East End Gratitude
To commemorate the one year anniversary of East End Brewing, I’d like to express my Gratitude with this limited release, bottle conditioned Barleywine-Style Ale. Brewed in the American tradition, this beer is big enough to imporve with a few years of cellar aging and large enough to enjoy with a GOOD FRIEND.
2005: Red wax with crow
2006: Orange wax with chickadee
2007: Yellow wax with goldfinch
2008: Green wax with house sparrow
2009: Blue wax with bluebird
2010: Indigo wax with indigo bunting
2011: Never labeled
2012: Never labeled
2013: Violet wax with purple martin
2014: Red wax with raven
2015: Orange wax with chickadee
2016: Yellow wax with goldfinch
2017: Green wax with house sparrow (22 oz) / grackle (750 ml)
2018: Blue wax with bluebird
(from https://www.eastendbrewing.com/gratitude)
2019: Indigo wax with indigo bunting
2020: Violet wax with purple martin
2016 and later: Red "wax" on label with raven
First brewed here back in late ‘05 as a “thank you beer” to show our gratitude for helping us get through that insane first year, we’ve released Gratitude every year since, following a ROY G BIV color scheme. We’ve actually made it around the rainbow TWICE before this year’s all-can release!
Barleywine in general is an English Ale by heritage, and the strongest of that lot. As the style made its way to the States, a more hop-forward version began to emerge. Then locally, a truly unique festival of Barleywine began at Kelly’s Bar and Lounge (@kellysbarandlounge), aptly named Hell with the Lid Off… which immediately convinced us that we needed one at East End.
Barleywine is brewed using MASSIVE amounts of malt, that test the limits of equipment and brewer alike. But unlike a typical brew day, only the most concentrated sugars are drawn off from mash to kettle. That, coupled with a loooong boil produces a concentration of sugars unlike anything else we make. This is what defines this beer as Barleywine. All that fermentable sugar means the yeast takes longer to work - a few weeks before the beer is fully attenuated or “finished”, as compared to a few days for a typical beer. The result of all this intense stress-eating is a big strong beer with LOADS of character and complexity, that’s super malt-forward. American versions lean hoppier, especially when young. That’s the magical part: The higher abv allows Barleywine to aged gracefully, often shifting the flavor for the better… the hops begin to fade and yield the center stage to the malt so it can really shine. With age can come some mild oxidation, and layered notes of caramel, toffee, molasses, cherry, leather, and sherry can begin to emerge, and those flavors become more intense with time as the hops continue to fade.
(from https://www.instagram.com/p/CaIbhaQuOy4)
2005: Red wax with crow
2006: Orange wax with chickadee
2007: Yellow wax with goldfinch
2008: Green wax with house sparrow
2009: Blue wax with bluebird
2010: Indigo wax with indigo bunting
2011: Never labeled
2012: Never labeled
2013: Violet wax with purple martin
2014: Red wax with raven
2015: Orange wax with chickadee
2016: Yellow wax with goldfinch
2017: Green wax with house sparrow (22 oz) / grackle (750 ml)
2018: Blue wax with bluebird
(from https://www.eastendbrewing.com/gratitude)
2019: Indigo wax with indigo bunting
2020: Violet wax with purple martin
2016 and later: Red "wax" on label with raven
First brewed here back in late ‘05 as a “thank you beer” to show our gratitude for helping us get through that insane first year, we’ve released Gratitude every year since, following a ROY G BIV color scheme. We’ve actually made it around the rainbow TWICE before this year’s all-can release!
Barleywine in general is an English Ale by heritage, and the strongest of that lot. As the style made its way to the States, a more hop-forward version began to emerge. Then locally, a truly unique festival of Barleywine began at Kelly’s Bar and Lounge (@kellysbarandlounge), aptly named Hell with the Lid Off… which immediately convinced us that we needed one at East End.
Barleywine is brewed using MASSIVE amounts of malt, that test the limits of equipment and brewer alike. But unlike a typical brew day, only the most concentrated sugars are drawn off from mash to kettle. That, coupled with a loooong boil produces a concentration of sugars unlike anything else we make. This is what defines this beer as Barleywine. All that fermentable sugar means the yeast takes longer to work - a few weeks before the beer is fully attenuated or “finished”, as compared to a few days for a typical beer. The result of all this intense stress-eating is a big strong beer with LOADS of character and complexity, that’s super malt-forward. American versions lean hoppier, especially when young. That’s the magical part: The higher abv allows Barleywine to aged gracefully, often shifting the flavor for the better… the hops begin to fade and yield the center stage to the malt so it can really shine. With age can come some mild oxidation, and layered notes of caramel, toffee, molasses, cherry, leather, and sherry can begin to emerge, and those flavors become more intense with time as the hops continue to fade.
