Product Code Database
Barley wine is a strong ale from 6–12% alcohol by volume. "Barley wine", Michael Jackson
The Anchor Brewing Company introduced the style to the United States in 1976 with its Old Foghorn Barleywine Style Ale. Old Foghorn was styled as "barleywine" (one word) out of fear that occurrence of the word "wine" on a beer label would displease regulators. In 1983, Sierra Nevada Brewing released Bigfoot Barleywine, becoming the second barley wine label in the United States.
The two primary styles of barley wine are the American, which tends to be hoppier and more bitter, with colours ranging from amber to light brown and the English style, which tends to be less bitter and may have little hop flavour, with more variety in colour ranging from red-gold to opaque black. Until the introduction of an amber-coloured barley wine under the name Gold Label by the Sheffield brewery Tennant's in 1951Cornell, Martyn. Amber Gold & Black, 2010, p168 (later brewed by Whitbread), British barley wines were always dark in colour.
Beer writer Michael Jackson referred to a barley wine by Smithwick's thus: "This is very distinctive, with an earthy hoppiness, a wineyness, lots of fruit and toffee flavours." He also noted that its original gravity is 1.062.
Martyn Cornell was quoted as saying, "no historically meaningful difference exists between barley wines and ". He later clarified, "I don’t believe there is actually any such meaningful style as 'barley wine'".
Barley wines, such as Thomas Hardy's Ale, are sometimes labelled with a production date, as they are intended to be aged, sometimes extensively.
|
|
