Schlafly Barleywine

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

Re-rated 12/22/07. These Schlafly seasonals are a moving target. 2007 pours a paler amber color with a minimal off-white head. Aroma is honey and spiced wine. Somewhat thiner mouthfeel than in previous years, but still excellent, only in a different way. Taste is more of a butterscotch and oak-aged bourbon than the dried fruit and Merlot-like qualities I picked up on in previous years. Cloyingly sweet malts, pineiness, and more assertive hop bitterness are evident along with a pleasant sourness. They also kicked-up the ABV to 10.2% this year, so watch it. Still top-drawer stuff, just different each year. 2006 rating begins here: Here’s another beer I’ve been drinking for three years that I’m just now getting around to rating. This year seems different from previous years. The only way I can describe it is it’s more "stout-like". Aroma of boiled raisins and prunes. Lousy head retention, but who cares?? This is an outstanding barleywine. Very dark brown color (not black like a stout). Taste is dry wine, like a Merlot, only a little sweeter from the malts. This stuff is nothing short of excellent, but as I said earlier different from previous years. Steven the brewmaster, tells me this is just shy of 10% ABV, vs. the 8.9% advertised, yet it doesn’t seem so tastewise. Goes down smooth w/o an alcohol burn; very subtle. Once again our friends at Schlafly have outdone themselves. Salute!

Nice smell of alcohol. Malty. Sweet. Really tasty. I’m a bit surprised that this is a good barley wine. I’ve only been impressed with one other beer from Schlafly. This is a good beer.

Draft. 2006 GTM. Couldn’t very well make out my aroma notes, other than it didn’t smell all that barleywinish. Reddish, dark amber. Thin, tan head. Very strong. Nice beer. Very heavy alcohol. Wow. Pretty incredible.

Bottled 2006 vintage. Poured honey-colored with a lacy, tan head. Nose was honey and malt and flavor was alcohol, sweet malt, and toffee. The finish was bitter, but not in a nice, hoppy way, just bitter. Disappointing.

A great example of a Barley wine. I first tried this at one of my first Hop in the City and as the commercial description says "it bites back"

A pretty good ale with a nice brown color, deep sweet aromas with a hint of raisins, and a very interesting flavor. While it was not what I expected from this "barleywine," I did enjoy it. The slight punch of the taste of alcohol was a nice surprise. The palate/mouthfeel was exceptional. And this kind of a review from me for anything by Schlafly is very unusual (as I tend to dislike this alternative brewery in my hometown). While I will remain hesitant of its brews, Schlafly surprised me with this one.

Two rants, for starters: Rant #1. It’s a shame that the only way to taste this is in the smokey Schlafly Tap Room. I’m no anti-smoking fanatic, but there are three distinct areas of the brewpub--couldn’t one be smoke-free? Seems like it would be good for business, and good for the people trying to appreciate the finer points of beer. Rant #2. A pint of barleywine cost the same as a pint of pale ale? That’s just silly.
On to the rating. Schlafly’s barleywine poured a very dark carmel red with a small cap of fine tan head. Almost dark enough to be opaque. Pleasant carmel fruit and citrus american hops, in the vein of Bells TCOA. Dark toffee flavor and a bit of roast, pit fruit, and substantial hop presence. A little big hot on the palate, and overall, pretty green. Nothing that another 6 months of aging wouldn’t fix, but at this point, I feel like this is too rough and disjointed. Too bad. This seems like it could really have come together nicely.

tap at the brewpub. dark garnet with a yellow grey lacing head. aroma is cheese and plums with strawberry. flavor is berry, plums, pears, cherry, and chocolate with something woody. some sweet booze in the finish. pecan emerges late in this. some grape bubbleyum notes too. a nice barley wine. creamy hot chocolate comes through in the final sips.