The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast
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The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast
Ep 168 - Scotch Ale And Barleywine Tasting With Big Surprises
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7.5% turns into 13.8% faster than you think when we line up Scotch ale and barleywine on the same table. We’re back in the studio with Jim and special backup drinker Toby, because this tasting is stacked with higher ABV bottles and cans, plus a few surprises we did not see coming.
We start in Scotch ale territory with 3 Floyds Robert the Bruce, then take a sharp left with Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo, a pour that reads tart and oaky enough to spark a full debate about “Christmas pudding” notes and what the label promises versus what your palate actually gets. Central Waters brings us back to earth with a bourbon barrel Scotch ale that’s rich, smooth, and balanced, showing how barrel-aged beer can elevate malt-forward styles beyond stout.
Then we jump into barleywine, including the notorious Sierra Nevada Bigfoot at 90 IBUs, where we dig into why bitterness can linger so differently and why IBUs aren’t as consistent as people assume. The night turns around with Northern Rivals, a Fair State Co-op and Central Waters collaboration that hits figs, caramel, and bourbon in a way that finally makes barleywine feel approachable. And yes, we crown a winner: 3 Floyds Pillar of Beasts, a bourbon barrel-aged salted caramel barleywine that drinks dangerously smooth and lands as an instant “beer of the year” contender for us.
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Welcome Back And Studio Vibes
SPEAKER_02Grab a beer and pull up a chair. Welcome to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. Hey, hey, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. This is Mike, the Northwoods Beer Guy, and today we are actually back in the studio. It's been a while. So we are here with a Jim, of course. Hey, buddy, how are you doing? Doing good, man. How about you? Another day in paradise. That's good. And we were looking at what uh beers we're going to use today, and we saw there were a few that are a little bit higher on the ABV scale, so we needed backup, so we got Toby back. Glad to be here, gentlemen. Thank you. I know you're probably thinking the only time they invite me is when it's like high octane stuff, but yeah, we needed help. So yeah, this is gonna be a fun category. It's gonna be an interesting. We'll leave her, leave her at that. I mean, if you think you know what it is, we're gonna wait a few minutes to wait. Tell everybody, but put drop it in the comments and see if we can you can guess what we're gonna be drinking. There you go. Besides beer. That's why I'm here. So yeah, I guess what's been going on since we've been I think summer is here. Summer's here. Yeah, it's hot, muggy, hot, stormy, yeah, stuff like that. It went from a nice spring, snap of the fingers, and and now it's summer. Yeah, it's just like yeah, it went from oh I like this nice and cool. And now I get home and I'm like, I'm already sweaty and a lot more bugs. Oh, yeah. But the crop my crops like it though. They're growing, they're growing, and the weeds are growing. Yeah, so I got the dual cool going on. The the corn in our field is sprouting up very nicely. It went from just a little bitty to I mean, in the last however many days it's grown pretty good. So corn likes this heat, corn likes the heat. You can almost hear it. Yeah, so it's probably a good time not to be sleeping in the tent outside. It's a good time to be in the studio with some beers looking at us, I think. Well, I was and no corn beers. Yeah, no, I don't think so. I think we're good. And I was just telling Toby, it's like a 20-degree difference coming down here in the studio. I was gonna say, boy, it's a little chilly in here, but I didn't, you know, I didn't want to say anything. But hopefully, we'll warm up as we get through a couple of different pretty yeah. So, well, Jim, why don't you let the listeners in on what we're
Why Scotch Ale And Barleywine
SPEAKER_02doing? So again, you know, this is always happenstance as we're doing our mind meld to figure out what what we're gonna be drinking. And I'm like, Well, I thought I had a couple of one style, and I'm like, Well, I thought I had a couple, so I started looking, and I actually had five beers that were scotch ale and some barley wines, and then doing some research, they're actually closely related too. Oh, sure. Okay, so they're I mean, they're they don't taste the same, but I mean their origins are very similar. Yep, because that's where I got all my questions from. Oh, nice great. So glad you're here, Toby. So, how are you been doing?
SPEAKER_01Can't wait to get some points.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, exactly. So this should be good because I don't I know that we've probably had onesies or twosies, but I can't remember us actually doing an episode of either barley wine or scotch ale. So I'm kind of intrigued on how because I'm I've always said that I'm not a barley wine guy just because that flavor is an acquired taste. Yep. So I'm hoping that we get some good flavor and these taste good, and it's but I think that what you mentioned before you alluded to that these all are a little higher ABV. So I think Toby's gonna be able to help us with with that aspect because these I know we've we've had a couple episodes that we had even higher ones than this, so it's it's not anything to be scared of, but when you got seven of them, we needed we needed backups. So well, and this this one of these first ones has got a 90 IBU for it. Yeah, see, that's gonna be interesting. I mean, we haven't had many. I mean, once I I think I could be speaking out of place, but once we hit that 90 IBU threshold, I mean, there's probably fewer of those than we have like above 20% ABV. Oh, I I think you're probably right for sure. I just hope it's not it'll be interesting because you you remember how we've talked about the IBU stuff before that we've we've had some that were 90 something IBUs, and then you couldn't even hardly taste it, right? So it's just weird. I don't yeah, that's one of those mysteries that I'll I'll never understand.
SPEAKER_01I would agree.
SPEAKER_02All right, well, hey, I guess we might as well break into one. All right, should we have Toby read the first notes on that first one? And that's this guy here, right? These are all different sized bottles and two cans. So there's no common theme in the way that they're uh bottled. Exactly. Right, so exactly.
Scotch Flight First Two Pours
SPEAKER_01This one's a 12-ounce bottle, and it's the Robert the Bruce Scottish style ale from Three Floyds, registers at 7.5% ABV. I was just a little guy, yeah, and uh 32 IBUs, and this is from Munster, Indiana. So this is a full-bodied Scotch style ale, and it's brewed with 10 unique malts, creating a well-rounded multi-profile and roasted biscuit-like notes, toffee, caramel, and molasses charge into the battlefield, offering a balanced approach from start to finish. All right, let's go on to the next one. It's a Yorkshire stingo. The dango wait, my bye-bye. Little Seinfeld reference there. Just let it just let it go. Okay. This is a strong English ale, and it's from Samuel Smith Brewing. Comes in at 8%.
SPEAKER_02Good luck with Sam Smith. We've had some really good beers from Yorkshire for sure.
