Damn I love a good barley wine! No other style of beer lets you know it’s in the house like these. I mean barley wines are the type of beers that can destroy your palate if you get them strong enough. That’s because the insane amount of bitterness that is required to stand up to the caramel malts can be staggering. Such is the case with Mikkeller’s Big Worse Barley Wine which immediately comes across as a sipper; though this one tastes a lot sweeter than I remember. Big Worse (based on old scores) used to be one of my favorite barley wines until I had a very fresh pour of Avery’s Hog Heaven from the tap. Now that, my friends, was glorious. But really, I can’t fault Mikkeller here. Even though it is too sweet for my developing palate, they have really nailed the true essence of the barley wine flavor profile (prunes, figs, caramel, and hops). At the end of the day, however, a beer should be well-balanced to be considered great. And for that, Big Worse gets a small demerit in my score. Having said that — I still hold a place in my heart for Mikkeller because of their willingness to go big and push the envelope with any style of beer. They’re like the European version of Dogfish Head. Hell, they even have a much bigger (and apparently unavailable) version of this beer called the Big Worst that is a staggering 20% ABV. I think I’d like to try that some day. But at just over 12 ounces, you could easily pull one of these out of the fridge, pull up a couple chairs with your father-in-law, and drink it next to the fire like you would a glass of brandy. Regardless of how you drink it, you’re not going to forget this beer for a while.
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This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Danzig
Brewery: Mikkeller
Beer: Big Worse
Style: Barley Wine
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
ABV: 12%
Rating: 87/100
Posted by theReaper16 on December 10, 2009 at 11:39 PM
I adore that style description found in the text of the post. “Barleywine: It’s in the house!”