The facade of Beveridge Place Pub in West Seattle - the site of the Annual Bacchanal of Barleywines
Beveridge Place Pub’s 7th Annual Barleywine Bacchanal kicks off this Friday, February 26th, with over 40 barleywines pouring for a week straight from 24 taps. That’s a lot of big bold brews to choose from. Since there is clearly more beers than taps, there will be a constant rotation of kegs a flowin’. As one blows, another will replace it, and so on.
The folks over at the Washington Beer Blog were kind enough to post the complete list for all to slobber over. Below you will find the entire list. Clearly, all are barleywines, and thus, all are going to be packed with copious quantities of both malt and hops. All will be fairly high in alcohol, and chances are good that all will taste pretty darn good. Your main fear should be a harsh, young vintage. Sometimes these fellas just need some time to mature and mellow out. Too much bitterness and not enough sweetness can make your barleywine experience akin to being strangled by a hop vine. There is no question, if you read this site with any regularity, that Beer Blotter holds great respect for Father Time and his agile hand at improving beers of many kinds, especially barleywines.
For Beer Blotter, the older the vintage, the more excited we are to try it. Both rare and refined, these pours should improve your evening no matter who brewed them.
So our first overarching tip to you, “age is all the rage”.
But we need more detail than that. Let’s dig deeper.
The biggest challenge of the Bacchanal is the barrels-to-taps ratio. The rotation system will make it difficult to have a clear game plan for your visit, whatever day you choose to attend. You will never really know exactly what to expect, which, granted, offers its own brand of excitement. Your best bet is to pre-create a list of b-dubs that you’re most excited to taste, and chances are that no matter what day you decide to venture out to West Seattle there will be at least a few of them available.
Perhaps a look at the Beer Blotter list could assist you in creating your own list. Below, as promised, is the unadulterated list. Below that, the Beer Blotter list.
Complete List:
Alaskan, Barleywine ‘06, ‘07,’08
Anacortes, Old Sebastes ‘07
Anchor, Old Foghorn ‘06, ‘07, ‘08
Anderson Valley, Horn of the Beer ‘09
Avery, Hog Heaven ‘09
Big Sky, Old Blue Hair ‘06
Boulder, Killer Penguin ‘09
Boundary Bay, Old Bounder ‘09
Deschutes, Mirror Mirror ‘09
Diamond Knot, Icebreaker ‘09
Dick’s, Barleywine ‘05, ‘09
Dogfish Head, Olde School ‘09
Elliott Bay, Old Portside ‘09
Elysian, Cyclops ‘09
Fish, 10 Squared ‘08, ‘09
Fish, Leviathan ‘06
Flying Dog, Horndog ‘09
Full Sail, Old Boardhead ‘06
Full Sail, Old Boilermaker 98 (yes, 1998)
Hale’s, Rudyard’s Rare ‘06, ‘09
Hopworks Urban Brewery, Noggin Floggin ‘09
Hood Canal, Breidablik ‘06, ‘07, ‘09
Lagunitas, Old Gnarleywine ‘04, ‘06, ‘07
Laurelwood, Old Reliable ‘09
Left Hand, Oak Aged Widdershins ‘07
Lucky Lab, Old Yeller ‘09
Mad River, Old Barleycorn ‘07
New Old Lompoc, Old Tavern Rat ‘08
North Coast, Old Stock ‘07, ‘09
Pike, Old Bawdy ‘07, ‘08
Port, Angel’s Share ‘09
Port Townsend, ‘09
Rogue, Old Crustacean ‘08
Schooner Exact, Old Sinking Ship ‘09
Scuttlebutt, Old #1 ‘06, ‘08
Sierra Nevada, Bigfoot ‘08
Skagit River, Shiver Me Liver ‘09
Speakeasy, Old Godfather ‘09
Stone, Old Guardian ‘07, ‘08, ‘09
Three Skulls, Wreckage ‘09
Victory, Old Horizontal ‘09
Walking Man, Old Stumblefoot ‘08
Beer Blotter List:
Alaskan, Barleywine ‘06, ‘07,’08
-This is a “must” if offered at the time of your visit. A Northwest Masterpiece. Alaskans know how to warm up with Barleywine. This guy ranks very well in any festival that it is involved in. In the last 5 years this brew has placed in the top 3 at Brouwer’s Hard Liver Barleywine Fest 3 times, and the ’07 vintage was number 1 last year. A warning though…chances are high that these will only be available on Monday, March 1st or Tuesday, March 2nd when verticals are offered. To try all three vintages side by side would truly be a treat.
Lagunitas, Old Gnarleywine ‘04, ‘06, ‘07
-In Beer Blotter’s humble opinion, there is not many Barleywines being made in the world better than Gnarleywine. The ’08 vintage was awarded 3rd place in this years Toronado Barley Wine Festival, and chances are, the older the better. Do not skip this one, any vintage. Another warning: 3 years offered…look to vertical night for these.
Speakeasy, Old Godfather ‘09
-Though this is young, the ’06 got second place last year at Brouwer’s. Expect this one to be high in alpha…it’s the Speakeasy way.
Stone, Old Guardian ‘07, ‘08, ‘09
-If you read Timperial’s review of the ’07 vintage you would know, this beer is sickly good. Astounding balance, even through time.
Victory, Old Horizontal ’09 & Dogfish Head, Olde School ‘09
-With the exception of a few CO representatives, these are the only 2 offerings that aren’t from the West. Reason? They are astounding beers made by two of America’s best breweries.
Fish, 10 Squared ‘08, ’09 & Leviathan ‘06
-Both of these beers are incredible and hard to come by, even in their home state. 10 Squared was probably my personal favorite from last years Hard Liver Fest and old vintages of Leviathan, like this ’06, are pretty much legendary. The barrel-aged version of Leviathan is in the top 10 on ratebeer.com’s list of barleywines.
Port, Angel’s Share ‘09
-It would be silly of me to leave this one out since it is literally one of my favorite beers of all time. Number 9 on ratebeer.com’s barley wine list.
New Old Lompoc, Old Tavern Rat ‘08
-Beer Blotter recently had this from the always-impressive taps of Uber Tavern and really enjoyed it. Very nutty if you’re into that.
Boundary Bay, Old Bounder ‘09
-Seattle does not see enough Boundary Bay. Maybe if we drain this keg quickly the “will of the people” will change that depressing fact.
That’s a pretty healthy list for you, and honestly, I could go on an on. There is A LOT of really good stuff on this list, and even a few that Beer Blotter has never had and looks forward to trying (like Lucky Lab, can we please have more of their beers in Seattle?).
Anyone and everyone within striking distance of Seattle should never, EVER miss events like this. We are so lucky to have beer bars that put so much time, effort and money into aging beers for years and organizing such exciting festivals. Beer Blotter sends a massive hug to Gary and The Bev for making this happen year after year.
Find us in West Seattle, raise a glass, it’s barleywine season!