SPEAKER_01So on the label, it says Yorkshire taste of dark fruit, toffee, and Christmas pudding with a subtle oaky finish. So this bottle-conditioned ale is matured in oak ale cast, some over a century old, and continuously maintained by the old brewery's own poopers. Wow. So these casts constantly circulating through the brewery's own English pubs. They soak in the character of Samuel Smith's traditional stone fermented ale.
SPEAKER_02Interesting. Yeah. So we'll see if they had us at Christmas pudding or not, I guess.
SPEAKER_01That is an interesting terminology, Christmas pudding. I'm not sure what that refers to. Right.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I don't, I'm not sure either. I'm guessing something over in England since that's where it's from. I got nothing. So this one is in a bigger bottle.
SPEAKER_01It is in a bigger bottle. And just to point out, uh, one of the descriptions that we found online says it it talks about a treckle toffee. In the U.S. it's known as molasses gentlemen. Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_02Can we just call it that? Because I don't know if I can. We're getting educated. You is Mike getting points of this, or is he losing? I get 5,000 points. I've heard of molasses. Wow, it's not whatever you send toffee kind of thing. Melty toffee.
SPEAKER_01Well, there we go. Is that like figgy pudding? Oh boy, it could be. I don't know. Figs? We're gonna find out.
SPEAKER_02Maybe so. We're doing like Christmas stuff in the summer. So is it gonna cool us off?
SPEAKER_01Has anyone poured this yet? No, we haven't poured this out. All right. So this is a bigger bottle. Biggest bottle we got.
SPEAKER_02Yep. It's and it's typical Samuel Smith there in a bigger bottle. It's lighter in color than what I was expecting. You know, I was thinking it was gonna be with molasses and all that, it was gonna be darker. Right. Kind of like the last one. Yeah, yeah. But I mean, it's it comes out like light brown, but then it turns darker brown. Yeah, it kind of does. As it separates. So Yorkshire Stingo. H O Bae Bay. Ooh, I smell some alcohol. That was good. It's got a little different aroma to it. You know, it's kind of a little fruit or something, almost a little bit of citrusy kind of smell. Is there a treckle in there?
SPEAKER_01It could be smelling treckle. Well, and they you know, they do say that these are used in in their their oak cast over and over, deriving fruit and raisin as well. So that could be some of that aroma.
SPEAKER_02Boy, there's uh Wow. There's a little bit of a oh, I think we missed part of the description too. On the turn it around and read on the front underneath stingo.
SPEAKER_01Barrel aged and oak.
SPEAKER_02Oh, barrel aged. Run pipe. Yeah, there's wow, there this is this feels stronger than it actually says. That is a slight uh wrong pipe. It has kind of a slight uh tartness to it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there's a comparison to sour. You know, it really has kind of that initial like a sour beer.
SPEAKER_02That caught me off guard. Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I was expecting more of that kind of dark molasses. A little sweeter, little yeah, sweeter side than boy. That that was definitely different than I was expecting. But again, like I said, the after your first taste, it's not as bad. Well, I'm I guess intrigued by like it talks a lot about Christmas stuff, and that's usually a little more sweeter. But this unless Christmas pudding isn't sweet, I don't know. That I'm not sure if Christmas pudding tastes like this. I don't know if I'm gonna be eating a lot of Christmas pudding. It's my opinion. Well, your first buddy, what are you what are you thinking? Boy, Samuel Smith usually to me has really good you know, and and this is probably really good if we knew going into it that's what it was gonna be. Very tart kind of flavor to me. It does I do get that fruity kind of flavor to it. That tartness definitely caught me off guard. I'm gonna go like a 2.2 on it, to be honest with you. I don't I don't think I could drink that whole bottle. I mean, it's just kind of kind of a little rough for me. Yeah, you're a better man than me if you could drink that whole bottle. I don't I struggled to finish our little taster glass. It's yeah, not not a flavor I I'm enjoying. As you as you know, I'm not a big sour guy to begin with, and this is like super tart. I don't get any of the the raisins, you know, the whatever fruit or any of the anything sweet, I'm not tasting any. So I don't know if my palate is skewed or right. What, but uh I'm I'm I was gonna say the same exactly my 2.2.
SPEAKER_01Not not a big fan of this one. Toby. So as we were kind of going through this here, I noticed on the bottle that one of the things it states is that allow time for the yeast to settle before opening, then pour gently. I think we did. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I guess I've had this for a few months and I thought it should have settled. Yeah, I have it sitting in the underneath the the bar.
SPEAKER_01So so as you guys were just you know giving your rating, I I thought well I'll quick finish my my taster and then I'll I'll just try more to see if it's any different. Right. I like the second glass less than the first one. Oh, really? It has that that real oaky flavor kind of comes through, and I I'm not a big fan of that sometimes, you know, particularly in some of the bourbons that you that you get that in. So I was a little higher at the start. I didn't mind the sourness because I I don't mind uh you know sour beers, but I'm probably 2.0.
SPEAKER_00Oh, okay. Nice.
SPEAKER_01It was the second glass that did it for me.
SPEAKER_02It just one like I said, Samuel Smith has usually been really good. They got some very good beers. Yeah. This one I don't know if it'd be on my top five in the for them. A limited release, too. So okay, we may not see it again. Oh darn. All right, so I got some more easy questions again. Okay, what is happening in the United States this year? It's the 250th anniversary. It is. It is good answer. That's 5,000 points. That's not the question. Oh, congratulations. Thank you. So there is a beer that's being really, I guess, re-released. Okay. That was part of the formation of the United States of America. Like a style or like an actual an actual beer. Okay. So what's the name of the beer? Who originally designed it? What year was it made? And who's brewing it now? Well, it's only a small four-part question, is all. I got the perfect answer though.
SPEAKER_01Okay, go ahead. So playing off of the anniversary. Okay. So gonna say give tribute to Mr. Washington.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01Maybe a beer named after him, right? Mm-hmm. So 1776 is that right? 50 years, roughly. Yeah. Okay. Kind of or 250 years around that. That's what I'm going with. I don't remember the other parts of the question. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Uh oh, and what kind of you didn't ask what kind of beer, just the who's brewing it? No. Oh, who's brewing it now? Oh, someone on the East Coast. Probably. For anybody that's ever watched, I'm gonna say Bubbles is brewing it. It's called Freedom 35. It was brewed initially in like 2012, I'll say. And uh have you ever watched Trailer Park Boys? I think Toby's probably closer on that. So all right, Toby gets 10,000 points. He hit two of the four. Oh, nice. So to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America, the New York Public Library. Okay, I never would have guessed. The library makes beer? Partnered with which which library is that? Partnered with Talia Beer Company. Okay, I wouldn't heard it. To revive George Washington's 1776 small beer recipe. Washington originally recorded the recipe in his military journal while leading the Virginia militia. So why do they call it small beer?
