Barley wine and strong beers - wine made from barley
Barley wine, literally wine made from barley, is one of the strongest and most intriguing beers in the world. It sounds like a contradiction, because it is a beer, not a wine, but the name is no accident. With a strength reaching into the double digits of alcohol, dense, substantial and complex, barley wine is drunk like wine: slowly, in small sips, with respect. What is more, like wine, it can age and improve over years. It is worth knowing, because it is a beer for special occasions and a fascinating proof of how far the boundaries of this drink can be pushed.
A beer with the strength of wine
Barley wine is a strong ale, usually between 6 and even 12 percent alcohol and more. The word wine in the name refers precisely to this wine-like strength, not to the makeup, because barley wine is made from barley, not grapes, so it is fully a beer. It is simply a way to emphasise that we are dealing with a drink of wine strength, not a typical beer. Where does such high alcohol come from? From a huge amount of malt, the sugar for fermentation, of which the yeast has far more here than in an ordinary beer. I cover the role of malt in malt in beer.
A short history
Barley wine has an English lineage. The first beer marketed under this name is considered to be Bass No. 1 Ale, from around 1870, and the style descends from the strong Burton ales. For a long time it was a typically British, malty style. Everything changed in 1976, when the American Anchor Brewing Company released Old Foghorn and brought barley wine across the ocean, where Americans gave it their own, heavily hopped character.
The English versus the American style
This split of the style is key today and worth knowing:
- English barley wine emphasises malt and its complexity. It is full of notes of dried and dark fruit, like raisins and plums, plus caramel, toffee, toast and molasses. The hops are present but subtle, in the background. It is a rich, malty, warming beer.
- American barley wine puts far greater emphasis on the hops: their bitterness, flavour and aroma, often from assertive American varieties. It tends to be paler than the English and less focused on malt depth, but more resinous and citrusy.
These are two different approaches to the same strong base: one malty, the other hoppy. I cover how maltiness sits against bitterness in the flavour balance of beer.
A beer that ages like wine
The most wine-like feature of barley wine is its ability to age. Like wine, most barley wines can be kept for years, even decades, and change over time. The sharp, alcoholic notes of a young beer mellow, and deep aromas of dried fruit, sherry, leather and nuts appear. Some people deliberately buy two bottles: one to drink straight away, the other to set aside for a few years, to compare. It is a rare feature in the beer world, shared mainly with strong styles like imperial stout or bock.
How to drink them
Barley wine is a beer for slow savouring, not for quenching thirst. It is served lightly chilled but not cold, because too low a temperature mutes its complexity, ideally in a smaller glass that concentrates the aroma. It is a perfect beer for a cool winter evening, for long sipping, sometimes even instead of dessert. Because of its strength, it is drunk in moderation.
How to explore them
The best way to feel this style is to compare a malty English and a hoppy American barley wine side by side. The same strong base, yet two different characters. It is also worth setting aside one bottle for a year or two and seeing how it changes over time. In GustoNote you note the style, strength, maltiness and your impressions of every barley wine, and after a few entries you will see whether you prefer the malty or the hoppy version, and how ageing tastes to you. It turns a strong, festive beer into a conscious element of your flavour map.