Aaron
Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Regular|
Score
8.56
|
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Aaron is our barleywine-style ale aged in bourbon barrels. Aaron A. Hill (1785 – 1869) was our great-great-great grandfather who operated the original tavern in North Greensboro. The Hill Farmstead Brewery logo is based upon that tavern’s original sign. In his honor, we crafted this barleywine, which has rested, unhurriedly and undisturbed, for over 2 years in bourbon barrels from some of our favorite distilleries, absorbing the essence of its surroundings and history.
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8.8/10
Smooth, caramely malty and heavy with toffee, some prunes, raisins, figs, vanilla, oak and bourbon. Quite balanced and tasty, old skoolish English barleywine. Nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 Jan 2026
at 16:23
8.4/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
500mL bottled 9/8/16, acquired from the brewery, drunk 2/3/17.
Light tan head showing moderate to moderately-strong retention tops a clear, caramel-tinted mahogany body with some deep magenta hues and a good clarity.
Caramel, chocolate and vanilla all boast a complex, rich maltiness with delightfully well-expressed bourbon right beside it. It’s a good mix of rich oak and spicy bourbon character that is almost perfectly balanced by the malt. Only a touch of heat, with no sharp booze or any heavy tannin/coconut/pineapple. It’s very clean and polished and you can’t deny the malt richness here. Fruitiness is minimal, with mostly some moderate raisin and fig character, but the dark fruit-like vinousness here is very minimal.
Malty, as expected, in the mouth with a soft, chewy, comforting, malty texture that allows caramel, light milk chocolate, vanilla, nougat and raisin plenty of room to roam on the palate. Bourbon is classy and restrained, but excellently expressed nonetheless, showing spice and wood and no harsh ester/alcohol sharpness. Definitely rich and sumptuous and obviously tending towards the sweet side, but I can respect that and the beer is so well-executed and polished that, as usual with Hill Farmstead, I find myself giving a high rating to a style I generally hate.
Light tan head showing moderate to moderately-strong retention tops a clear, caramel-tinted mahogany body with some deep magenta hues and a good clarity.
Caramel, chocolate and vanilla all boast a complex, rich maltiness with delightfully well-expressed bourbon right beside it. It’s a good mix of rich oak and spicy bourbon character that is almost perfectly balanced by the malt. Only a touch of heat, with no sharp booze or any heavy tannin/coconut/pineapple. It’s very clean and polished and you can’t deny the malt richness here. Fruitiness is minimal, with mostly some moderate raisin and fig character, but the dark fruit-like vinousness here is very minimal.
Malty, as expected, in the mouth with a soft, chewy, comforting, malty texture that allows caramel, light milk chocolate, vanilla, nougat and raisin plenty of room to roam on the palate. Bourbon is classy and restrained, but excellently expressed nonetheless, showing spice and wood and no harsh ester/alcohol sharpness. Definitely rich and sumptuous and obviously tending towards the sweet side, but I can respect that and the beer is so well-executed and polished that, as usual with Hill Farmstead, I find myself giving a high rating to a style I generally hate.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Mar 2025
at 22:57
9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Bottle, vintage 2015, courtesy of Eric. Shared with him and Miro B at Cellar above ground. Brown with medium tan head. Caramel, toffee, lots of dried fruit, dates, raisins, sweet, some bourbon notes. Quite smooth. Medium bodied. Alcohol well hidden.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Sep 2023
at 18:12
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
On tap at Tørst. Pours very dark brown. Fig, prune, biscuit, dried raspberry, caramel, raisins, toffee, dried strawberry. Good full soft body. Very good.
Tried
from Draft
on 04 Nov 2022
at 22:33
9/10
Heerlijk spul man….
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Aug 2021
at 13:52
9.5/10
More! And still bloody delicious.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Aug 2021
at 22:00
9.5/10
Damn, the barleywine hype is indeed real. Just silly how smooth this is. Incredibly well made and balanced barleywine, raisins, caramel, soft malts. Add to that great bourbon barrel ageing, oak, vanilla, light booze. Awesome.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Aug 2021
at 22:00
10/10
One year later. Still confirmed. Lovely Barleywine.
Tried
on 17 Jul 2021
at 23:47
9/10
Yesterday. So damn good!
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Jul 2021
at 23:16
10/10
LCI, def my favorite barleywine so far, caramel toffee for sure, not overly sweet, quite balanced throughout. #bil
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Jan 2021
at 21:26