SPEAKER_01That's what I was just gonna ask. What does small beer mean? Small batch? I mean like made in smaller batches, lower ABB.
SPEAKER_02Was a low alcohol drink brewed to purify water and provide substance for soldiers. Huh. To make it more appealing to modern palates, the brewer adjusted the approach. So instead of like Rattler, now it's like a pilsner. So instead of the original Water Hops brand molasses and yeast, now it has molasses with subtle notes of malt to boost the alcohol content to 6.5%. Okay. Interesting. So Toby's ahead, 15,000 to 1. Yeah, that's all right. You're catching up. Yep. I'm in the positive. That's all I care about.
SPEAKER_01There's Wash was the first guy that came to my mind.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, exactly. I figured you were on the right track, but I just had to throw the Trailer Park Boys reference out there. Since Jim went with the dango, I couldn't throw that out there. All
Central Waters Bourbon Scotch Ale
SPEAKER_02right. So what is the next one that we have?
SPEAKER_01So the next one is from a brewery that I think we're familiar with. And it is the Central Waters Scotch Ale. Oh. So it's a brewer's reserve bourbon barrel scotch ale. This comes in at 12%, gentlemen. Wow. With 29 IBUs. So it says this is a rich malty ale that has been aged to perfection in our barrel house. Subtle and smooth. This is a decadent display of patience and process. Well, there's not a lot of ingredient description there. Oh no. What was the EBB on that one again? It is 12%. So we stepped it up slightly higher than eight to twelve.
SPEAKER_02Well, you know. Do we take maybe two steps up? Yeah, you shock the body. Keep it guessing there. All right. Well, but we've always had good luck again, too, from Central Waters, right? Yes. Yes, we have. We can't uh especially their barrel-aged stuff. They seem to do a pretty good job with they know what they're doing. Well, this one's probably the darkest one so far. It's darker, yeah. This is dark, dark brown. And gentlemen, it does not smell like the last one. So that's a good thing, right? Thank goodness. Not much for aroma. That's got a little stronger flavor to it. That's pretty good. You get a little bit of that oak in the barrels for sure. In a good way. In a good way, yeah. Absolutely. Wow, that it doesn't even seem like Sam Smith and this one are even in the same category. No, how in the world are they? This was like leaps and bounds ahead of the previous one. This is really good. I'm kind of questioning how Sam's Samuel Smith was even related to the first one. It was so drastically different. Yeah, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, wow, both both bourbon barrel, scratch ales. This is four percent more.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. And much smoother, smoother, much better flavor. Wow, that is interesting. This is good. This is really good.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I guess I wish I could pick out some of the flavors in it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, I I definitely get the barrel. And you get the malt. Roasted malt definitely on the malt, yes. But in a good way. I mean, it makes it it makes it smooth, I think. Yep, yeah, very much so. But I definitely have some bourbon flavor coming through. A little bit. I don't it's not overpowering though. No, you know, this may not be for if you're it's your first scotch ale. Oh, yeah, no, no, I wouldn't recommend I wouldn't recommend uh yeah, this these may not be introductory beers, but they this one is really good a good example for me for a scotch ale. Well, especially for a barrel-aged scotch ale. Because it we've had some other ones that just a scotch ale that is is a good example as well. But for yeah, this is this is still very good, very good. I do enjoy it. Well, you want me to go with my score? Sure, yeah. I like this one, I like it a lot. I'm gonna say a 3.5. It's I like there's bourbon flavor, but not too much. It's got the roasty malt, but not too much. It's seeing to me is smooth. The only drawback, or if I ought to give it a higher score, is what are the other flavors in it? I don't know what I think we kind of hit on it, but I can't tell exactly what what's in it, but however they did it, it tastes good to me. So you went 3.5, you said? Okay, perfect.
SPEAKER_01Yes, so I I agree with what Jim said. You know, it it drinks great, it it's it's good flavor. Um, I like the balance for Scotch Ale. It's really good. I'm gonna go just a little bit above you, Jim. I think I'm gonna go three six.
SPEAKER_02Nice, nice. That's a solid score. Yeah, yeah. I I agree with you guys. I mean, it's it's definitely everything you'd expect from essential waters. You do get that, like you said, Jim, the kind of that malty flavor. You definitely get the barrel. I say bourbon, I I don't I get it, but it's not overpowering. I do like that, you know. That's that you still get the the kind of that scotch ale flavor. Yeah, I'm gonna go with I'll go with 3.5 as well. Solid beer. And again, I'd only probably drink a bottle of it because it is 12%. It does drink pretty smooth though for a 12% or yeah, they they've done it again. So so did you want to do a little short wrap-up of these three beers first? I'd say so because it's gonna be easier to well, you'd have thought it was gonna be easier to compare these three, vastly different from each other, but yeah, I would for me, I would say I'm glad we tried them, but each one was very distinct and unique in their flavor. And for me, the one that really stands out is the last one, the Scotch Ale bourbon barrel aged. That to me had everything kind of just hit every box, you know, check box. The Sam Smith, I was I mean, the way the bottle looks, the way it was we had good luck with Sam Smith. I I actually thought that was gonna be our best beer, and it turned out to be on the lower end, right?
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_02And the Robert the Bruce was good, it wasn't barrel-aged, and that might have even bumped it up even a little higher if it was bourbon barrel aged, but my favorite is the central waters. Okay, Kobe.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the central waters uh again did not disappoint. Really liked just the whole flavor of it, drinkability of it. The Robert the Bruce was a good beer. I really like that one as well. You know, I think that's a good Scottish ale. If someone wants to give one a try, three Floyds did a good job with that. And Samuel Smith, like going back in my my card file, I'm not sure how many of those I've had or remember having. So for me, kind of first experience that I'm that I'm recalling again, like the first glass, the second glass just wasn't as good to me. I guess I can't say I'm disappointed, it's just where it was, and that that's the order I put them in.