(from https://www.instagram.com/p/CaIbhaQuOy4)
3.8
355 reviews
Pittsburgh, United States
Community reviews
RBSG 2016. Bottle, shared by the brewmaster himself, 2009 vintage. Medium copper hue. Fruity caramel, brown bread, barley candy, sticky and warming. The BBA version offers greater depths and density, but this is still a treat!
2009 bottle. The beer is a hazy copper. Raisin, fig, toffee, dry notes. Super dry taste. Ashy and bitter. Big body and no carbonation.
Orange/red pour. Nose is citrusy, caramel. Taste is citrus hops and caramel. Preferred the BA version by a lot.
Refrigerated brown 75 cl bottle 2009 poured into a snifter. Hazy Amber with no head. Aroma is caramel malt, medium body, little carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is caramel malt.
[7529-20150815] Bottle. Sweet toffee caramel aroma. Slightly hazy, orange red body with a quick foamy off-white head. Sweet toffee grains flavour has a nice aftertaste. Full body. Good. (7/3/8/3/15) 3.6
(Vintage 2014 @ Campground Brewdown 2015, Millmont, PA)
The same night I also tried the 2004 version, which I enjoyed even more. I wrote: "Cherry wood and rich dark fruit. Delicious. 4.0."
Bottle. I think less than a year old. Aromas are apple cider, cherries, caramel, and figs. Tastes the same pretty much. Big caramel apple with underlying dark fruit. Light to moderate sweetness. Ultra smooth for the abv. Medium to full body. Very good.
Bottle pour in my snifter is a deep amber to light brown with a two finger head. No lacing. Aroma is caramel, toffee, brown sugar, dark fruits, and candied sugars. Some bananas as well?? Taste is big malts with caramel, toffee, dark fruits, big sugars. Bitter hoppiness, big carbonation. Well balanced and very well done.
2015-08-15. Amber body with a modest beige head. Aroma is pleasantly malty, caramel notes, toffee and fruit. Flavour is similar, big malty core with notes of caramel and toffee, mild dark fruit. Smooth medium to full bodied palate, good carbonation. 4+ Very nice, solid barley wine. 7/4/8/4/16
2014 vintage Bottle at Campground Brewdown.
2015-08-15. Dark amber body with a nice off white head. 3+ Aroma of caramel, toffee and a bit of oxidation. Flavour is quite fruity, vinous quality with some light oxidation. Dark fruit. 7+ Smooth medium bodied palate, moderate carbonation. Showing its age but it works for it. Nice stuff. 7/3-4/8/4/16 2006 Vintage Bottle at Campground Brewdown.
2015-08-15. No notes; Much rougher and boozier than the other two vintages. 2009 Vintage Bottle at Campground Brewdown.
75cl bottle, vintage 2009. Lightly hazed copper body with no head. Aroma is sweet, caramel, orange, cherry, some vinous. Taste is sweet, caramel, vinous, some cherry, orange, light alcohol. Sticky full body, no carbonation.
Bottle at all killer no filler. Pours a purpleish brown with a slight brown head. Aroma is caramel, toffee and some malt. Taste is caramel, slight hop bitter, touch of alco heat, some rough grain notes.
Dégustée chez Alexandre Mathieu. Cheers mate! Bière au look authentique de BarleyWine : couleur d’un roux chauffé aux reflets cuivrés d’un caramel en ébullition. Tête peu mousseuse, voire timide mais tenace jusqu’au bout. Un exemple de détermination! Nez d’orge grillé, plutôt sucré. Je suis dans la cassonade au four, un peu à la manière d’une croustade aux pommes. En bouche, je suis plutôt du côté du houblon, surtout en fin de bouche où la finale est plutôt amère. Certaines flaveurs de citron sont également présentes. L’ensemble reste néanmoins très orienté du côté du caramel et de l’orge maltée. Belle rondeur sans trop être sucrée, la texture est soyeuse et souple.
Bottle. Dark ruby with thin tan head. Lots of dark fruit, raisin, plum, bready malt, caramel roastiness. Rich chewy mouthfeel. Great.
Bottle. Dark Amber. Rich bready malt aroma. Some caramel in the taste. Butterscotch finish and a little sticky. Awesome and straight forward.
Thnx To Mike !!!
Pours warm blonde to amber. Small white head. Smell is thick, malty sweetness. Taste is sharp, grainy, sweet and bitter. way more balanced than other bitter BW I had. I actually like this one a lot.
Bottle shared @ RBWG Tampa. Deep reddish brown pour with a modest off-white head. Toffee and acidic red apple skin. A touch of balsamic. Some ribbon candy. Taste has plenty of umami character, shows some age. Spiced apple sauce and brown sugar. A touch of wood. Still a bit hot. A bit muted on the palate. Dulled, soft carbonation. Pretty good, but clearly not drinking on top form.
