Barleywine

Both the BJCP and the Brewers Association describe barleywine as an ale, so as top-fermented beer. American law, too, treats 'barley wine ale' and 'barley wine style ale' as permitted names for a malt beverage, that is, beer.

The words 'barley wine' are centuries old, though. They were used in English as a translation of a barley drink that Xenophon described around 400 BC, and as a poetic name for ale. As a name for a particular beer it only turns up around 1870, at Bass, and it became common mainly from the 1950s.

What is true: matured barleywine can develop sherry-, wine- or port-like notes. Why the word 'wine' was chosen back then exactly, we did not find in a reliable source.

Barleywine changes strongly with time, the BJCP writes. In the English version aroma and bitterness decline, the fruit comes more to the fore and sherry-, wine- or port-like notes can develop; the body becomes thinner. The American version often becomes drier and softer over the years, and the intensity fades. The BJCP explicitly says that young and old versions should both be appreciated for what they are.

A hoppy American barleywine loses with maturation precisely the hop character it is all about. And maturing does not automatically go well: according to CraftBeer.com (Brewers Association), beer that is not stored properly or is past its peak goes downhill in flavour and becomes stale.

Do you want to leave a bottle anyway? CraftBeer.com names strong beers (in general from 8%) as suitable for ageing. The advice: cool and constant (about 10–13 °C), dark, and bottles upright (only bottles with a cork lying down). Taste after six months and then yearly, and ask the brewery how long a beer can keep.

For English barleywine the BJCP gives a colour of golden amber to dark brown, and explicitly not black. Traditionally barleywine was darker, until the Tennant brewery released a golden version in the early 1950s: Gold Label. According to beer historian Martyn Cornell, its success led to a wave of pale barleywines.

American barleywine is, according to the BJCP, amber to medium copper in colour. And with English barleywine, pale versions often taste more bitter and drier than dark ones.

In figures: the BJCP gives 8–22 SRM for the English and 9–18 SRM for the American version.

The Voedingscentrum (Netherlands Nutrition Centre) explains that THT ('ten minste houdbaar tot', best before) indicates until when a product is guaranteed to keep its proper quality. The advice: also use your senses after that date to judge whether something is still good. That is different from TGT ('te gebruiken tot', use by), which is about safety. The European labelling rules (Regulation 1169/2011) prescribe the wording 'best before …' (in Dutch 'Ten minste houdbaar tot …'), and drinks with 10 percent by volume of alcohol or more, according to those same rules, need not carry a durability date at all.

That the date is not a spoilage limit does not mean that beer does not change. According to the Brewers Association, beer begins to age after packaging: the bitterness declines, fruity and floral aromas can disappear and notes of cardboard, honey or sherry come in. The vast majority of beer is meant to be drunk as fresh as possible. Of weizen, for example, the BJCP writes that you drink it best young and fresh.

At the same time, a guide from CraftBeer.com (Brewers Association) names three groups that lend themselves to being laid down, a classification by Patrick Dawson, author of the book Vintage Beer: strong (in general from 8% alcohol), sour and smoked. Of Flanders oud bruin, a tart brown beer (not to be confused with the sweet Dutch oud bruin), the BJCP writes that the style is traditionally meant to be kept, and that examples with some age are considered better.

In short: after the THT, beer is usually not spoiled, but it is different. With hoppy beers often less fresh, with some strong or sour beers sometimes actually better.