SPEAKER_02Yep, I got the exact same order as you guys do. I think the the essential waters was a very good barrel-aged example. I think the the what was it, Robert the Bruce? I think that was a very good more of your standard Scotch Ale example. And I'm not exactly sure on the Samuel Smith. Totally caught me off guard. I could drink a bottle of the for the first one and the third one. I just don't think I could do it with the the Samuel Smith, unfortunately.
Scotch Recap Plus Washington Beer
SPEAKER_02All right, so as we roll into our next grouping of four, easy question again. I'm I mean, I think I'm taking this from like the grade school textbooks when I get some of these questions. So they're these are easy. Okay, how did barley wine get its name? Because they used more barley in it because that was what was available.
SPEAKER_01I would say that they tried to find something to increase the alcohol content.
SPEAKER_02That's a good guess.
SPEAKER_01And so to make it more like wine, good reason. Do you use barley and just combine the terms?
SPEAKER_02Oh, they grabbed the wrong bottle. We got that one right. That's 10,000 points. Okay. So barley wine is called that because it's one of the upper alcohol ranges of strong ales. Frequently sports and ABV more commonly found in wine. Full spectrum is between 8 and 13. And I think we're gonna have a couple above 13 today. So I hope you guys have strapped in for this one because now we're gonna this is where we get into the adult beverages though. These are no okay, we're no longer in the kit aisle. All right, so so we are in the barley wine section. Toby, if you want to open that, I can read the uh
What Barleywine Means Plus Bigfoot
SPEAKER_02okay. So the first one we have is called Bigfoot, and that's by Sierra Nevada. Nice 9.6% ABV and 90 IBUs. Did you say it again? 90. I'm not gonna lie. Oh, I'm not gonna lie. It kind of concerns me a little bit. I don't know how if it's gonna be that. So not to cut you up, but have we definitively came up with a definition of an IBU? It's international bitterness unit, but how they measure it is yeah, so we know what it means, but we don't know how to get to the we still don't understand half the time. Okay, so the the big thing maybe if you're a the listener, a lot of times it tells you how hoppy it is, right? Is that is that one of the things that sometimes correct? But it also that gets affected by what other grains you use, and I mean there's all sorts of stuff that get factored in, but it still kind of makes no sense. Right, because you would you would think well, let you finish that an IPA would have the higher IBU right, not a barley wine, right? You would think okay. So, all right, so their description says the beast, the beer, the legend. After the workday grind, reconnect with your wild side through our untamed barley wine style ale. This classic lives up to its namesake, massive malt by. Sheer hop intensity standing at 9.6% ABV. So I'm not gonna lie, it's kind of concerning. Just a tad bit to see just how hoppy it is.
SPEAKER_01So just a little background, you know, we've got these wonderful computers in our pockets. So I just looked it up and I I asked, Do I BUs differ at each brewery? And the answer is yes, they can differ significantly because there are no strictly enforced industry standards.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And so each brewery measures or estimates bitterness differently, and then the recipes vary.
SPEAKER_02Interesting.
SPEAKER_01So it's not even no consistent standard to measure it against.
SPEAKER_02So did you also see that other little note that little at the bottom? And I didn't know this, that's why I dropped it in there. Where it said Sierra Nevada is brewed Bigfoot. It's American-style barley wine with cascade, centennial, and chinook hops since 1983. Wow. It's one of their first beers that's they've kept on brewing it. So they've been it's been around for a long time, though. Right, right. It does have a little bit of a hop. And and this should be, right, from what we know, similar to the Scotch gel. Like maltiness. Right, similar. Oh, that's got a hop. That's definitely got a hop dry. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's almost a little confusing that it's it is because it really it really drinks kind of okay at the start. And then as you just wait, it lingers.
SPEAKER_02The hop, the hop does.
SPEAKER_01But it's it's it's not real. Oh, hang on. The more I talk, the worse it gets. It's getting stronger. That aftertaste is there. I mean sometimes. Sometimes there's just that bite like immediately as soon as you kind of swallow. This one definitely had some buildup.
SPEAKER_02This one it goes down and then it starts the hoppiness crawls back up and it lives on the back of your tongue. And what's weird is it's not you don't, there's no hoppy aroma. Very there's a little, but not much. I mean, if you took a big right, it you wouldn't but not like that. Yeah, whoa. And for me, it's kind of over the hoppiness is overpowering the barley wine aspect. Oh, yeah. I don't I can't taste much other than hops. I would agree. I don't know if you guys get a little bit of the barley wine flavor, but the hops are definitely the most prominent.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, the the initial drink of it isn't that bad, but then it you know, and maybe it's a genius tactic. You just keep drinking it and you don't get that bitterness.
SPEAKER_02So you gotta drink it faster as you keep washing it down. All right, totally you gotta get a score first. This is a different one.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so uh you know, I through the years uh hoppy beers have not been my favorite, but I've I've gotten to like some of them, particularly some of the juicy, happier ones. You know, I don't mind those, but so this isn't horrible. Uh is it uh above average? Not sure it is, you know. So I'm probably uh two one on it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like uh yeah, it it's not what I expect for uh for a barley wine. And you're right, that that hop just hangs on. I I'm in agreement with Toby. I I would not personally I would not recommend this to somebody if they've never had a barley wine before, just because it's so yeah, so hoppy. And uh as you know, a lot of people don't like the hop flavor. So I'm gonna go a 2.0 to be honest with you. I just I don't know if I could drink that whole bottle. It's just kind of I think by the end of it, I'd be like looking for anything else to kind of wash that away.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and and if you're a hoppy kind of beer guy and you're wondering what barley wine is, probably a great combination. Oh, sure. Yeah, you know, I mean, because there are there is a uh you know, I got a good friend that loves hoppy beers, and I always give them to her because if I don't like them, here you go. And so to to say, hey, you know, you want to try a barley wine with it, she would probably love this.
SPEAKER_02So it's a little higher in ABV than what an IPA would be. Right. Yeah, I'm writing it with you guys. I I don't even know if I can I don't know if I can correct the 2.0 range. I think I'm at a 1.8. And again, you know my my palette, I don't like sours and I don't like IPAs. This isn't a sour, but point it for 90 IBUs on the on the letter it or on the re read write-up, it is 90 IBUs. In my opinion, this for hoppiness and tartness or not bitterness, this is way outside my comfort zone. I struggle to finish that little taste glass. Is not this is not one that I would seek out. I would not recommend. I just hope the next three are better than right. We're not starting off. I'm thinking we've had two back to back now that have really challenged us.
