Epic Brewing Company from Salt Lake City, Utah makes its first appearance on the show this week with their Barley Wine, a 10.50% ABV American Barleywine. As Part of their “Exponential Series,” this beer is released every few months with the ABV varying slightly from batch to batch.
Three Floyds, the brewers of the famous Dark Lord Imperial Stout, have another yearly release that gets high marks – their Behemoth “Blonde” Barleywine. Shane and Nick take a look at the white-waxed 2011 vintage. Our curiosity got the best of us, as we venture into the “Blonde” Barleywine – a style neither of us recall having before.
I grabbed the L’Ultima Luna by Birrificio Del Ducato in Italy from my local bottle shop, and was told by the clerk that this was an amazing English Barleywine. Aged in oak barrels for nine months that previously contained “great Italian wines,” I am expecting a nice additional layer of barrel and wine flavors.
Collaborations between breweries are a great thing – they allow two different brewers to make something brand new and further hone their skills. When these collaborations take on an international flare, things get even more interesting. One such example is from Brasserie Des Franches-Montagnes (BFM) out of Switzerland and Terrapin from Athens, GA teamed up to make the Spike and Jerome’s Cuvee, a 12.1% ABV rum barrel aged Barleywine. I had it on tap at my local beer bar and knew instantly it was worthy of a review.
Barleywines are a favorite style here on Passion Beer, normally complex, strong, sweet, and [sometimes] hoppy. Finding a good Barleywine is always something to celebrate. The latest candidate is the Flying Mouflan from Tröegs Brewing Company. With over 100 IBUs this should be on the hoppy side of the spectrum and at 9.3% ABV, be nice and strong.
