A new series this week as we dive into Barleywines. For this week a familiar west coast brewery, Sierra Nevada, brings us Bigfoot Barleywine.
News
This weeks news story comes from the ice bowl known as Lambeau Field. This past week, a longtime Lambeau Field beer man Allan Hale became the 11th member of the Green Bay Packers Fan Hall of Fame. A friend who often sits in section 119 where the 70-year-old Hale has worked since 1963 nominated him. Hale told The Associated Press in a profile January that he became a beer man by accident, looking for a ticket to a game in 1963 when he was approached by a vendor.
Barleywine
- Tonight, we start a new style of beer, the Barleywine. This style is not for the meek, with average ABV’s running from 8 – 15%.
- A barleywine is first off a beer and not a wine. It is brewed like any other beer as opposed to just being left to ferment like wine.
- The taste of barleywines can range from fruity to sweet to bitter and can be amber to dark in color.
- One of the resounding flavors that you can generally pick out in these is the alcohol warming. My experience with these is that they can almost resemble lower proof brandy’s and whiskeys at times, so just be aware of what you are getting into, but don’t be scared.
- This style of beer originated in Great Britain, which we will talk more about next week.
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine
- Sierra Nevada, for those of you just tuning in, is located in Chico, California, and was founded in 1980 by Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi.
- Sierra Nevada is on the verge of becoming a big brewery, but is by no means a small local one right now. They brew approximately 700,000 barrels a year, most of which is going to be the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, their flagship beer which we have talked about on this show.
- The Bigfoot Barleywine weighs in at 9.6% ABV and is pretty widely available. I actually got to sample this one last Friday on tap.
- The beer has won the gold medal for barelywines at the GABF in 1987, 1988, 1992, 1995, and 2005, so it is a pretty well received beer as well.
- I had this beer in a snifter style glass, and when it came to me it didn’t have much of a head on it at all. The color was a dark brown with some hints of orange in it.
- Smell was hoppy, some malt laying in the background, but the taste was what I loved about it.
- I found it to be a balanced to hoppy beer, with a nice soft hop finish. I say that I found it to be this way because this beer, like most barelywines can be cellared and will taste dramatically different year to year.
Next Week
While we’re not exactly sure what we are going to talk about, but Monster Barleywine from Brooklyn Brewing Company.
Your Next Beer 
This is a beer I’ve wanted to try for years but have yet to find sold. It’s not even available in places that stock Sierra Nevada seasonals, or anything other than their pale ale. How does Big Foot compare to their IPA?
SN’s pale ale was my regular beer for a long time, the one I’d tend to go with when not looking to try a new brand or style. Their IPA disappointed me some, it seemed like one of those beers put out to be hoppy for the sake of being hoppy without as much complexity in the other flavor notes. The pine was also a bit too much. I’m not one to shy away from the more challenging and more bitter varieties, but there has to be something else there and it has to come together right. On the other hand, their Celebration Ale is one of my favorite seasonals and more interesting to me than their regular IPA. There isn’t anything I find wrong with it. Anniversary Ale is almost as good. I’d love to try their Barley Wine when I can find it because I know they can get the stronger and more bitter beers right most of the time.
We posted a “Winter Sampler” that includes their Celebration Ale, check it out.