SPEAKER_01I was like, what's interesting is a lot of IPAs that that I have that are really hoppy, they seem to to kind of attack the outsides of my tongue. This one's just sitting right in the middle. Like it just it's there, and it's just claws and it's staying there.
SPEAKER_02It's just like whoa.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, time to move on, I think.
SPEAKER_02I was gonna think we got we gotta go to another beer. When I get a little rinse out on my um, it's just kind of like whoa, just uh just a touch to say that, but it's just like interesting. Wow, all right, yeah. So let's go to the next beer. I'll save this next question. Okay, that sounds like a good idea. All right, wow.
Northern Rivals Collab Redeems Style
SPEAKER_02So now we are going to a can. The first can that we've had today, Northern Rivals Barley Wine Collab. It's Fair State Co-op with Central Waters. Yes, and this one is 12% ABV. And I I didn't look it up, Mike, but I correct me, but I think Fair State is from is it from Minnesota? I know it's Minnesota. I think it's yeah, it's somewhere in, I think it's around the cities. Is it up? I don't remember for sure. But yeah, so yeah, so their uh description is this rich mahogany barley wine will tantalize the senses with notes of figs, brown sugar, and caramel. We brewed this with our friends at Central Waters Brewing in Wisconsin, one of the premier producers of barley wine in the U.S., despite our states being northern rivals, this is the perfect beer to drink with friends on either side of the Midwest border. Wow. Well, it's got a good talking up good there. Yeah. So did you happen to see? I don't know if you were looking up where for I I know it's in Minnesota. Yep, it's St. Paul. Okay, St. Paul. There we go. Okay. All right. So we will. I mean, I I know we've had a few beers from Fair State, but not many. Right. Our standby has always been Central Waters. So anything Central Waters does seems to be doing pretty good.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well in Minnesota, Wisconsin.
SPEAKER_02Yep. Very close. And this is a 12-ounce can. 12-ounce can. Hopefully, I mean it does hopefully it doesn't affect the taste. Northern Rivals. Yeah, this will be interesting. And again, did you read the front there, Mike? Above where it says barley wine. Ale. Oh, I was reading bourbon barrel aged. So we got another barrel aged. Another barrel aged. Well, I kind of figured when it was from Central Waters and it's 12%, it's gotta be at least remotely close to a barrel. There you go. So hopefully it's one of their right near wheelhouse. Yeah, yeah. Hopefully. Roma Roma seems all right. Yeah. Nothing scaring me yet. No, no, no. I don't smell uh citrus. Smells good. That's got more of a bourbon flavor. You know what I mean? It's you can get the bourbon in it. Right. It's but I think it's subtle enough where I'm tasting some of the other fig and some of the other things come through, which is good. That's really that tastes good. Sweet. I mean, I don't know if it's the caramel or the fig. And caramel. Oh, this has got a good again compared to the last one. This is like so different. Yeah. Not even it almost seems like a remotely. How are they the same style, so to speak? And so vastly different. Yeah, this this is actually decent. I mean, I think I could finish all can of this. You could. You might not be you might be losing some vowels and stuff after a while, but yeah, this is interesting. Wow. Pretty I mean, again, really smooth for 12%. Scary. It's not it. I think it actually washed that that clingy hoppy thing from the last one away finally. So it's it's like scary smooth because it does not I mean it'll be a sneak one that'll sneak up on you, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, you know, I'm really trying to figure out what flavors are in there, and it's hard after that last one. Yeah, yeah. It ruined the tongue is damaged.
SPEAKER_02It dehydrated our tongue from drying it.
SPEAKER_01But uh that caramely brown sugar, you know, that that that sweetness is there, but not overbearing by any means. Good balance of the bourbon flavor to it. Yeah, I like this.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's just this is it's this might be one of our better beers so far today. Yeah, it's it's solid for sure. Oh, and you are you are first yeah, really good collaboration, you know. And I honestly, with when you need to collab with essential waters, it's odds are it's gonna be pretty good. I mean, they they put out such a good product anyway. I'm sure they want everything they do to be a high quality. Yes. So this is right there. I like the smoothness of it. Like I said, I like but you were saying, Toby, the the sweetness is there, but it's not overpowering. I don't feel cavities starting, you know. Yep, and I do get the the barley wine kind of flavor to it, and you get that bourbon. I'm going, I'm gonna go like a 3.8. Nice. That's solid. All right, so I like it. I like this beer. It's not a beginner beer by any means, but I do like, I mean, Toby mentioned it, it's got a bourbon flavor, but it's not over the top. They the sweetness that's it's there, but not over the top. So to me, everything seems to really, really mesh together. Smooth. I just wish it wasn't maybe quite so high in ABV. I could enjoy a couple of them, but right. I'm afraid if I had a couple, I could lose a couple bowels and yeah in the process. I'm gonna even go a little higher. I'm gonna say it's 3.9. I liked it. I liked it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that that's actually where I was at. Um, you know, just thinking about the Scotch ale from Central Waters, what I and what I rated that. You know, this this to me is better. The barley wine, obviously different. But so I I was at a 3.9 as well. I don't maybe I'm not supposed to do that because Jim did, but no, no, you haven't used it yet.
SPEAKER_02So you're you're I can do it. Okay, no, it's that's a good one. Yeah, very good. I mean, yeah, I you can't complain. I mean, that's like wow. No, I know you I'm putting you in the spot, but uh, do you know how many barrel-aged barley wines we've had? I'd have to look it up. I don't know or if you're but I mean we've had we've had quite a few barley wines, barley wine, yeah. Not as many barrel-aged, but it I think that's getting to be more common again. Yeah, because from what I remember, the barley wine was a really hard for me to like choke down, but it seems like this barrel aging has really mellowed the barley wine part of it. And for me, it makes it a lot more palatable. Oh, sure. You know what? Barley wine, it's like Scotch Ale too, where it seems like people you love them or you don't. You know, there's no in between, like, oh, I can take it or leave it. You know, it just seems like sometimes people just whatever that flavor is, they don't like or they really like it, you know, whichever side you're on. But I agree with you. I mean, the the barrel age stuff is getting more popular, and I think it does kind of smooth out some of the rough edges if you want to say it like that on the stuff.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, because I mean barley wine isn't isn't usually what people are like, yeah, that's what I want. Right. You know, and I'll I'll do a little shout out here to Fifth Ward because they had a a bourbon barrel barley wine. I don't know if you guys tried that in the when you did your one podcast with with that or not, but and I don't think you did because I think it was only on tap when I had it over there. But when I tried it, I was like, oh, not sure, but it was really good combination. So I think it's it's one that that you know these guys are are deciding to put together, right? And it appeals maybe to to a larger crowd base.
