Skip to main content

Tag: Barley Wine Ale

Walawang W12 Barley Wine Ale

Test Test Leave a comment

Walawang W12: 6.0 – Japan‘s craft beer scene is nascent, so it’s a little unfair to expect things to blow you away. This barleywine though…it doesn’t really have much going on. You get the taste of the alcohol upfront, and then a strong sugary flavor (like concord grape, or plum), and then…that’s it. It’s drinkable, but not terribly exciting or interesting. At ¥600 (about $5.50 USD) it’s just not a good value proposition.

Price Average: ¥600

Website: https://www.rakuten.co.jp/hopstar-walawang/kaiso.html

Ridgeway Brewery Imperial Barley Wine Ale

BuffaloJern Leave a comment

Imperial Barley Wine Ale: 3.5 – It’s okay and as a weird combo of an imperial stout and barley wine there are certainly worse ways this could have gone. The problem is that the high ABV affects the easy-drinking barley wine and this is just not great. Also need to deduct from the look meant to be Russian, when it’s UK and imported via Mass.

Price Average: $13

Website: http://www.ridgewaybrewery.co.uk/

Ommegang Game of Thrones – Hand of the Queen Barleywine Ale

BuffaloJern Leave a comment

Hand of the Queen: 4.0 – The last of the 4 pack of GoT beers because we already reviewed one. Man that episode was killer huh? #topical #nospoilers #peaksellout. It appears we finally found it folks – a GoT beer that takes a risk, and sadly doesn’t pay it off well despite the Lannister it’s namesake refers too. This barleywine style is just a bit too bold in flavor and almost even feels barrel aged. We wouldn’t say this is bad, but it does require a certain type of person who likes this style (as in unlike others in this box it’s not a beer for everyone)

Price Average: $25 for 4-pack with glass

Website: http://www.ommegang.com/

 

Draai Laag Brewing Yodeler Barleywine Ale

BuffaloJern Leave a comment

Yodeler: 4.0 – This is a clusterfuck of a beer. It’s a barleywine style, it’s aged in Laphroiag casks, and is bottled with that Brettanomyces. But what is it like to drink? It is just as much if not somehow more of a clusterfuck. Let me put this in the oddest, and yet truest way we can – we detect notes of beef jerky. No seriously at certain times this beer tastes like beef jerky. There’s a tartness aspect going on from the brett, that jerky likely from the cask lingers melding with the fruitier tastes, and above all it’s just a high octane noise factory. Let this be a test case, and referral for when we call beers out as not being complex and that’s bad – this is the other side of that curve. This is too complex and it ruins what could be the ‘beer’.

Price Average: $11

Website: http://www.strangerootsbeer.com/