The Beer Circle » Beer, Better From The Barrel?, Blend, Cabernet, English Barleywine, Heavy Seas Beer » Better From The Barrel: Heavy Seas Below Decks Barleywine
Better From The Barrel: Heavy Seas Below Decks Barleywine
March 28th, 2012 | Add a Comment | Written by Russ Beck
First of all I would like to introduce a new column to The Beer Circle: Better From The Barrel! In this series of posts, our writers will taste a beer and barrel aged version of that same beer to determine which is better. You may ask, “wasn’t there a post on Flying Dog Gonzo and BA Gonzo before that did the same thing?” The answer is yes! and it is being retroactively added.
This post will focus on Heavy Seas Beer’s Below Decks Barleywine, from the Mutiny Fleet series. They release this English Barleywine once a year along with two different barrel aged variations: Bourbon and Carbernet. I love Heavy Seas and bourbon barrel aged beers, and have yet to try a Barleywine aged in wine barrels so let’s see how this turns out!
Bourbon Oak Aged Below Decks Barleywine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cabernet Barrel Aged Below Decks Barleywine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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After I looked back at my reviews of all three different Below Decks variations, I was pretty shocked to see how closely I rated them. As a group, I’d call them just above average–not great–beers. I will go out on a limb and say that the barrel treatments definitely enhanced the base beer in this case, albeit not by much. I didn’t think Below Decks was all that great, so the added intricacies the barrels imparted on it gave me something else to focus on. In terms of which barrel was better I will reluctantly choose Bourbon, but I have to say it wasn’t my favorite bourbon barrel aged beer–or Barleywine for that matter. Hopefully in a year when I do a combined “Better From The Barrel” and “Cellar” post we’ll see some improvement. I am a bit worried about how thin the bodies were for them to age well, but I guess we will see.
Last updated by Russ Beck at .

Written by Russ Beck
Russ can trace his beginnings in craft beer to sitting in Zeno’s Pub in State College drinking various craft beer options from across Pennsylvania. Since then, he has never faltered in finding new brews, whether they’re rare, delicious, or hopefully both. Russ will be writing on a large variety of subjects, including but not limited to: reviews, homebrewing, and how to take labels off of beer bottles. He’ll drink just about anything, but prefers a nice Stout, IPA, or Weizenbock. Find Russ Beck on Google Plus
Filed under: Beer, Better From The Barrel?, Blend, Cabernet, English Barleywine, Heavy Seas Beer · Tags: Bourbon Barrel Aged, Cabernet Barrel Aged, Clipper City Brewing Company, English Barleywine, Heavy Seas Beer, Mutiny Fleet
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