9.5% abv Barleywine Ale from Humboldt, CA.
I had 3 of these on Saturday night, along with a Steam brewery Summer Beer (which I did not like at all) and some marijuana, and within two hours of popping my first bottle I was passed out on the couch for an hour, I had no choice but to do so.
Strong stuff, I look forward to trying the barleywine again. It's very thick and flavorful, I was shocked at the first sip, not having had a drink like that in a long while. The last one I had was Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot over two years ago, which I also enjoy very much, and is likely much easier to find than the John Barleycorn.
I had 3 of these on Saturday night, along with a Steam brewery Summer Beer (which I did not like at all) and some marijuana, and within two hours of popping my first bottle I was passed out on the couch for an hour, I had no choice but to do so.
Strong stuff, I look forward to trying the barleywine again. It's very thick and flavorful, I was shocked at the first sip, not having had a drink like that in a long while. The last one I had was Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot over two years ago, which I also enjoy very much, and is likely much easier to find than the John Barleycorn.
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California
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Re: Mad River John Barleycorn
Tue, October 2, 2007 - 11:13 AMI love barleywine...
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Re: Mad River John Barleycorn
Wed, January 16, 2008 - 3:06 AMI been drinkin' it & enjoying it. I think I like Bigfoot better, but I haven't tried them side-by-side. Both are quite enjoyable, but wouldn't recommend drinking more than one or two at a time.....
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Re: Mad River John Barleycorn
Wed, January 16, 2008 - 6:02 PMI picked up a pricey sixer of John Barleycorn last week, although mine are labelled 10.8% ABV and indicate that Mad River Brewing is in Blue Lake, CA. I don't really know the geography, so maybe Blue Lake is in Humboldt County? I've drank two so far, and wasn't disappointed at all, even though it's a little bit sweet for my taste.
I've got a couple of Bigfoots (or is it Bigfeet?) left that I've been sitting on for a while so maybe I'll have me a little taste test this weekend. The Bigfoot has always been a bit sweet for me too, and I've held these for quite a while, so I'm betting that the Barleycorn will come out on top.
Probably my favorite commercial barleywine is Ol' Numbskull (sp?), but nothing can compare to the bw that our neighborhood brewer puts out at the holidays, a single batch per year. Thick, creamy, well-balanced, fresh, unfiltered, not too sweet, and F-ing strong!! -
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Re: Mad River John Barleycorn
Wed, January 16, 2008 - 7:16 PMOk, it's actually Alesmith Old Numskull.
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Re: Mad River John Barleycorn
Fri, January 18, 2008 - 12:29 AMJust finishing another JB right now. Yep, the label says 10.8%. I guess sweet is in the mouth of the beholder -- I don't usually like sweet (why I'm not big on Belgians -- I'm generally a pretty hoppy kinda guy) but this doesn't seem too sweet for me -- seems pretty balanced for my tastes. Rich & strong, yes. Tastes good to me, but after that much alcohol, maybe it's hard to be too discerning...
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Re: Mad River John Barleycorn
Wed, January 23, 2008 - 10:52 AM -
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Re: Mad River John Barleycorn
Fri, January 25, 2008 - 2:25 AMunfortunately, I think we're unlikely to find this one out west... I've never seen it anyway. :(
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Re: Mad River John Barleycorn
Fri, January 25, 2008 - 2:23 AMJust had my first Bigfoot '08 tonight. Good as I remembered it...
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Re: Mad River John Barleycorn
Fri, February 8, 2008 - 12:30 AMIn recent years, Toronado in San Francisco has had a barley wine fest with 20-35 barley wines for two weeks or so.
