If you are yet to have the barley wine experience, you’re in for a treat. The name alone suggests something special, a libation for savouring and sipping reverentially from an elegant glass, a beer for the dining table. Barley wine is a grown-up beverage and ideal for converting devotees of grape-based alcoholic drinks over to beer.
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So, what is barley wine?
It is a diverse style with colours ranging from amber to brown, complex and full-bodied, warming and smooth, where lengthy ageing often in oak barrels mellows hop bitterness. What all iterations of barley wine have in common is a high to very high level of alcohol - typically between 7% to 12% - which is apparent as soon as the beer touches the lips. The combination of ingredients, long fermentation and ageing period, and amount of alcohol adds vinous notes, sometimes described as sherry or port like, from where the term ‘wine’ derives.
What does barley wine taste like?
Barley wine is often described as being malt forward meaning that the flavours are dominated by those acquired from malted barley which, depending on the brewer’s recipe are toasted bread, caramel, digestive biscuit, and black treacle. Another characteristic of barley wine is dried fruit on the nose and palate which comes from the strain of yeast used for fermentation, the combination of malts, and length of ageing.
The origins and history of barley wine
Before this style came to be known as barley wine, some brewers named their malty, high alcohol, long-aged beers Burton ale (after the brewing town in Britain’s east midlands). Others called them strong ale, old ale, or stock ale. The earliest written reference of a beer being described as barley wine is 1870 in a British journal in reference to Bass No 1 which at the time its brewer Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton Ltd marketed as strong ale. The beer was dark and fruity, with an underlying sweetness. By 1903 Bass was the first company to label a beer as barley wine.
The origins of the beer that evolved into barley wine are probably in the large houses of the British gentry in the 18th century. Most large properties had breweries to produce beer for the household.
During the brewing process warm water is combined with malt to extract sugars, colour and flavour. When the resulting sugary liquid is drawn off from the malt it is known as the ‘first runnings’. After this, the malt left behind is rinsed with warm water to extract remaining sugars, colour, and flavour, resulting in the second runnings. Traditionally barley wine would be made from the first runnings because it contains the most sugar, whereas the more dilute second runnings could be used to make lower alcohol everyday drinking beers.
In those 18th century houses a strong, well hopped beer aged in oak would mature over the years and be ideal for the dining table and to mark notable occasions such as births.
Barley wine can range in colour.
Barley wine in modern brewing
Despite barley wine originating in Britain, few breweries today produce this type of beer so when they do it is reason to celebrate. Some American craft brewers have embraced the style and their versions tend to be dominated by hops which, when drunk young, provide an assertive bitterness compared to British versions which have a bitter and sweet balance.
Some people buy several bottles and drink one per year to note the dramatic changes it goes through as it ages. Age smoothens any sharp edges – a bit like humans!
Something to consider when seeking barley wine is the style’s diversity and its similarity with other high alcohol copper and brown beers. You might drink beer described by the brewer as old ale or strong ale that another brewer would label as barley wine.
Glassware to use for barley wine
Glassware design does not only magnify the visual appeal of a beer it can also enhance the aromatic and flavour characteristics, the perception of the beer, and the drinking experience. Barley wine deserves to be exalted and so a distinguished glass with a bowl, stem, and foot is recommended. A snifter, aka a brandy balloon, is perfect with its large bowl and a narrow neck circumference which together permit the aromas to gather. When the beer is swirled, and the drinker takes a sip, the aromas are funnelled to the nose. This is important because the brain registers flavour through olfactory cells in the nasal passage.
Rich dishes like pork sausages and mashed potatoes match the flavour intensity of barley wine.
Pairing barley wine with food
When matching beer and food a key factor to consider is flavour intensity. Barley wine is a powerful beer so it works well with flavoursome food that will not be overwhelmed by its heft.
It is a versatile style of beer and matches a plethora of main dishes, the cheese board, and dessert too.
The malty nature of barley wine complements pasta dishes such as lasagne and macaroni cheese, rich dishes like beef wellington, plus traditional pub food such as pork sausages and mashed potatoes. Barley wine is also sublime with hard cheeses such as Lincolnshire poacher, double Gloucester, mature Cheddar, and when paired with Stilton and other blue cheese it provides flavour fireworks.
As for dessert, one word – wow. Try it with sticky toffee pudding, carrot cake, bread & butter pudding, banoffee pie, fruit cake, and more. You’ll thank the brewers of history who developed the style of barley wine and bequeathed us something so magnificent.
