Category Archives: Barleywine – English

4 - Good (buy), Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, Birra Baladin, Italy

Baladin Xyauyù Barrel

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Brewery: Birra Baladin
Country: Italy
ABV: 14%
Style: Barleywine – English
Other Notes: 2014 vintage, bottle #0402

Brewer Description: (from Untappd) It represents the complex expression of Teo’s mind in the creation of his couch beers. An high fermented beer after a macro oxidation process and 12 month aging in rhum barrels, which give a natural and turbid aroma. In the glass is without cream and gas.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 500ml waxed and corked bottle, 2014 vintage, bottle #0402. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Dark fruit, raisin, dates, rum, molasses, caramel, toffee, and a touch boozy.
Taste: Like the aroma, sweet, dark fruit, raisin, dates, rum, brown sugar, molasses, caramel, toffee.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, a touch syrupy, no carbonation.
Overall: Definitely a sipper as it was almost too sweet for me. Just not as balanced as the Fumé.

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5 - Excellent (must buy), Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, Birra Baladin, Italy

Baladin Xyauyù Fumé (Islay Whisky)

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Brewery: Birra Baladin
Country: Italy
ABV: 14%
Style: Barleywine – English
Other Notes: 2014 vintage, bottle #1762

Brewer Description: (from Untappd) It represents the complex expression of Teo’s mind in the creation of his couch beers. An high fermented beer after a macro oxidation process and 12 month aging in Scottish whisky barrels from Islay, which give a natural and turbid aroma. The color is deep dark brown with copper notes, in the glass is without cream and gas.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.68
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 500ml waxed and corked bottle, 2014 vintage, bottle #1762. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A copper bronze colour, almost syrupy with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Peat, leather, dark fruit, whisky.
Taste: Moderately sweet, dark fruit, brown sugar, toffee, caramel, light peat, and smoky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, a touch syrupy, and no carbonation.
Overall: An excellent sipper with good balanced sweetness. Admittedly, there was a worry on my part that this would be overly sweet like the Xyauyù Barrel, but no, it was really enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Australia, Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, Moon Dog Craft Brewery

Moon Dog The Duke of Chifley

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Brewery: Moon Dog Craft Brewery
Country: Australia
ABV: 12.2%
Style: Barleywine – English
Other Notes: Malt – Maris Otter, CaraMunich T2 and CaraAroma. Hops – Fuggles. Yeast – English

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Barley Wine. Aged in whisky barrels from our mates STARWARD.

(from website) This is one for the history books! Brewed in our humble Duke Street brewery in Abbotsford before being loaded up and shipped off to our fancy new brewery in Chifley Drive Preston to be barrel aged and packed. The Duke of Chifley carries with it the flavour and history of Moon Dog. The Duke of Chifley is a big, boozy, barrel-aged barley wine that is deep burnt sienna in appearance. It’s been aged in fresh Starward Whisky barrels for over twelve months, which along with the base beer, creates an unbelievably delicious golden syrup-y flavour and aroma.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.43
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 650ml black waxed bottle, bottled on 25th January 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A nice dark copper orange colour with a thin beige head that had decent retention while leaving some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet malt, caramel, brown sugar, dried dark fruit, figs, whisky.
Taste: Moderately sweet, caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, whisky, with notes of dried dark fruit, and a touch of bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: The sweetness is there, but not overly so, as it’s balanced with just the right amount of bitterness. Just a wonderful sipper with nice flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, Lervig Aktiebryggeri, Norway

Lervig Paragon

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Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri
Country: Norway
ABV: 13.5%
Style: English Barleywine
Other Notes: 2018 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) 2018 vintage. Aged in bourbon barrels for 12 months.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml pink waxed bottle, 2018 vintage, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A cloudy rusty dark orange brown colour with minimal head and no lacing.
Aroma: Syrupy sweet, caramel, bourbon, oak, vanilla, dark fruit, raisin, dates, fruit cake, toffee, brown sugar.
Taste: Sweet, syrupy, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, coconut, bourbon, vanilla, oak, dark fruit, raisin, dates and fig.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Great aroma, but approaching borderline too sweet for me. Still enjoyable as a sipper with its complex aroma and flavours.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Against The Grain Brewery, Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, USA

Against The Grain London Balling

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Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 12.5%
Style: English Barleywine

Brewer Description: (from can) Balls Deep! Big, ballsym barmy and barrel aged. London balling is not typical. It’s a skirmish of flavor. The barrel imparts oak and vanilla, mixed with the caramel sweetness from a malt bill with brick, that’ll knock your bloody bollocks around. Hey bloke?… fancy that, and you’ll be gobsmacked.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.72
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 1 pint can, with no clear canned on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A rusty orange brown colour with some floating sediment and a thin beige head that dissipated fairly quickly, but left some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet malt, caramel, toffee, oak, vanilla, and grapefruit hard candy.
Taste: Sweet, sweet malt, caramel, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, dried dark fruit, raisin, dates, brown sugar, slightly bitter and a touch boozy.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not my favourite English Barleywine as sweet and boozy doesn’t really work for me. It’s ok to sip, but a whole 1 pint can, took me a good while to finish.