We are celebrating our 250th show with a classic style, steeped in history, and now breaking through in the USA, barley wine. We have been collecting these for a while and have a four-pack of barrel-aged barley wines, 2 from Illinois breweries.

This show was recorded at John’s Tavern in Winfield and we assembled a motley crew of panelists to help taste these and pass opinions. Most notably, Mark Naski returns on one of his travels across America, but we also have tavern owner John Karwoski, craft beer afficienado Tom Ryan, and joining us after dropping his car off at the mechanics, Chuck Fort from Church Street Brewing.

The barley wine has long been one of those styles that is often passed by, but it can be quite a ‘treat’ beer, full of flavors, slightly sweeter, and usually higher in alcohol content. Brewed originally back in the late 18th century for the aristocratic Brits, it now has taken a turn towards the slightly milder and paler side of craft beer, but still can pack a punch, and thankfully we call all reap those benefits.
Our sampling, including the pre-show bevvy, takes 4 of these and we see if we have a favorite, plus we also have a bonus beer review, so stick around after the hour mark!

Play the show from our player below, or from SoundCloud…