English Barleywine Vertical Tasting - 2023

It is once again time for my yearly tasting of the English Barleywine I've brewed every Memorial Day starting from 2014.  I have been aging about half of each batch and doing one tasting of these a year to evaluate how they develop with age.  English Barleywine is an ideal style for this as they are high alcohol and sweet with helps them age and they are often malt and yeast ester forward so that they are still richly flavored even after hop character declines with a long aging period.

In general, I think this yearly tasting approach has shown that these beers continue to be very good with a lot of age if not improve.  Read about my previous tastings here:  2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.  I plan to continue this tradition for many years to come.

I have been brewing with quite a few different recopies in my 9 beers so far.  All are focused on the core parts of the style.  Once I got to more than 6 beers I really struggled to do a proper tasting evaluation without getting really drunk and wasting the beer I worked so hard to make and store.  To avoid this I've started doing a score based evaluation of the beers.  I drink one a day blind to the details of how it's made to avoid letting that knowledge interfere with my judgement.  This has allowed me to both savor each beer and to compile some proper tasting notes.  For fun, I also rank the various beers against each other.

Anyhow, I'm excited to get to taste my 9 beers again

Tasting Notes:

• 2015 Version (Beer A)

• Overview:
• Brewed with Maris Otter, Vienna Malt and down to 2 lbs of Crystal.  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 (34 of 50):
• Aroma (8 of 12)
• Dark fruit aroma most prominent - has a wine like character and maybe some apple.  Musty character to it - some oxidation maybe.  A bit of caramel malt in there as well.  Smells fairly strong in terms of booze.  Also a bit like a candy sweetness character.  
• Appearance (3 of 3):
• Dark gold and pretty clear.  Poured with a 1 finger head that quickly subsided into nothing.
• Flavor (14 of 20):
• Fruity flavor up front along with a dark caramel and toasted bread flavor.  Get a bit of a hit of alcohol in the middle.  This is followed by a bit of a musty and aged kind of flavor that lingers into the finish.  The finish has a mild bitterness that balances a fairly sweet character.
• Mouthfeel (4 of 5):
• Medium-full bodied and fairly sticky sweet.  There is a bit of a prickly character to the beer.  Has a warming effect.
• Overall (5 of 10):
• A fairly boozy and reasonably complex beer.  It has a fairly pleasing compliment of malt, fruit, and aged flavors.  The flavors aren't particularly bold in this one 

• 2022 Version (Beer B)

• Overview:
• Based on a historical recipe for 1954 Tennant's Gold Label.  This is the same recipe used for the 2021 version
• Used Marris Otter, 5 lbs of Corn (which is quite interesting) and 2.5 lbs of Invert #1
• Primary fermented with Whitbread Ale Yeast (Wyeast 1099) which is the Tennant strain
• Secondary ferment with Brett Anomalus (WLP 640) which is a "Yeast Vault" product which was isolated from historical English beers and thought to be prevalent in a beer meant to be aged (like this one)
• This started at 1.110 and ended at 1.020 (Brett took it down from 1.030) for an ABV of 12% ABV
• Tasting Notes (39 of 50):
• Aroma (7 of 12):
• Fruity ester character is dominant.  I'd say it's kind of tropical fruit and maybe peach.  I get a bit of caramel in the background.  Maybe a bit of oak in there too.  Some booze as well and maybe some hop character
• Appearance (2 of 3):
• Copper color and very clear.  Pours with a 2 finger head that fades down to a thin ring pretty quickly
• Flavor (17 of 20):
• Fruity ester character followed by nice caramel malt and lightly toasted bread.  There is an herbal hop flavor in there as well.  The finish has a medium bitterness which is balanced by rich malt flavor with a light sweetness.  A bit of alcohol character to it but it hides it pretty well
• Mouthfeel (5 of 5):
• Medium bodied and only a little bit sticky on the palate.  It drinks very smoothly.  Noticeable alcohol warming.
• Overall (8 of 10):
• Rich and bold flavors in this beer.  I has a great deal of complexity between yeast, malt, and hop character.  I really like the fairly firm bitterness in this one and the balance it achieves.

• 2016 Version (Beer C)

• 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 (37 of 50):
• Aroma (7 of 12):
• A bit of dark, overripe fruit along with a musty aged beer character.  Get a bit of alcohol and some caramel malt
• Appearance (3 of 3):
• Redish brown in color and very clear.  Poured with a 2 finger head which fades down to a thin ring quickly.  Continues to send up cascading bubbles for some time after the pour.
• Flavor (16 of 20):
• Bready malt and dark caramel up front.  A little bit of fruit in there but its fairly subdued.  There is also a bit of chocolate flavor in there.  Maybe some herbal hop too.  It finishes with a medium bitterness that is balanced by a slight sweetness.  Maybe getting a bit of oak in there too.
• Mouthfeel (4 of 5):
• Medium-full bodied and just a bit of stickiness on the palate.  Has a slight astringency.  Pretty drinkable for a big beer.
• Overall (7 of 10):
• It's a boldly flavored beer with good complexity.  Malt is the star of the show with this one with hops coming in second and fruity yeast ester a fairly distant third.  It's a nice beer

• 2018 Version (Beer D)

• 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.
• Tasting Notes (37 of 50):
• Aroma (7 of 12):
• Some fruit and an almost spicy character (almost like candy).  Booze.  A bit of caramel malt in there as well.  
• Appearance (3 of 3):
• Dark brown and very clear.  It pours with a 2 finger head that lingers as a thin layer for several minutes
• Flavor (16 of 20):
• A little fruit up front followed by dark caramel and toasted bread.  Maybe a bit of graham cracker in there as well.  It has a boozy kick in the middle.  The finish has a medium bitterness which lingers and is balanced by a rich malt flavor with just a hint of sweetness.
• Mouthfeel (4 of 5):
• Medium bodied with just a slightly sticky mouthfeel  Has a very slight astringency.  Slight alcohol warming
• Overall (7 of 10):
• This is a fairly complex beer with a mostly malt forward character.  Flavors are pretty bold.  I enjoy the balance of it with some hop bitterness remaining.  Tastes like a very strong beer.

