"Sipping" barleywine

[McMalty]

I always hear that barleywine is something you should "sip" and enjoy over the course of an entire night....since it has such strong flavor.

Am I alone in that it doesn't take me a whole night to drink a bw, but rather only about 10 minutes and only that long b/c i'm trying to savor the damn thing? And whatsmore, i want to have another one immediately after. I don't find the flavor that insanely intense....it's just about right

 

[Erroneous]

I happen to agree in that only one over the course of a night is a bit light but then that depends on what the occasion is. I tend to think of a bw to be about two beers so if it is a two beer night then one works fine.

 

[mikeysab]

Ive drank a six pack of barleywine in a night.

I think it depends on what you define as "a night". When i played in a dart league, my night started at 3 pm and sometimes ended at 3 am. So to say i should take 12 hours to drink one of anything is ridiculous. On the other hand, if going out to dinner without the kids is "a night" then thats about 2 hours. For me it takes 5 to 10 minutes to drink a beer, so in 2 hours i could drink 12 or more beers. Maybe a tripel or a barleywine i'd slow down for but it still wouldnt take more than 20 minutes.

 

[40watt]

I don't take much longer with a barleywine than I do with most others. A BW and a Quad were just two of a great many brews consumed yesterday between the hours of noon and midnight.

No hangover this morning when cooking the kids breakfast...that is the perfect day of drinking.

 

[GuldTuborg]

Drink them however you like them. I've been known to power through a barleywine in 15 minutes or so, and I've definitely savored one for an hour or more. Who's to say you're doing it wrong?

 

[McMalty]

Drink them however you like them. I've been known to power through a barleywine in 15 minutes or so, and I've definitely savored one for an hour or more. Who's to say you're doing it wrong?

i hear you and i agree. i don't have to "power" thru it in 15 mins, i could literally chug the damn thing, but i don't b/c i don't want to waste it and not be able to savor the flavor.

i've heard the "sipping" thing a couple of times. One of them was on some show about beer on the travel channel. gordon elliot was hosting it and he was talking to us all like we were a bunch of a$$holes, then some lady poured a beer and said this is one that you only drink one and sip all night. .....I'm thinking...ALL NIGHT? SIP? ONLY ONE? it's not a damn bottle of whiskey, it's only 8%, i'll drink 3 of 'em right now.

 

[FatherJack]

I'm a bit on the slow side for drinking.

I can make a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale last 30 minutes.

When I had some barleywine, it would take me an hour or so to drink a bottle. I loved it, but I just wasn't in a hurry to finish it off.

Sometimes I enjoy tasting beers as they warm to and notice how different flavors come and go.

 

[shawman]

I never got the people on some beer rating sites who talk about taking two or three hours to drink a bomber. Really? 2 hours to consume 22 ounces of liquid?

I think they think it makes they appreciate beer more, or something like that.

It is beer, drink it, more awaits.

 

[jjones17]

I always hear that barleywine is something you should "sip" and enjoy over the course of an entire night....since it has such strong flavor.

Am I alone in that it doesn't take me a whole night to drink a bw, but rather only about 10 minutes and only that long b/c i'm trying to savor the damn thing? And whatsmore, i want to have another one immediately after. I don't find the flavor that insanely intense....it's just about right

While I am 100% with you when you say you drink BW in 10 mins (as do I), I believe the reason they say to 'sip it' is because of the alcoholic strength - not the strength of the flavor. Think of a REALLY hoppy IPA at around 6.5% ABV - the flavor is much stronger there, and nobody sips that.

Not that it really matters, since I too drink my BW (or any BW that has been offered to me ) within about 10 mins because its so freakin good... om nom nom

 

[Zamial]

A barley wine is never finished to early or to late. It is finished precisely when it is meant to be.

 

[Mustangfreak]

I don't take forever to drink a BW. I do however, know not to pre-game with barley wine. I'm not much of a bing drinker, but that night I was with a bunch of beer friends I hadnt seen in a long time, so we hit up a bunch of beer pubs, and it was a fun night. The next morning, not so much, didn't feel good til 5pm lol.

 

[FatherJack]

A barley wine is never finished to early or to late. It is finished precisely when it is meant to be.

Nice!

Or we could say this about barleywine:

One beer to rule them all.
One beer to find them.
One beer to bring them all
and in their drunk'n stupor bind them.

 

[mlg5039]

It really depends what kind of mood I am in. Sometimes I hurry home after work, let the dogs out, and pour a beer. If I was craving a barleywine all afternoon, that pints not gunna last too long. If its a breezy, sunny afternoon on my day off and I'm just working on something outside or chilling, then my beer will probably last a little longer.

Point is, I'll be having a beer please

 

[McMalty]

I never got the people on some beer rating sites who talk about taking two or three hours to drink a bomber. Really? 2 hours to consume 22 ounces of liquid?

I think they think it makes they appreciate beer more, or something like that.

It is beer, drink it, more awaits.

......well....i can see an hour, maybe hour 15 if it's a $14 bomber......cuz once it's gone, it's gone, so you better get a $14 memory

 

[McMalty]

While I am 100% with you when you say you drink BW in 10 mins (as do I), I believe the reason they say to 'sip it' is because of the alcoholic strength - not the strength of the flavor. Think of a REALLY hoppy IPA at around 6.5% ABV - the flavor is much stronger there, and nobody sips that.

Not that it really matters, since I too drink my BW (or any BW that has been offered to me ) within about 10 mins because its so freakin good... om nom nom

but is 11% really gonna knock them on their a$$es? Just murder the damn thing, it's freakin tasty

 

[McMalty]

I don't take forever to drink a BW. I do however, know not to pre-game with barley wine. I'm not much of a bing drinker, but that night I was with a bunch of beer friends I hadnt seen in a long time, so we hit up a bunch of beer pubs, and it was a fun night. The next morning, not so much, didn't feel good til 5pm lol.

well.....yeah, i mean, you don't go out drinking barleywines with your buddys, u gotta last all night, u gotta hit up a wheat or two in between standards