SPEAKER_02Yep, I agree with you, man. Cool. All right, so you're ready for your next easy
Barleywine Origin Trivia In England
SPEAKER_02question. Yeah, sure. So I got a multi multi-parted question here for you. Where, when, and who brewed the first barley wine? I found that out. And the year starts with a one. Oh, thank goodness. That narrows it right down.
SPEAKER_01I'll let you go first, Toby. Yeah, I got I got no clue on this one. Who who the first barley wine, right? So we're gonna say it was somewhere in Europe. I'll go with that. I'll say in 1846 in barley wine in the UK. Okay, and by who it is was I even know the brewery, too. Oh, it wasn't Samuel Smith. I know that.
SPEAKER_02No, maybe, maybe not. Who knows? I think you're on to something. I'm gonna say the UK. I'm going to say 1852, just because it's like the price is right. I'm gonna go one higher, two higher. I'm gonna go UK. Who's been around that long? Do you know? Are they still around? Can I ask that? They are not around, they're not around. So it's not Guinness. Jeez, I don't know if these guys are around anymore or not. I'm gonna throw something out of left field. I'm gonna say bass, bass brewing. Wow. So, like so many, its legends began in the old world, specifically England. Hey, we got a point. Bass Brewing began to sell its number one barley wine. Can I say I totally pulled that one out of my hinder? 1854. Oh the price is right thing worked for me one time now. Wow, mate. And bass, I I just used it. I'm done. I'm done. I'm out of here. Yeah, I'm gonna see you guys. Well, I'm gonna actually have to give you 100 points to that. Nice. And Toby, I'm gonna give him because he got UK. He gets a thousand. Okay. Wow. That was I was like I don't even know how that happened. Wow. All right. So you I'm not exactly sure how I did that, but so how didn't Toby say it? You pulled ass out of your thin air or something. Did you take the B off? Something remotely close to
Pillar Of Beasts Steals Show
SPEAKER_02that. Well, boys, we're done with these 12%ers. We're gonna step it up again. Stepping it out. We are gonna go with three Floyds. Nice. This is their pillar of beasts barley wine style ale with salted caramel. 13.7% ABV, 16 IBUs. So can I cut in interject? Toby, do you want to read the ingredients? Because it wasn't in what I found. So he actually has the ingredients on there. And then we can finish the rest of what it should taste like.
SPEAKER_01So the label says salted caramel. Okay. Nice. Barley wine, aged 12 months in bourbon barrels with vanilla beans and your favorite kind of nibs.
SPEAKER_02Woohoo! We got it.
SPEAKER_01So taste the scrumptiousness.
SPEAKER_02Ooh. Wow. Interesting. So here's what their what their description was. Okay. And it starts with taste the scrumption. Scrumption neck. Whatever you said. Of this rich and decadent barley wine aged in bourbon barrels for over a year to accentuate with the addition of our house-made salted caramel. Warming notes of cacao and vanilla interplay with a round hop profile, finishing with echoes of toffee and whiskey. Jump in and unravel the mysterious enigma.
SPEAKER_01No, you know, I mean bourbon, yes. But whiskey.
SPEAKER_02Not much. The only time is like if it's rye, you know, rye whiskey, where we hear that, but not just whiskey. I've always wanted to go down to Three Floyds when they do that. They do a bear release in early May every year. Internet. I don't know. It's kind of like the Black Friday one around here. I'd like to go down there one system just to see what that's like.
SPEAKER_01That would be interesting. I get advertisements for that. Oh it's got a little bit of a sweet aroma.
SPEAKER_02Interesting color. Yes. Yeah, it's more of a lighter toffee or a caramel color. Right. Than like a lighter brown. This is like one of the lightest colored ones so far, right? Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01And it it's interesting. A lot of barley wines, I'll compare to kind of like a nitro beer. You know, it kind of has that real it's not doesn't get a lot of head on it. Yep. Just a little bit, and it looks kind of the the bubbles seem so tiny in it. Tiny bubbles.
SPEAKER_02Tiny bubbles. I taste the salty caramel. That's kind of wild. Oh. You do. You do. Wow. Wow. Thank goodness the salt is not overpowering. No. But you get that hint, and you definitely get the caramel. Yeah. That's kind of wild. Huh. I don't really taste a lot of the bourbon or whiskey, whatever, whichever one. This one would get you in trouble. 13.7? It it doesn't taste like that high alcohol at all. If you had two or three of these, you'd be losing some bowels. You'd be speaking in cursive because you'd be slurring your words.
SPEAKER_01I'm not gonna lie, I wish we had two or three more of these right now.
SPEAKER_02No, I'm gonna have to look. I don't remember. I may have so either might be. I might be recommending this for some honors. This is that is kind of wild. This is good. That is wild. Wow.
SPEAKER_01And you know, not that we've been here a real long time, but the temperature of it right now, I think, is perfect. Perfect. If it was any colder, I'm not sure we would get those flavors, you know, and any warmer. It I think it's yeah, it's right in the kind of the sweet spot. It is this is really that is good.
SPEAKER_02That's kind of wild. Totally didn't see that one coming. No, this so we've had two three Floyds today, and both have been really, really good. They've been good, yeah. Who wants to go first? Whose turn is I'll go I'll go, that's fine. Crazy. I mean, this is I totally get that salted caramel, and I like you said, Jim, I don't really get a strong whiskey flavor at all. You can tell that it's there's something, but it's not that's not the predominant thing, right? 13.7, totally hidden. Yep, there's no burn, no burn. I mean, this is yeah, this they way to go. Standing ovation. I'm gonna go a 4.0 on that. I think that's probably our top one so far. And yeah, I I gotta look and see if I have any more at home. Yeah, it's right off the bat. I'm gonna say one of my nominees for beer of the year. Nomine, not saying it's really, but um, and I mean we've had not a lot, but several salted caramel beers. Nothing has come close to the way this tastes. I'm catching it. This is unbelievable how they've got everything to really meld together, and you don't, and it just it m covers the bourbon just perfectly, where you get a little bit of it, but it's not overpowering. I'm gonna have to say a 4.2. I I'm really I mean, if we had a couple more, I might sit in the corner and drink a couple of these and lose a couple vowels. You go. Dovey.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm I'm not gonna lie, I think this is one of my favorite beers I've ever drank. You know, you you you guys do this way more than I do. So, score-wise, for sure. I agree with you, Jim. I know you you guys usually determine that, but I'm a four-five on this one.
