Brewing up something big and ponderous, and looking for inspiration? The British barleywine tradition offers more quirks than you might think, including more funk, more hops, and more time.
With thanks to Todd DiMatteo and his team at Good Word Brewing in Duluth, Georgia, here’s a homebrew-scale recipe for the rum barrel–aged barleywine that became one of our Best 20 Beers in 2022.
For a winter warmer that can lay down and improve for many months—brew it now and try it at the New Year, and the next one—here’s an American-style barleywine that gets a clean profile from the use of lager yeast.
The founder of the respected Alaskan brewery shares the creative and technical processes behind the groundbreaking barrel-aged barleywine, A Deal With the Devil.
Let the others have their mimosas. Barleywine’s panoply of Maillard flavors find lengthening echoes in this indulgent variation on French toast.
Forget what you think you know about Scottish “wee heavy.” Courtesy of founder Gareth Young, this is Glasgow-based Epochal’s historically rooted take on a strong stock ale: huge, heavily hopped, and matured for months with hops and Brettanomyces.
You think you know Scotch ales? Based in Glasgow, Epochal Barrel Fermented Ales specializes in mixed-culture beers matured in oak, inspired by Scottish brewing tradition. Here, founder and brewer Gareth Young explains the surprising history and process.
Thanks to Gabe Fletcher of Anchorage Brewing for this homebrew-scale recipe of his coveted barleywine. Despite its gravity, this is a simple recipe. The biggest challenges are in the process—specifically, adequate fermentation and patient barrel-aging.
Aficionados view Gabe Fletcher of Alaska’s Anchorage Brewing as a master of modern barrel-aged barleywine, epitomized by the highly sought-after A Deal with the Devil. Here, he lays out his philosophy and methods developed over the years.
Instead of the usual Editors’ Picks, we recruited a guest critic whose perspective on this style—barleywine—is sharper than anyone’s we know: Alex Kidd, the mind behind the Don’t Drink Beer.