Collaboration between Browar Stu Mostów and Rum Love Festiwal resulted in the bridge between the world of beer, wine and rum! Barley Wine is one of the strongest beer styles. With its high extractivity and the abundance of caramel, sponge cake and honey aromas, the beer style brings to mind wine. As for the world of rum, the beer contains thick and sweet blackstrap molasses, which is produced at the last stage of cane sugar crystallization. It gives the beer the aroma of raisins, candied cherries, caramel and marzipan. The English yeast variety accounts for characteristic fruity flavour and almond aromas similar to those of amaretto or wine spirits.

The process of ageing in Jamaican rum barrels has produced refined beer. The long ageing process enhances the aroma over vanilla, coconut, and cinnamon flavours. Jamaican rum releases aromas of fresh tropical fruit, which can be sensed in the beer as well. The oakwood tones and rum tones balance stylish sweetness of Barley Wine creating well-balanced and refined spirit.

WRCLW Barley Wine RUM BARREL AGED (2016) Bringing together the world of beer, wine and rum! Barley Wine is one of the strongest beer styles known for its malty aromas: caramel, sponge cake and honey. The world of rum is represented by adding molasses and ageing in Jamaican rum barrels. Rum barrels enrich the beer’s aroma with vanilla, coconut and cinnamon tones. The taste of oakwood and rum give the beer its refined character.

Yet another strong beer style in our offer (the other being WRCLW Rye RIS). Barley Wine is a strong top-fermented beer of an exceptionally malty character. It comes as no surprise that we have added an unconventional ingredient: molasses. As the highest extractivity beer that we have brewed so far it is also full-bodied and savoury. This beer has aged in Jamaican rum barrels carefully selected by organizers of Rum Love Festival, which goes exceptionally well with the beer’s profile. This beer is going to be the highlight of the first rum festival in Poland held on 24-24 June in Wrocław.

Style

The Barley Wine style has its roots in England. The first commercial beer of this type was brewed in the second half of the 19 th century although some trace its origins back to the barley wine produced in Ancient Greece. Anyhow, it is high alcohol content beer of about 10% similar to wine. The rich and malty aroma of the beer brings to mind molasses, toasted bread, honey, almonds, toffee and dry forest fruit. The beer’s sweetness and high alcohol contents make it similar to amaretto or wine spirits. As alcohol carries aromas, during the tasting one should pay attention to the retro-nasal aroma profile. Whereas the ageing process in Jamaican rum barrels oxidizes beer and the barrels themselves account for the beer’s rum-like character.

Malts/extract:

High extract is a trademark of this style. As the name suggests, we have used barley malts including an abundance of caramel malts which give the beer its toffee, caramel and molasses tones. With its long expiration date, the beer evolves into more “refined” one gaining so- called “refined oxidation” aromas similar to the port wine.

Hops:

In spite of its already sweet profile, we have used a lot of hops of low bitterness contents. We have used mainly the Styrian Goldings variety that comes from the British Isles but is grown in Slovenia. It’s a perfect match with its earthy and smoky tones.

Extra ingredients:

Blackstrap molasses is the most important ingredient. Added during the wort heating process, molasses gives the beer its dark colour and characteristic aromas; forest fruit, toffee and dark caramel. After the sugar fermentation process has been completed (molasses contains 50% sugar), the beer gains some qualities typical of rum, which is produced from cane sugar.

Jamaican rum barrel aged:

Beer ageing is an amazing process, during which beer oxidizes: taste and aroma balance, tones of porto, sherry, dry fruit (plums, raisins, cherries) and honey appear; alcohol tones subdue while the beer takes on the following compounds from the barrels:

• Tannins – often account for the oakwood overtones and sense of bitterness that balances the sweetness of the style;
• Caramels and the Maillard reaction compounds that are produced at the barrel smoking stage (they give the rum its distinct colour)
• Lignins, which turn into vanillins that produce vanilla tones; a group of phenols is produced from the American oakwood, which accounts for spicy tones: cloves, cinnamon, coconut, and smoky tones.

Finally, the beer concentration process takes place in a barrel, which is not a perfectly leakproof container. Water evaporates faster than any other ingredients. As a result, beer concentrates and the lost portion of alcohol is often referred to as the angels’ share.

The organizers of the Rum Love Festival have selected Jamaican rum barrels. The barrels arehighly aromatic and go back in time. They were first used to age Bourbon, and then Jamaicanrum, which has an amazing aroma bringing to mind spices, marzipan, tropical fruit, intense vanilla, orange peel, cane sugar and molasses. This aroma goes exceptionally well with the Barley Wine style producing a refined drink bringing together the world of beer and great rum.

• Style: Rum Barrel Aged English Barley Wine (with blackstrap molasses)
• Parameters
  • Extract: 24,7%
  • Alcohol: 9,6% obj.
  • IBU: 50
• Ingredients:
  • malts: barley malts: Pilsner; Munich; 110-130 EBC caramel, 300 EBC caramel
  • Hops:
    • Bitter: Columbus (US)
    • Aroma: Styrian Goldings (SL)
  • Yeasts: S-04
  • Extra ingredients:  blackstrap molasses, ageing in Jamaican rum oak barrels
• Look: dark amber
• Aromas:  oak, vanilla, rum, coconut, raisins, molasses, caramel, almonds (amaretto), raisins, toasted bread, fresh tropical fruit, dry dates and apples, porto and madera;
• Mouthfeel:
  • sweet
  • Molasses, dry fruit, oakwood
  • amaretto and rum overtones, refined oakwood finish
• Serving temperature: 14-16⁰C
• Glass: Sniffter, Sensoric
• Foodpairing:-
  • Dishes: beef steaks in honey teriyaki sauce
  • Cheeses: Blue Stilton with walnuts
  • Desserts: walnut cheesecake with blackberries and toffee frosting