SPEAKER_02Whoa, nice! I mean, it is good. Yeah, it's good.
SPEAKER_01I love the the initial salt there, but then it turns sweet, and then the finish is just smooth.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's crazy. They're just you know, the caramel, this like right in. I mean, whatever they did, they got this mastered. I was gonna say, they everything they said to look for is there, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And you can get it, you know. And honestly, I'm not I I sometimes see three Floyds and I'm like, uh, not sure I'm gonna like their beers, but boy, hats off to them on this one. This is good.
SPEAKER_02Yep, I like it. Yeah, and that is funny you say that because there's times I do the same thing, kind of go, uh, do I want to get that? or this one, yeah. Wow. Crazy. All right. So are you ready for our last question? Just before our last beer. Okay. When was the first and where? Or I'm sorry. When was the first commercially produced barley wine and which brewery in the United States? So the first one in the U.S. You're talking? And what year? I'm gonna say Sierra Nevada 1983. So my hint is it has to do with our anniversary. Oh, it it ties into one of our what's going on. So you're saying it's not Sierra Nevada 1983? Wow. What do you say, Antovi?
SPEAKER_01I shot my gas out there and failed miserably. Well, I you know, obviously. I did so well, so bad.
SPEAKER_02And this one, I'd like, yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's gotta be in the 1700s. I'll I'll pick 1784. Okay. No, I'll go 1796.
SPEAKER_02Okay. And who by who by who?
SPEAKER_01That's it. I mean, I'd pick Yingling, but I know it wasn't them.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Wouldn't win iron. We can look if all of a sudden, what? All right, Jim, hit us with it. Anchor brewing. Oh, they were 1976. They were an answer.
SPEAKER_01Oh, 1976.
SPEAKER_02They were an answer before, but they were the first ones to do some something interesting.
SPEAKER_01Well, all right.
SPEAKER_02So it happens when you drink when you're drinking these high octane things. The brain cells are going, yeah.
Central Waters Brewers Reserve Closer
SPEAKER_02All right. All right. So we're on to our last one. And this is once again in a can. And that's by our by Central Waters. This is their brewer's reserve barley wine ale. 13.8% ABV, 80 IBUs. So I'm getting scared. I'm not gonna lie, this is scaring me after that 90 I'm shaking you one, and it kind of was like, so the description on this one an American barley wine ale aged in used oak bourbon barrels. This beer develops rich flavors of dark fruits and wood that deepen over time. It's a 2008 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal winner. All right. So I guess I'm assuming, can I assume that this is the base model that they used when they worked together with Northern Fair or State Fair or Fair State? Fair State, yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's a fair assumption.
SPEAKER_02It's a fair assumption. It could be. Is I don't know, and I didn't I couldn't find anything, and it didn't elaborate, you know. That's the only hard part with Center Waters. They do one or two sentences, they don't elaborate a lot. Sometimes they elaborate a little bit when it comes to how many months, but but some of the other things. Yeah. So we gotta do an episode with those guys. Yeah. We got a few beers we have to yeah, yeah. That's got an aroma to it there, boys. So we're looking for dark fruits and wood. Is that that the flavors we're looking for? I'm smelling booze. I'm smelling bourbon. You got a bourbon going on? I don't know if I'm getting wood. I know I get the I get the flavor of the wood. I don't know if I get like wasn't I talking about dark fruits? Dark fruit. I don't know if I get it much for dark fruit.
SPEAKER_01I almost get like a cow. You know what I mean? Like I get more a little bit of a chocolate, richer.
SPEAKER_02What are they using for their sweetness? I wonder.
SPEAKER_01Oh, it's good to sweeten it.
SPEAKER_02Is it brown sugar? Is it I don't know. But it's not bad. It's I mean And this is our highest ABV of the highest. 80 ABUs, at least it's not like it doesn't cling like that other one, Dad. This does not have I don't have any hoppiness, any dryness. Very faint. I have just a very faint little hint of it, but not not like that other one. Not like Bigfoot. No, no. Like Bigfoot dropped the deuce in there in the first one. This is not this is not interesting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_02I mean, you can't be scared by 80 IBUs for this. Right.
SPEAKER_01No. And again, you know, you 88 IBUs here, 90 on the other one.
SPEAKER_02And it's drastically different. Right. Two ends of the spectrum. This is not this is I like this. It's not bad. No, I agree. I agree. It's it's good. I think again the barrel aging does something for it, because we I maybe it was are we what's the name of there was a brewery down in Arena, I think you went to, and it had a scotch ale down there. Oh yeah, warp speed. Warp speed. And to me, that was just like so hard to drink. And I know this it's not wasn't a barley wine, but I mean that was a scotch ale, but yeah. And these last few have really tasted good. So if this is how all barley wine tastes, I can I can do that. I'm in, I'm in. I'm not scared of them anymore. See, there you go. I've overcome my fear of barley wine. That's usually how it works. Well, Jim, do you want to start the final score? All right. I like it. I like it a lot. I mean, this is Central Waters, another great job, especially coming from me that I don't like barley wines. They did a great job. I wish I knew what kind of bourbon barrel they aged it in. I don't know. And I wish I knew what kind of sweetness they added, whether it was brown sugar or caramel toffee. I don't I don't know. But whatever they did, it it tastes decent to me. I want to say the three floids is a little bit better for me. I'm gonna have to say a 4.0. It's still up there for me, but it doesn't crack the three floids on. Okay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I think it's very good. It it's it's got uh I tried to describe like it's some sweetness. Don't know what it is, like Jim pointed out. Very drinkable. I think again, a combination of bourbon barrels and barley wine that someone's onto something with this, and Central Waters obviously has has got a good niche in there, and I like it. I'll go 4.0 on it.
