Barley wine is, despite the name, an old style of making a very traditional strong "big" beer. It's traditionally an English beer, though the name has antecedents and relatives in the works of Classical era Greek poets who favored strongly brewed beers. It's called "barley wine" largely because the ABV can reach those usually associated with wine—8% ABV to 12% ABV is fairly standard for a barley wine style beer. Similarly brewed ales are sometimes called "old ales," but they're generally considered the same thing as barley wine. Micro breweries and craft brewers in the U.S. have begun to bring back barley wine beers. Bigfoot Ale from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Midas Touch from Dogfish Head Brewery, Mirror Mirror from Deschutes Brewery, Old Bawdy from The Pike Brewing Company, and Old Foghorn from Anchor Brewing Company are all barley wine style beers.

Barley wines, because of the high alcohol level, are often cellared so that they can be aged. Cellared barley wine beers can be aged for ten, fifteen, even twenty years, under climate controlled conditions. You'll notice barley wine brews quite often have a vintage year associated with them. Flavors are entirely dependent on the whim of the brewer, and how hoppy they like their beer. American style barley wines are often said to be more hoppy than British versions; Anchor Steam's Old Foghorn is a great example of a very hoppy American-style barley wine beer. American barley wine's tend to use Cascade hops. A number of the American barley wines have names like "Winter Warmer," an allusion to the popularity of barley wine in the long dark and cold of winter. I note that barley wine is treated like cognac or brandy in that it's rarely paired with food, and is instead appreciated for its own qualities, often as an after dinner brew.

A number of Washington breweries, as well as breweries from Oregon and the rest of the Pacific Northwest are gathering at the Parkway Tavern in Tacoma for a 5th Barleywine Festival on April 24th and 25th, 2010. The list of 34 barley wine beers is very impressive. I note in particular that a few breweries whose barley wine beer is usually only available at the brewery and on tap will be present—notably, Boundary Bay with their Old Barley from 2006. There's a brunch on Sunday that includes barley wine pairings, something you really don't see very often. You'll need tickets for the brunch; the phone number is in the link above.