This bottle was labeled 2013 and sampled in June of 2015. It seems to have held up fairly well and is probably the best new barleywine I’ve tried in a while. It is deep red brown w/ a long-lasting head. It has a mild, sweet nose w/ lots of raisiny malt and a touch of peach as well. This is sweet for sure but it’s not overly sticky or heavy, especially for the style, w/ notes of pit fruit and melon. It finishes w/ a lingering touch of sugar and sold bitterness.
Bottle from Joe. Significantly more hop presence than expected, but very nice. Big sweet malts backing but the hops balance this thing out nicely and the bitter shines through (at least this fresh) ahead of the sticky sweetness like many barleywines. A bit hot on the back end as I finish up but very nice overall.
Murky burnt orange color with moderate beige head. Raisin, caramel, apple, brown sugar, figs, and malt. Initially sweet, then bitter in the aftertaste. Full bodied, moderate carb, smooth, and boozy.
Bottle, 2010 vintage, thanks to Baggio. Malty, fruity aroma. Medium sweet, dried fruits, fig in taste. Decent. Doesn’t seem like aging has done much good.
Bottle shared during RBWG 2015. Pours cloudy amber with a slight, foamy off-white head. Lots of tangy, ripe dark fruits. A bit of caramel. Some ketchup, perhaps. Medium to full bodied with fine carbonation. Finishes sweet and warm and tangy, with more fruity notes and sugary malts. Fair. (I like ketchup.)
Rating added 3/1/2015. Bottle (2009) at Cigar City Brewpub during the RBWG 2015 welcome event. Murky brown with beige head. Aromas of caramel, malt, dark fruit. Tastes of dark fruit, caramel, butterscotch. Medium body with a dry finish. Not a fan. 5/2/3/4/8
2008 vintage consumed on 1/28/2018. Green wax. Dark brownish with thin beige head. Aromas of caramel, toffee, dark fruit. Tastes of caramel, toffee, dark fruit, brown sugar. Medium body with a dry finish. Aged quite well for 10 years. Seems like I enjoyed this a lot more the second time around. 8/4/8/4/17
Bottle - Vintage 2009 - nice sweet plum and some caramel, with lots of fruity notes. Dark cloudy copper with a decent white head. Rich caramel and nice dark fruit notes. Very nice.
Big dark fruity, cherry, sweet, aroma. Murky dark reddish brown. Sweet, dark fruity juice flavor, some hotness. Sweet and yum.
750ml bottle, tasted at RBWG. Blue wax -- 2009 bottle. Up front in the nose, smells quite oxidized. Not surprising. Hazy amber orange color. Thin ring of off-white head. Dot or two of lace. Bigger body. Smooth, kind of soft creamy lighter carbonation. Light slick. Bigger sweet taste, light bitter, light alcohol warmth. Solid barleywine, but definitely past its prime here. Not as harsh as the Duck Rabbit barleywine I tried earlier, though.
Pours a caramel brown with no head. Aroma of caramel, toffee, vanilla, and malt. Taste is caramel, toffee, malt. Smooth and creamy, hides alcohol well.
Poured a muddled pale amber color with aromas of brown sugar, booze, light sherry as well. Flavors match the aromas smooth as hell no burn solid, enjoyable.
20006 purple wax. Purple brown cloudy pour. Aroma cherry twizzlers. Tastes cherries dark malt.
Bottle. Flat. Brown pour. Ugh, fruit, malt and sweet malt aromas. Flavors are light sweet, bitter and herbal tones.
2009 Bottle (Blue) : Lovely Bottle as you already know. Really though - The presentation is as good as it gets for an American brew I’m grateful to finally have a shot at this one - It’s been a long time in the making.
Pour is murky mahogany with a modest khaki head into this glass - it fades fairly quickly, leading to a thin ring around the edge of the glass. The nose is caramel and spent grain, moving to feint sherry and there are general dark fruits present as well. The flavor profile is interesting - I didn’t notice any inherent issues with this vintage at this point - I found that the brew really rounded itself nicely, actually - The malt bill has tapered off to be sure - what’s there is nice caramel , toffee, with sweet bread, there are brown sugar notes and plum, moving to more sherry and a touch of leather. There’s just not a lot of depth here - but what is there is a nice experience.
14/XI/14 - 75cl bottle @ Sanne’s birthday tasting (Gent) - BB: n/a, 2010 vintage (2014-1327) Thanks to 77ships for sharing the bottle!
Little cloudy orange beer, small irregular aery off-white head, unstable, dissipates quickly, bit adhesive. Aroma: sweet, caramel, raisins, bit fruity, strawberry flavoured candy. MF: soft carbon, medium to full body. Taste: raisins, sweet, caramel, milk chocolate, alcohol, soft bitterness, dried fruits. Aftertaste: caramel, dried fruits, bitter hops, chocolate, mocha.