• 2019 Version (Beer E)

• 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 (40 of 50):
• Aroma (7 of 12):
• Light fruit flavor - overripe dark fruit and maybe apple.  Musty.  A bit of caramel malt and maybe some toasted malt in there as well
• Appearance (3 of 3):
• Copper colored and very clear.  Pours with a 1 finger head that fades down to a thin ring after a few minutes
• Flavor (17 of 20):
• Fruity up front followed by a rich dark caramel and toasted bread flavor.  The finish has a medium bitterness and a firm and bold malt flavor which lingers.  It's lightly sweet in the finish.  It also has a chocolate kind of character to it.  A bit of booze in the flavor profile as well.
• Mouthfeel (5 of 5):
• Medium full bodied and a bit sticky.  Drinks very smoothly
• Overall (8 of 10):
• This is a nice boldly flavored beer with pretty good complexity.  It has a nice balance between fruity and malt flavors (and leans a bit more towards the malt).  Has a nice bitterness which balances the finish nicely.

• 2021 Version (Beer F)

• 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 (38 of 50):
• Aroma (7 of 12):
• Fruity aroma is prominent - musty and overripe dark fruit.  Has a wine-like character
• Appearance (2 of 3):
• Golden and a little cloudy.  Pours with a 1 finger head that lingers around for quite a bit
• Flavor (17 of 20):
• Fruity up front with a bold dark caramel malt character.  Also has a chocolate like flavor.  There is a bit of grassy and herbal hop flavor in there as well.  Fairly firm hop bitterness is balanced by a fairly sweet finish.  A bit of booze but it's well hidden  
• Mouthfeel (4 of 5):
• Full bodied and a bit sticky on the palate.  Has a slight astringency and noticable warming effect
• Overall (8 of 10):
• Really nice bold flavors in this one along with a high level of complexity.  I like the bitterness and the balance it brings.  Makes it easy to drink for as sweet as it is.

• 2020 Version (Beer G)

• 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 malt and toasted bread.  A bit of mustiness.  Wine like character.  Some fruity notes - raisin maybe
• Appearance (2 of 3):
• Reddish brown and very clear.  Pours with a thin layer of foam that quickly dissipates to nothing
• Flavor (16 of 20):
• A mix of fruit and malt up front.  The finish is slightly sweet with just the faintest bit of bitterness.  It has a dark caramel and chocolate flavor that lingers in the after taste
• Mouthfeel (5 of 5):
• Full bodied and a little sticky.  Smooth drinking
• Overall (8 of 10):
• This is a pretty complex beer with malt character being primary and fruit secondary.  Flavor and aroma are pretty bold and rich

• 2014 Plain Version (Beer H)

• 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
• Tasting Notes (40 of 50):
• Aroma (10 of 12):
• Fruity (raisin and apple maybe) along with a musty character.  Wine like.  Some caramel malt in there as well.  Has a bit of a spicy character as well and a candy like sweetness.  Pretty bold aroma.
• Appearance (2 of 3):
• Reddish brown in color and clear.  Pours with very slight bubbling that fades immediately.
• Flavor (16 of 20):
• Fruity and caramel malt up front.  Also has something like a maple syrup flavor.  There is a mustiness in the flavor.  Get a bit of booze in there as well.  Only the tiniest bit of bitterness to it.  The malty and musty flavors linger on the finish.
• Mouthfeel (4 of 5):
• Medium bodied and only lightly sweet.  It has a slight astringency.  Noticeable warming alcohol.
• Overall (8 of 10):
• Complex and bold flavors in this one.  This is an enjoyable beer to drink.

• 2017 Version (Beer I)

• 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 (42 of 50):
• Aroma (9 of 12):
• Fruity and oaky.  Also has a bit of a mineral character.  Also get a bit of caramel malt.  Has a musty character
• Appearance (3 of 3):
• Dark gold in color and very clear.  Pours with a 2 finger head that quickly fades down to nothing
• Flavor (18 of 20):
• Fruity up front followed by a strong dark caramel flavor.  Has a chocolate note to it.  Has some herbal hop flavor and a medium bitterness.  The finish has a nice balance between bitter and sweet malt character.
• Mouthfeel (4 of 5):
• Medium-full bodied and a bit sticky on the palate.  Smooth drinking.
• Overall (8 of 10):
• Very bold flavors in this one and a good amount of complexity in the interplay between malt, fruit, and hop character.  This one is very nice to drink.

So, the rankings this year are as follows:

• 2017 (42)
• 2014 (40)
• 2019 (40)
• 2020 (39)
• 2022 (39)
• 2021 (38)
• 2016 (37)
• 2018 (37)
• 2015 (34)

So, 2017, which was the lowest scoring beer last time, gets the high score this time and 2015, which got a respectable 38 from me last time gets a 34 this time.  The first beer got my lowest score and the last beer got the highest score (maybe my scoring approach wasn't good this time or maybe it was bad last time) - 2017 tasted damn good is all I can say.  Anyhow, this is one more data point and that's all.  

This was a very enjoyable 9 days