SPEAKER_02Okay. I think it's it's really good. Again, I don't get that dark fruit, but maybe that's the sweetness. I don't know, but I'm you know, I'm not really picking up on that. I don't get any kind of like a raisin thing or anything like that. The the bourbon, I can definitely you get that. 80 IBUs, uh I don't pick that up at all. I'm gonna go with 3.9. All right. I do like that three Floyds better, but very strong, good, very good, you know. And again, like you said, Jim, I wouldn't I don't know if I'd recommend any of these to a newer person just because they're higher ABV and with they do have some strong flavors, you know. Yep, but very good. Uh the great glasses that we had here today. So, do you want me to do a final wrap-up or do you want to do a wrap-up on
Final Rankings And What We Learned
SPEAKER_02the last group? Let's do a wrap-up on the last group. Well, I think we all know. Let's do your overall because we I'm sure we're gonna be pretty similar on the scores. So, for me, my beer of the podcast is the pillar of beasts from Free Floyd's. That that was really, really good. They did a tremendous job. Kudos to them. And coming from somebody that does not like barley wines, I was really impressed, super impressed. My number two is the the last one we just had, the brew, the I'm sorry, the yes, the brewer's reserve barley wine and then the northern rivals barley wine. So for me, I mean, I had some that I don't think I've ever rated in that close to four range. Yep, and I mean, mostly usually for my barley wine, it's like two or below. So I'm glad we had this category. I didn't think we started out a little rocky, a little rough, but we finished strong. I mean, this whole category was to me was really really good. It almost reminded me of the Shinerbach days. Here we go again. But we did finish strong, so I'm glad we because I don't I think the other hard part too is we don't see a lot of these beers, so I think just finding them and keeping them, and then all of a sudden we got this group together. That worked out good. Yep. Just you know, it wasn't planned, it was just like within the last 24 hours we put this whole thing together. So I mean that worked out great. So exactly thanks for inviting me, Mike. I appreciate it. Yep, Toby, what did you overall think?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I mean, I think we're all hands down, we know what number one was, and and that the pillars of beast barley wine is was the collab wine unbelievable. I think my second one was the barley wine, the brewer's reserve. And that was good. I'm just so impressed with the the way that the barrel-aged and the barley wine has come together. Yeah, I mentioned that before, and and to me that that's just the beauty of it, because you before before barley wine, oop, I'm a little hesitant. Yeah, I'll try some, try to figure out if I like one or not, but as soon as they started doing it with bourbon barrel beers, they're making a bourbon barrel beer with it. I I'm all in on it. Uh, you know, there's very few that I've tried that I don't like. So I just think those two are are worth mentioning, you know, and and close was the the northern rivals, so that that was good as well. So that's where I'm at.
SPEAKER_02Awesome. Yeah. I again the the pillar beast was easily the top, the top one. I did like the the barley wine as well. I it was for me, it was close between that and the northern rivals, the collab. It is kind of interesting that you know, honestly, the the highest ones we had were the the barley wines, right? You know, and it's kind of neat because you know, these are being basically shirt tail cousins, if you want to say the scotch ale and the barley wine, they are different enough to that you know they're they're different from each other, but they were both have their place, yes, you know, and and it is kind of interesting to try some that are barrel-aged and and see that other things other than stouts are moving into experimenting with that kind of stuff. You know, we've had some Oktoberfests that were barrel-aged and the pumpkin barrel pumpkin barrels, and and so this is you know kind of neat to see because we've always said, you know, what if this you know did you get in the barrel? So yeah, I think I think it was really good. Jury's still out on the Samuel Smith. I'm not gonna lie. Uh I actually it's not still out, it's it's it's off the table. Yeah, the jury said Jones hit the gamble. Yeah, he said, yeah, done. So, but other than that, I mean, really for me, the two that were kind of was that Samuel Smith and then the the Bigfoot. I mean, just the hoppiness of it was kind of over the top. So but overall, I think it was it was really good. Yeah, I'm yeah, very glad that we tried. Yeah, I mean, I don't know if we could do this every day. No, probably not. We could, but we'll be losing more bottles. We already have to worry about questions and I guess we wouldn't be able to figure it out. Another thing, but yeah, I'm glad. I mean, and they all really tasted not similar, but you could tell the maltiness, right? Yeah, the maltiness was that base for all of them, and just how they added their other ingredients to make their little unique flavor was really really good to be able to taste. I mean, and without doing it like this, there's no way we would have been able to taste the differences between how those barley wines. Correct. It was really good. And again, three Floyd's way to go. I mean, that salted caramel was that was incredible.
SPEAKER_01That's that was a great beer.
SPEAKER_02So, yeah, I I definitely think we're all in agreement that that's gonna be nominated for beer of the years. And we need to find that one again. There you go. All right, boys. Well, hey, that draws to an end our uh low ABV scotch and barley wine podcast and another thing, yeah. So awesome. Thanks for uh Toby joining us and helping us to get through some of these.
SPEAKER_01Well, I I greatly appreciate it.
SPEAKER_02I know it's a struggle, especially a couple of them kind of a struggle, but the other ones made up for it. Yes, so awesome. Well, guys, thanks for being a part of it.
Send Us Your Beer Suggestions
SPEAKER_02And ladies and gentlemen, if you come across any of you know a scotch ale or a barley wine, you know, maybe if you if you haven't had them before, you know, look for some that there's there's way more that aren't bar barrel-aged right than our barrelaged right now. So you know, try them. I mean, you never know. There's so many different flavors. Let us know. Send a comment to us. Let us know. Let us know if yeah, or if you know of a scotch ale or a barley wine that you think is really good, let us know. We'd be really interested to hear.
SPEAKER_01So or if you think either one of them is full of shit, let us know that too.
SPEAKER_02Wow, wow. All right, man. Well, on that note, I guess we're gonna close this bad boy down. So I lost a bowl on it. I heard every bottle that I eat in that one. All right, well, cool. Hey, ladies and gentlemen, thanks for listening. Like we always say, we hope your campfire is always warm and your beer's always cold. See ya. See ya. Bye. Thank you for listening to the Northwoods Beer Guy podcast. If you have a question, a comment, or a beer you'd like us to review, please feel free to send us a message at Northwoodsbeerguy at gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you're on Untapped, look up Northwoods Beer Guy and send a friend request. Until next week, I hope all your campfires are warm and all your beer is cold.