Barleywine Week at Flying Saucer

If you’re craving a more crafty, unique beer this week, Flying Saucer has you covered.  Each night this week, they will be tapping a different barleywine.  These barleywines are some of the best in the world, so if you’ve never had a barleywine before, this would be a great place to start.

Here’s the list:

Monday – Goose Island Bourbon County Barleywine

Tuesday – North Coast Old Stock 2011 & 2012

Wednesday – 2009 Free State Old Backus

Thursday – 2013 & 2014 Founders Old Crumudgeon

Friday – Nebraska Fathead, Southern Tier Backburner, and To Øl Mine is Bigger Than Yours

All tappings are at 7pm and Wednesday night is their “Keep the Glass” night.

So, what is a barleywine?  A barleywine is a beer that reaches an alcohol strength of 8-12% by volume.  The American style is hoppy and bitter with colors ranging from amber to light brown.  The English style is much different – less bitter and has little hop flavor with more variety in color ranging from red-gold to opaque black.

The modern barleywine was created as a response to the elite’s desires for strong drinks during the conflicts between England and France in the later 18th century.  It was considered an upper class drink for some time.  Anchor Brewing Company introduced the style to the United States with its Old Foghorn Barleywine Style Ale in 1976.

Although it has the word wine in its name, it is indeed a beer because it is made from grain and not fruit.