Free State Old Backus Barleywine

Brewed by Free State Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Lawrence, Kansas USA

*** Rerate, 6/10/2007, after having had the entire vertical of this fine beer, along with many additional samples of several of my favorite years, and further exploration of the barleywine style, I’m going to give this is a much deserved bump up. Re-rate reflects my overall rating for the best of the various years.***

2005 on tap @ FS; pours a beautiful plumish mahogony with only a slight but persistent thin head lacing around the rim. Amazing aroma of brandy, plum, raisin, caramel and an assortment of other dried fruits. An excellent smooth finish that lingers on the tongue and lets the flavor palate sink in. This is a barleywine that others should be judged by; highly recommended!

Very close to perfect. Aroma and taste are pleasant and sweet. The 10.5% alcohol isn’t over powering because of the complex, extraordinary flavor that assault your mouth and sinuses. As an avoid barley wine fan, this is one of the best.

Deep red, madeira-like color. Head subsides almost immeadiately. Served in an ~8oz snifter. KILLER aroma. Malt, sweet, raisin? Flavor is malty, sweet, complex, almost like cognac. Hops are apparent in the floral/fruity flavor but the beer is not bitter. It is balanced. With the sheer amount of malt, it took a lot of hops to balance it. This is beer? It seems like so much more. The manager told me this was the ’03.

RERATE March ’07 (1999 Vintage) This is bottled from a growler(I did the handbottling). It is a 12oz bottle with just about 1" of headspace. Served in my NB snifter. Surprisingly, it poured with a nice, though short-lived, cream colored head. The color is dark orange brown. The aroma is alcohol, overripe dark fruits, cocoa, toffee, oak, vanilla extract laden sugar cookie dough, and a nice, subtle oxidation fitting for a beer 8 years old. The initial taste is huge malt, brown sugar, spice, light warming alcohol, and oak followed by a thick-bodied (despite the low carbonation level) bruiser of a beer, all braggadocio and swagger but getting a little long in the tooth. The main flavors meld so completely into one another that it is just a lovely meld of all the flavors, an earthy, mildly boozy, sweet caramel, and spicy combination. The finish is cleaned up by the alcohol, which does it’s job well, but is still harmonious. This is a great example of one of my favorite barleywines, which may have some age on it, but still has a lot of life-hops and alcohol do have a preservative effect. Score stays the same, it is hard to improve on a 4.7 beer, but make no mistakes, this is not the same beer as it is when young, the somewhat brash hoppy barleywine turns into a regal older gentleman with 8 years on it. A punk rock grandfather?

This is actually my rerate, even though I haven’t put it in the computer. From a growler filled February 3rd, 2005 vintage Pours a cloudy orange with a short lived 1/2 finger beige head, fading to a ring--but this can be attributed to the age of the growler. However a small creamy film does rouse when agitated. Aroma of raisins, brown sugar, molasses, tobacco, some type of sipping spirit (like brandy or cognac or scotch), pine, wood, smoke, toffee, bittersweet chocolate sauce--so much going on here, and fairly sticky. Flavor is earth, caramel and toffee, and has sweet pipe tobacco and soy in the finish. After the finish my mouth dries out and some lingering remnants of bitterness return for a while. Alcohol is masked quite well, but some warmth can be felt going down my throat. Minimal carbonation, full sticky body. I think this becomes my highest rated beer. Due to the sweetness, however, about one snifter at a time is all I can handle.

I am completely amending my rating for this beer as of today, having taken proper notes and having decided that it would be worth the effort to give readers some idea of what this beer is like. Note: the brewer’s description above is actually for the 1997 version, the Barleywine I tried was the 1999 version, which differs just slightly. First of all, this beer is hugely aromatic. Medicine, alcohol, fruit and hops all overpower you at once. This beer has no effervescence, but a nice, even head with very small bubbles. It is unfiltered, with a dark, cloudy amber color, a bit like fresh cider, and it is served in a brandy snifter at cellar temperature, approx. 55 F. The flavor consists of varying degrees of caramel and lightly toasted malts, but also huge, flowery hop flavors. This beer is very complex, and your lips tend to stick to the glass. I was able to get some data on this beer from the bartender -- 28.75 P, 1150 O.G. Alcohol is 10% by vol., with 65 IBUs. Ingredients used in the 1999 batch included Pale Ale and Biscuit malts, with Ahtahnum hops for finishing and dry hopping, and Horizon hops for finishing as well. The mouthfeel of the beer is most certainly quite chewy, and it leaves a bittersweet, hoppy aftertaste (apple butter??). Overall, this is a classic and very well-done rendition of a Barleywine.

’99 vintage; Cask-conditioned: Ruddy brick. Lethargic carbonation. Thick and velvety caramel head. Luscious, tangy aroma of sherry, plummy sweet malts, black cherry skin, leather, and cedar. Tropical fruit undertones with a mere sign of alcohol, wood, and crystal malts. The malts have turned exquisitely mushy from the extensive aging. Mellow carbonation. Decadently massive, chewy body. Mesmerizing blend of chewy musty malts. Finishes with a sherryish twang with little sign of the 10.5% and a hint of vanilla. After four years aging, the hop structure remains more than capable, enhancing the candied malt richness. A 100% stylish, melded malt bomb.

9/30/04. GABF 2004 muthafuckazzz 9/30/04. 2001 Vintage. Medium brown color with a touch of red. Very rocky head dissipates quickly, thick-looking, viscous and almost syrupy body and a light, uneven murky haze. Huge, absolutely delicious sweet caramel nose, standing up among the best of the barley wines out there. Initial taste reveals a surprising simultaneously cool and bold blanket of bright caramel and soggy hops. An amazing huge, sharp bite with a dry snip to it from the hops. Fruity and rich, like prunes made into a puree with liquid brown sugar. Extremely long finish of caramel and toffee, a lingering light toastiness joinging the fray for the long haul. Simply fantastic.

This was my first barleywine ever...so sweet and cloying, but I guess that's what a brew of this nature is supposed to be like. A little goes a long way. >>Update: A sweet version of the style to be sure, wonderful and a treat. I like a lot and want to taste the continual changes as it ages.