Big and bold barleywine staggers to the front of the stage this weekend during the Dunedin Brewers Guild’s 10th annual Walk the Line on Barleywine and Strong Ale Stumble.
A festival and tasting will be Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Dunedin House of Beer, and a limited number of $30 tickets are available for that. Leading up to the festival will be commercial competition for brewpubs and commercial breweries Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. and a homebrew competition Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The name is literal because … well, let the guild explain: “The tradition is that after the Fest we set up a very crooked path line in which participants raced against the clock and got points for accuracy to adhering to the path of line. Three sober judges time you and penalize you for “aberrations” 😉 Sounds easy, right? We thought so too, so we added a Dominatrix with a whip to motivate participants to go faster. History has shown that this works: times improved dramatically; however there were a few competitors who chose to do it on their knees, so they actually took longer… and sometimes these competitors even went backwards! Was it the Barleywine, or was it the Dominatrix?”
Sounds like fun, right? Right?
You can find all the details and buy tickets here.
For those of you unfamiliar with the barleywine style, here’s the description from Beeradvocate.com.
Despite its name, a Barleywine (or Barley Wine) is very much a beer, albeit a very strong and often intense beer! In fact, it’s one of the strongest of the beer styles. Lively and fruity, sometimes sweet, sometimes bittersweet, but always alcoholic. A brew of this strength and complexity can be a challenge to the palate. Expect anything from an amber to dark brown colored beer, with aromas ranging from intense fruits to intense hops. Body is typically thick, alcohol will definitely be perceived, and flavors can range from dominant fruits to palate smacking, resiny hops.
English varieties are quite different from the American efforts, what sets them apart is usually the American versions are insanely hopped to make for a more bitter and hop flavored brew, typically using American high alpha oil hops. English versions tend to be more rounded and balanced between malt and hops, with a slightly lower alcohol content, though this is not always the case.
Most Barleywines can be cellared for years and typically age like wine.
While we’re on the subject of walking the line …
