An imbiber’s guide to the 2023 Hard Liver Barleywine Festival, at Brouwer's Cafe.
Depending on whom you speak to, the word is pronounced "barleywine" or "barley wine". While others, mostly friend will crown it with the word Ale. As in Barleywine Ale. Frankly, we think the term is redundant as there aren't any Stout Ales or Saison Ales in the world. But however you pronounce it, the word should be added to your frontal cortex of words to utter in February and March. Right up there with snow, accumulation, and taxes.
In other words, it's another year for barleywines in large quantiles at nearby alehouses!
image sourced from Brouwer’s Cafe
Which is why we are reminding you about Brouwer's Cafe and their Hard Liver Barleywine Festival. Oh, and here’s Brouwer’s Cafe’s version of a pep talk!
The Hardliver Barleywine festival is now old enough to drink itself! That’s right, this is our 21st Hardliver!! Originally held at the Phinney Center in 2003, it was moved to Brouwer’s Café for our grand opening on St Paddy’s weekend in 2005 (whoa what a party that was!).
Whether you’re a hardcore Hardliver attendee or you haven’t been in a decade; whether you’re a barleywine aficionado or just started your exploration of beer; we invite you to join us for the 21st Hardliver Barleywine Festival on February 25th & 26th 2023.
Recognizing this Belgian-inspired (and Belgian-owned) spot in Fremont is celebrating their 21st Hard Liver, the spot is serving up some 30+ barleywines, some squirreled away for years, others just recently birthed by the breweries that are taking part. With styles ranging from the classic, stainless steel aged to the organic barrel-aged, there is a wide-berth of beers to see and try!
So we thought, rather than just copy-paste a bulleted list from here, why not do something original and inviting? Which is why we reached out the breweries and with (most of their permissions) we sourced images, description, and of course alcohol by volume, to give you a complete breakdown of what's featured Brouwer's Cafe! Notably, there were some who had better things to do, like stay in business, than respond with less than 3 days notice. But to be fair, we weren't given much notice either!
How's this broken down?
Starting with vintage, we have listed every beer at Brouwer's Cafe that is more than a few years old in the Vintage section. Then, as the 'Cafe likes to organize their menus, we are breaking the younger barleywines down by state (or region if there is only one). Naturally, we encourage you to select the logo, if you want a deeper dive into the beer, including a reference to (most of) the breweries.
And, that's it!
No, best of the list. No, our picks! Just scroll, select, select back button (or the helpful text within the profile), and be responsible in your drink choices and how you get home! Oh, and if you need some food, psssst, https://www.brouwerscafe.com/menu/.
Have a fun Hard Liver Barleywine Festival and congrats to Brouwer's Cafe on their 21st edition of this unique event!
Vintage
Washington
Oregon
California
Minnesota
Bigfoot is a beast of a beer, brimming with bold flavors of bittersweet malt and heaps of aggressive whole-cone Pacific Northwest hops. First introduced in the winter of 1983, Bigfoot is a cult-classic beer brewed in the barleywine style, meaning a strong, robust, bruiser of a beer with the refined intensity of a wine. Bigfoot is prized by beer collectors for its supreme cellarability. Under the proper conditions, it can age like a fine wine, developing new flavors and character as it matures in the bottle. Each new release or “expedition” is vintage dated. Collect your own and see the flavors develop and progress.
From the brewery’s private library. Extended aging of Bigfoot refines some of the barleywine’s notoriously bold character. Famous for its aggressive hoppiness, vintage Bigfoot gains more subtlety over time. As the hops fade to the background, the robust malts take over and notes of brandied cherries, dates, cocoa, leaf tobacco and caramel come to the fore. Over time, Bigfoot becomes less of a beast and more of a beauty, suitable for serving as an after-dinner drink in your favorite cordial glass or snifter.
9.6% ABV | 90 IBU