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Church Brew Burly Friar Barley Wine 3.24 16

Church Brew Burly Friar Barley Wine


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bottled
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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
163.43/5.03.24/5.0Special10%14.9Snifter
Commercial Description:
t's time to welcome our next high gravity (and thus high alcohol) specialty beer. Very big beers like this have been brewed in England for hundreds of years. The name Barleywine was not used until about 1903 when the Bass ale brewery called their Bass No. 1 a Barleywine. This is the first time I have ever brewed a Barleywine Ale. I was looking forward to brewing this style, but had never been able to until we acquired the baby fermenter. A Barleywine is a massive beer and the Burly Friar is no exception. It is light in color but very big and malty in body. The aroma will be malty and sweet with a whiff of alcohol and the flowery scent of English dry hops (1 lb of dry hops per barrel of beer). We also used almost 7 lbs of grain per gallon of beer. It is technically quite a sweet beer, but the high level of hops balances the sweetness making it less apparent. The mouthfeel is very full with a residual sweetness, and a noticeable warming feeling as you finish a sip
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 estoppel (1028), Buffalo, New York, USA
3.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/103/514/20

Nov 29, 2008  
Draft at brewpub. Dark brown body, smallish head, malty nose. This had some chocolate notes, with spiciness. Not usual for the style, but decent.

 keepersj12 (810), Sicklerville, New Jersey, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/514/20
Jun 23, 2009  
This was oak aged at the brewery. Nice oak flavor. Very dark with a small head. Fruity aroma and taste. Hidden kick.


 Hophead22 (1105), Redlands, by way of Wisconsin,, California, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/56/103/515/20
May 3, 2009  
Growler from goryshkewych, thanks George. Super dark pour, pitch black, never seen a barley wine this dark, had very thin tan head as well. Different aroma, sweet, almost like smelling grape kool aid, very floral as well. Flavor is slightly sweet, some good maltiness with a touch of hop bitterness in there with just a hint of alcohol in the finish. A bit thin, not as full bodied as I would like, overall a pretty good barley wine though.


 LinusStick (1848), Moon Twp, suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
1.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
3/103/54/101/57/20
Apr 8, 2009  
Blah. A horrific barley wine. Aroma was next to nothing. Pretty much just metal with a hint of alcohol. Pour was a nice deep dark brown (darker than most BWs) with swirling bubbles and a thin off white film for a head. Taste was very weak and thin. Mostly stale alcohol with hints of roasted malt and some kind of weird fruitiness. No carbonation whatsoever and a flat but wet aftertaste. Board says the OG was 1.095...can’t see how that can be right with how thin and watery this beer was.


 pjweaver (133), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/103/516/20
Jan 4, 2009  
Snifter from oak chip cask. Pours thick and dark, with a thick lingering white head. Smells sweet and boozey, like a good port/sherry mix. Hints of cherry and deep red fruits. Big and boozy on the tongue with hints of dark chocolate and tropical fruits. Thick clingy palate...hits you quick.


 blankboy (3225), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/514/20
Apr 18, 2008  
Draught at Pizza Plant, Williamsville, N.Y. 2005 Vintage. Pours a clear golden-orange with a small diminishing off-white head. Aroma has a nice amount of hoppiness to it along with caramel malt in the back -- a bit mild for the style but pleasant. Flavour’s also a touch mild but still quite nice, and you’d never know this was 10%. Plenty of hops backed by caramel malt along with fruit and a dry, bitter finish. Medium bodied. Pretty good but the most impressive aspect of this beer is how easy it goes down, dangerously so.


 HogTownHarry (4020), Toronto (Harbourfront), Ontario, Canada
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/104/514/20
Apr 17, 2008  
Draught. At Pizza Plant (Walker) in Williamsville. 2005 vintage, according to the board. Clear walnut-amber pour with a small drizzle of off-white head. Good balanced aroma, appleseed bitterness, caramel malt, strong alcohol and a fair bit of light fruit. Very dry taste, more bitterness than malt, fruit a mild dry woody notes in the finish, quite pleasantly boozy throughout. Quite a light, slick, astringent body, and while it had obviously smoothed out and blended well, my impression was another year or two would make it even better.


 hiddenvariable (194), pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
3.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
5/104/57/104/511/20
Feb 28, 2008  
sampled at kelly’s hell with the lid off 2008. pours a hazy mahogany with virtually no head. scent of rotting vegetables, alcohol, and some citrus hops. tastes surprisingly better, with a decent caramel malt flavor coming out over ok and sour fruit notes. finishes quite tart, which i rather enjoyed even though it seemed to be accidental. medium body, sticky mouthfeel, light carbonation. i rather think this had something wrong with it.



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