In process for years, we’re happy to introduce the second beer in our Estate collection: Barleywine 2020. This beer sets out to celebrate the flavors of the barley we grow in our field: first highlighted through malting, then concentrated through brewing, and finally melded in barrel.

100% of the grain in this beer was grown, harvested, fermented, conditioned, and packaged at Wheatland Spring. Planted in 2019 and harvested in 2020, the barley was custom-craft malted in small batches, yielding multiple roasts for layers of flavor. All of this was done especially for this beer by our friends at Murphy & Rude Malting.

Within days of leaving the malt house, the malt was double-mashed in our brewhouse, feet from where the barley once grew. The estate barleywine then aged for a year in Catoctin Creek Virginia-grown Rye Whisky barrels.

As the barleywine emerged from this slumber, it had much to say without the need for additional ingredients to find its voice. On approach, the ale offers a deep, round date sweetness from the roasted malts, tempered by a dry finish thanks to the oak. The lush caramel developed during the five hour boil moves gently through the mid-palate, revealing layers of toasted graham cracker, fig, and crème brûlée as it warms in your glass. The finish is a reminder of its stature and time in spirit barrels. This beer aims to thread the needle of decadence without overindulgence and complexity without over-complication.