Schlafly Barleywine

Brewed by Saint Louis Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Maplewood, Missouri USA

I saw this commercial on late night TV, it was for this thing you attach to a garden hose, it was like "You can water your hard-to-reach plants with this product." Who the fuck would make their plants hard to reach? That seems so very mean. "I know you need water, but I’m gonna make you hard to reach! I will throw water at you. Hopefully they will invent a product before you shrivel and die! Think like a cactus!" So it said, "You can have this product for four easy payments of 19.95." I want a product for three easy payments, and one fuckin’ complicated payment! We can’t tell you which one, but one of those payments is gonna be a bitch. The mailman will get shot to death, the envelope will not seal, and the stamp will be in the wrong denomination; good luck, fucker!

Was served on tap at the Schlafly Tap Room where I found it on 6-11-09. Served cellar warmth from the cask and pours a dark brown with some ruby hints and a dense, creamy head. Aroma is a strong citrus and floral with a very sweet, sugary caramel malt background. Flavor is an awesome melding of citrus, a light resiny bite, very sweet caramel malt presence with a very overly sweet and strong alcohol ending. Different from their previous offering in that the oak woodiness really doesn’t come through that strongly so you get a much more pronounced hop nose from dry hopping and the warmer serving temperature from the cask. I was really taken back by this one as it was another perfect style to put a cask served.

Pours a light tan head and an amber body that has ruby highlights. Smells of apricot, dark, sweet, bread, and mint. Taste is honey, biscuit, and resin. Finish is sweet with some bitterness.

on tap at schlafly’s tap room in st. louis. copper color, off white head with nice lacing. nose of fruit and flowers. dried fruit, pepper, caramel. medium bodied, caramelly mouthfeel, sweet finish. there is a bit of an alcoholly kick at the end. a very nice beer.

A murky medium brown body and a thick tan lacy head.Smels of caramel and citrus with some dark fruits in there as well. The aroma is strong but not overpowering kind of similar to a Belgian strong dark ale.Sweet tasting like caramel with a bitter grapefruit taste. The alcohol taste is also very strong.Creamy with a good alcohol burn.

This is the first time I’ve seen the non-oaked version in a couple of years. Not only is it non-oaked, but it is cask and dry hopped. This was amazing and better than any version of the Schlafly Barleywine I’ve ever tasted. Pours bronze / copper with a dense off-white head that is quite sturdy and delivers a kick ass aroma the whole way through. The aroma has tropical fruits (especially pineapple), grapefruit, hearty malt that is sweet and noticeable, but the hops are way in front. Full body that is very smooth and lush with extremely soft carbonation. The flavor starts with amazing hops that definitely has simcoe involved as well as floral and tropical fruits traits. There is also some nectar fruits, swet malt, caramel and toasty malt. This far more balanced than expected letting both aspects shine though. The finish has more of a barleywine flavor, but still a ton of hops. Quite amazing and quite possibly the best beer I’ve had from my favorite local brewery.

Nice Barleywine. Cloudy amber brown. Aroma is sweet. Taste of sweet malt, molasses, and hops.

Pours an amber color with an off-white head. Aroma is of caramel malts, dark fruits, and some alcohol. Flavor is the same with a lingering finish with some warming.