This year’s barley harvest is better than last year’s.
I'm sure the primary question everyone has on this Friday is "how is the N. American barley harvest looking?" Well, since you asked, it's expected to be up 5% versus 2017 (Sources: @usda_nass and @StatCan_eng).
Drink something malty this weekend & toast all those barley farmers! pic.twitter.com/Bsvjnvqrl9
— Bart Watson (@BrewersStats) September 28, 2018
Which means: cheaper beer. Huzzah!
The company for which I work makes a kickass barleywine. And I had to swap out a customer’s supply when it reached the ‘sell by’ date with my personal bottles, so, of course, the responsible thing for me to do is to drink it. Which I did. Which may have something to do with why I’m rambling on.
Woo.
I tried barleywine once, but I think it must have been a weird kind, because it was incredibly bitter?
They can be a bit on the sour side, but compared to all the hoppy beers out there, I wouldn’t consider a typical barleywine to be particularly bitter.
^This.
.
When the microbrew craze kicked off, I never thought I’d see India Pale Ales come to dominate the sector.
$@(:ing hipsters.
Astringent, bitter, and flat are NOT selling points! (I get why brewers do it, and why stores stock it. Cheaper ingredients and longer shelf life are a nice combination. But why the bloody hell are consumers paying a premium to buy it?)
.
It’s gotten bad enough that I’ve been tempted to start brewing my own again.
I’ve started once again considering Coors and Killian’s the best options at the store. (Too bad Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve doesn’t make it this far East. But I remember when Coors didn’t, either.)
I have to say that “barleywine” and “responsible” are words I don’t really expect to see in the same paragraph. Bravo.
Barley farmers: Bless’em.