Question about Belgian Barleywine in Nov/Dec 2010 Issue

[kgs]

What's the minimum conditioning/aging for this beer to be decently drinkable (page 22)? I would think we'd be talking about two or three months. I'm going to make sure I have barleywine early enough on my 2011 brewing calendar to be serving it by early November.

[gordonstrong]

I like to age my beers, so you could make it now if you wanted.

In general, I like to give barleywines at least 6 months.  This one is drier, so I'd give it longer.  But I have an aversion to green- or worty-tasting beers, so I like to give them time.

Your taste may vary; some people like the fresh malty taste of a young barleywine.  Treat it like you would a tripel.  How long would you want to age that before you tried it?

So I'd make it in May or earlier if it was me.  I'd make it now if it was for me.

Hope you like it.  My issue hasn't arrived yet, so I don't know how the final article looks.

[kgs]

I like to age my beers, so you could make it now if you wanted.

Hope you like it.  My issue hasn't arrived yet, so I don't know how the final article looks.

Thanks. The article looks great. It has a really good balance of narrative/recipes.