.