Bigfoot barleywine on draft

Fellow BeerAdvocate member DoppleThis reports that the Mellow Mushroom in Citrus Park (map) has a keg of 6-month-old Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barleywine on tap. A barleywine is a strong ale and one style of beer than can be aged. Bigfoot can be aged for years.

Bigfoot is a monster of a beer: bitter, sweet and alcoholic. It's very agressive and will be a shock the first time you try it. I love it. It's one of my Top 10 beers. Sierra Nevada only releases it around the new year and dates each year's release on the bottle caps and labels to help those who age it. The beer also seems to vary slightly from year to year.

I prefer to drink Bigfoot fresh because that's when its huge hop flavors are the strongest. Over time the beer becomes more mellow and balanced, and who needs that?

My notes on the 2009 vintage:

Pours a deep copper in color with a sticky off-white head that leaves chunks of lace in my glass.

It's got that barleywine smell: Citrus hops mix with toffee and caramel notes and a hint of alcohol. Nice.

The taste is perfect. This is what I think of when I think barleywine. It's bitter and malty with lots of hop flavors and a nice warming finish. It is not just a bitter beer: This has depth.

The body is thick and smooth and almost chewy with its heft.

This is one of my most favorite beers. I could drink nothing but this for the rest of my life.

If you're in Citrus Park, check out the Mellow Mushroom and have a glass of Bigfoot.

Review: Horn Dog Barley Wine Style Ale

Tonight's beer is an English Barleywine, from Colorado's Flying Dog brewery. Barleywines are strong ales brewed with lots of malted grain and hops. This particular beer has an alcohol level of 10.5 percent, which is more than twice the strength of a typical beer. There are also American Barleywines, which are similar to their English predecessors but usually have a lot more hop flavor and bitterness to counterbalance the sweetness you get from using all that malt.

It's a deep, deep amber in color with a small tan head.

It has a sweet aroma of dried fruit like dates. Alcohol notes are also very apparent.

The sweet aroma carries over to the taste. This is a beer with lots of fruity esters and flavors. Figs, dates, raisins and more all mix together.

The body is light, which surprises me. Perhaps the high alcohol level (10.5%) contributes.

Overall a good English Barleywine, but it's so strong and sweet that I would reserve it for occasional drinking.

I'm partial to American barleywines. Some of my favorites are Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot and Rogue's Old Crustacean. I love Bigfoot, which is only available around New Year's. I haven't had Old Crustacean in a while because Rogue quit bottling it in 12-ounce bottles and switched to expensive (think $15) 750 mL ceramic swingtops.

Read my review at BeerAdvocate.