ONE-A-DAY
Julian Zelazny '96
This week we suffered the most severe cold weather of the
winter. Just when it seemed that winter was going to forget to
arrive, an icy chill descended upon us and made us scurry for
warmth. In these most frigid of times one requires a particularly
fortifying beer for warmth to ease the body and mind.
Generically speaking, strong ales are good for what ails us in
the deep freeze. But what are strong ales? The American
Homebrewers Association, in their annual style guidelines
published in anticipation of the 1995 National Homebrew
Competition has two separate strong ale categories. The first is
divided into two subcategories, consisting of Scotch Ale and
English Old Ale, and the second is called barley wine.
Scotch ale was the subject of an earlier column, therefore it
will not be revisited here. English Old Ale, or simply Old Ale,
derives its name from the practice of setting the beer down to
mature. Most of these beers are bottle conditioned and because of
this it will change and improve over time, sometimes as long as
25 years. Although Old Ales are usually thought of as high
alcohol products, Jackson states that they are not necessarily
so. A classic of the style is the oddly named Old Peculier from
the Theakston Brewery in Mashom, Yorkshire. Old Peculier has an
alcohol content of about 4.2% by weight, with a color as black as
cola, but with red highlights when held to the light. It has a
fruity palate that finishes with English Fuggles hops and a
conspicuous molasses-ey note that is said to be derived from
brewer's caramel and assorted sugars.
An example of a higher alcohol Old Ale is the world famous
Thomas Hardy's Old Ale, named for the writer Thomas Hardy
(1840-1928). Brewed by the Eldridge-Pope Brewery in Dorchester,
Thomas Hardy's Old Ale is a deep reddish-brown beer that is
sweet, almost syrupy to the palate, especially those beers fewer
than 3 years old. There is a faint smoky aroma hidden among
intensely fruity notes, and a sherry-like finish. In this
country, Thomas Hardy's Old Ale is available in specialty beer
stores and on occasion in the New Hampshire liquor stores (gasp!)
as it is considered a wine by the state because of its whopping
10% alcohol content by weight. Typically it is in 6 ounce
bottles, and each bottle is vintage dated and has a unique
registration number. This beer is best enjoyed from a wine glass
while sitting next to a roaring fire and enjoying a good book, by
Thomas Hardy perhaps?
Barley wines are a near cousin to Old Ales, though there are
no moderate strength barley wines. So named because their
alcoholic strength approaches that of wines, barley wines are
intensely sweet and syrupy beers loaded with fruity flavors and
aromas. The distinction between these beers and Old Ales is
elusive, though at a minimum, barley wines tend to be stronger
and have more hop character.
The renown Young's brewery produces a barley wine called Old
Nick, depicting a devil on the label, which is an excellent
example of the style. It is brown with hints of red when held to
the light, about 6% alcohol by weight, heavy and sweet with a
pronounced hop bitterness that balances the sweetness to
perfection.
The American interpretations of the barley wine style are
predictably hoppy and intense. Some of the most interesting
barley wines are now made in California. Anchor brewing Company
of San Francisco has a fantastic heavy, sweet barley wine with
the amusing moniker Old Foghorn. Jackson calls it "without
question one of the world's great barley wines." It is only
available on draft, so if you find yourself in Alston, MA, go to
The Sunset Grill and Tap for your glass of Old Foghorn.
The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California has a
barley wine called Bigfoot Ale. At 8«% alcohol by weight this
one is indeed a monster. Bigfoot has tremendous body and an
extremely complex malt flavor profile. The wininess of the malt
is quickly overcome by an intense, almost mouth-puckering hop
bitterness. This beer is not for the faint of palate, nor should
anyone have more than one of these in a day. Bigfoot is
intermittently available in specialty stores in Massachusetts.
Strong Ales are wonderful fortifiers that help one keep body
and soul together, particularly when the frost is forming on the
window pane. Of course, these beers are to be respected and are
best consumed at home and other times when driving is not a
necessity.
1. Jackson, Michael, Michael Jackson's Beer Companion, Running Press, 1993.
If you have any comments, questions or advice concerning this
article or anything else that may be on your mind, please feel
free to email me.
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