Our Finest Regards
Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Special Out of Production|
Score
7.50
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From Pretty Things to you this winter season: "Our Finest Regards". Two years into our project and we’re grateful and amazed that so many people love and support great beer these days. The fact that we’re still here is a credit to you all.
But for the question of primary importance: What is the beer?
Well, it’s our Pretty Things barleywine. Inspired by malted barley, a tribute to the barleycorn. Yes, it’s simple, but that’s what barleywines are all about. Ever since brewing in England, Dann has dreamed of making a barley-focused beer using the malts of Yorkshire (and never hesitates to plug his favorite: Thomas Fawcett & Sons).
Give barley a chance and this mysterious little grain can do grand things!
To get the density of sugars needed for this sort of beer, we employed "double mashing". The brewhouse that we work on can only get to maybe 18 plato for a single running of wort: but we wanted 27 plato! So we combined two brews by running wort into the kettle and then using it to mash in the second batch. We don’t take credit for this idea. We’re certain it has been done many, many times before. But it wasn’t until Will Meyers (the great Cantabridgian Cervecero) brought this method to our attention that we realized we could brew a barleywine of proper gravity... (he never told us that he hadn’t actually performed this sort of brewing before!). Anyway, it works!!
We fermented with a blend of English and Belgian yeast strains that seemed to work quite well together fermenting down to 4 plato in short order (that’s 13.5% abv if you’re counting). Expect an aroma of juicy sultanas, malted milk balls, and alcohol deliciousness. It’s got a medium body and is a little more spritsy than we’re sure the Brits would like. Serve over 50 degrees fahrenheit in a stemmed glass.
But for the question of primary importance: What is the beer?
Well, it’s our Pretty Things barleywine. Inspired by malted barley, a tribute to the barleycorn. Yes, it’s simple, but that’s what barleywines are all about. Ever since brewing in England, Dann has dreamed of making a barley-focused beer using the malts of Yorkshire (and never hesitates to plug his favorite: Thomas Fawcett & Sons).
Give barley a chance and this mysterious little grain can do grand things!
To get the density of sugars needed for this sort of beer, we employed "double mashing". The brewhouse that we work on can only get to maybe 18 plato for a single running of wort: but we wanted 27 plato! So we combined two brews by running wort into the kettle and then using it to mash in the second batch. We don’t take credit for this idea. We’re certain it has been done many, many times before. But it wasn’t until Will Meyers (the great Cantabridgian Cervecero) brought this method to our attention that we realized we could brew a barleywine of proper gravity... (he never told us that he hadn’t actually performed this sort of brewing before!). Anyway, it works!!
We fermented with a blend of English and Belgian yeast strains that seemed to work quite well together fermenting down to 4 plato in short order (that’s 13.5% abv if you’re counting). Expect an aroma of juicy sultanas, malted milk balls, and alcohol deliciousness. It’s got a medium body and is a little more spritsy than we’re sure the Brits would like. Serve over 50 degrees fahrenheit in a stemmed glass.
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7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle. Brown beer with a tan head. Caramel and malt aroma with citrus hops. Caramel and toffee flavor with light fruitiness. Medium bodied. Caramel and toffee lingers with earthiness and light fruitiness.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Feb 2012
at 14:07
8.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Keg at Brouwerij Lane, Brooklyn. I had this beer along with Bruery Cuir, FW XV, Avery Hog Heaven, and BFM Terrapin Spike Jerome, and this beer was easily the best of the three for both me and my drinking buddy, Seth. The others were simply too overtly sweet or boozy, or both. Pours dark ruby with a creamy head. Berries and bread in the aroma. Big sweet flavor, lots of berries and ripe fruit, light alcohol, bread, toasty sugars. Full bodied with fine to average carbonation. Lots of ripe, mixed berries to finish, mild warmth, dark sugars, sweet bread. The alcohol really isn’t too intense. A great beer.
Tried
on 12 Feb 2012
at 15:34
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 9
Bomber from City Beer. Pours really dark ruddy copper with a slight, transient beige/tan head. Aroma is definitely malty, but there’s a lot of complex aroma bits here. Maybe chocolate is one. Roast malt another. Very full bodied. Heat is detectable, but not an issue. Flavor is? There’s very sweet malt; and surely chocolate. BUT BANANA? And a heck of a lot of floral. Words cannot adequately describe this ale. It finishes rather sweetish banana, but somehow that’s not offensive. This is really great s...
Tried
from Can
on 26 Jan 2012
at 18:03
6.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
shared by jtc-22oz bottle-pours amber with offwhite bubbles. Aroma is medium malt-caramel, wood, spice. Taste is spice hops, medium malt-caramel, wood, alcohol.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Jan 2012
at 09:14
8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
Bottle thanks to Yanick. Pours dark brown with small tan head. Nose/taste of toffee, wood, caramel, bready malts, dark fruit and cocoa. Thick full inviting mouth feel. Great sipper!
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Jan 2012
at 12:37
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottled Nov 2011 Pours a slightly cloudy deep copper/brown color with a decent sized beige head that shows moderate retention and lace. Smells of toffee and caramel with hints of chocolate and brown sugar. Bready chocolate aroma with a hint of peanut butter? I swear it smells like a peanut butter ball a little. Taste is malty sweet with lots of caramel and brown sugar up front. Dark fruits like dried cherries, plums, and prunes. A hint of warming alcohol comes in but is never harsh. Thick body with a sweet sticky mouthfeel and a low to moderate level of carbonation. This is a big beer that demands respect, but proves to be quite easy to consume. I enjoyed this, but I did find it a touch boring, on the other hand, I’d love to see how this ages.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Dec 2011
at 18:12
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Big thanks to Gillard for this one. It pours amber with copper hues and off white head. The aroma is pretty fruity with dried peaches and prunes as well as musty maltiness. The taste delivers hoppy spiciness and some yeastiness flowing quickly into sweet malts and some malt roastiness. Into the finish the spicy hops surge forward a bit.
Tried
on 03 Jul 2011
at 20:16
6.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Bottled
Thanks Reakt! Deep amber color, cloudy off-white head, lace. Ryeish-berryish nose. Full-bodied. Brown sugar, toasted sugar, some yeast and fruits. Very low bitterness - this is quite ok dessert beer.
Thanks Reakt! Deep amber color, cloudy off-white head, lace. Ryeish-berryish nose. Full-bodied. Brown sugar, toasted sugar, some yeast and fruits. Very low bitterness - this is quite ok dessert beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Mar 2011
at 08:45
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle thanks to Reakt. It pours a hazy ruby red colour with a fizzy beige head. The nose is sticky fruits, raisin, pear, caramelised banana and burnt sugar. The taste is raisin, banana bread, fig, sweet plum, brown sugar, caramel and toffee, with a long sweet finish. It is medium bodied, has moderate carbonation and a sticky mouth-feel. A bit too sweet for my taste.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Mar 2011
at 13:27
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 7
Bottle at Paradiso Dupont. Aroma of butterscotch and alcohol. Taste is thick, sweet, syrupy caramel with a complexity far greater than most barleywines. Nice stuff.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Mar 2011
at 18:14