Corey Pierce

Winter is here in earnest. With shortened daylight hours and snow everywhere, it's hard to feel warm, even when indoors. For the beer lover, this means a move away from light summer beers like pilsners and wheat beers and a move to heavier, more robust beers like barley wines.

Barley wines, so named because they may have alcohol content approaching those of wine, feature rich maltiness, though American versions may also be heavily hopped. Because of their high alcohol content, barley wines often provide a warming effect in the chest after they are swallowed. Even when they don't actually warm the body, they are quite adept at warming the spirit.

We are fortunate in Calgary to be able to purchase one of the definitive examples of the style. Thomas Hardy Ale, currently brewed by O'Hanlons Brewing Company of Devon, England, was first brewed in 1968 by Eldridge Pope, a now defunct brewery. Initially brewed to mark the 40th anniversary of the passing of the English novelist best known for Tess of the d'Urbervilles, the beer had been intended as a once-only brew and was not brewed again until 1974. However, it was then brewed annually (except in 1976) until 1999, when Eldridge Pope closed its brewery.

During that time, Thomas Hardy Ale gained a reputation as the "rarest ale in Britain" and one of the strongest (almost 12 per cent alcohol by volume). It also gained a reputation as one of the few beers that, like fine wine, improves with age. For that reason, these vintage-dated beers have become highly collectible. In 2003, O'Hanlons purchased the rights to brew the beer and has produced a vintage each year since.

The beer is very full-bodied. It is decidedly sweet and bursts throughout the mouth. A light acidity is detectable, and while there is substantial hop bitterness, it is used only to balance the sweetness and is not itself part of the flavour profile. There are hints of fruit, but molasses is the dominant flavour. Complexity comes from additional flavours including a light toastiness and some smoky flavours that linger in the finish.

In Calgary, both the 2005 and the 2006 vintages are available, although retailers treat them both as the same beer. As a result, it will take some shopping around Calgary's finer liquor stores to acquire both. Make the effort. And buy several bottles so that you can immediately do a side-by-side comparison and still save bottles to age.

To do this, stand the bottles up in a room with relatively stable temperature and where the bottles will not be subject to vibration. A basement storage room, away from the furnace room, will do nicely. As the beer ages, just as with wine, some of the harsher flavours will soften and the beer will become rounder. The various flavours will blend together better and greater balance will be achieved among them.

To sample a locally produced barley wine, head to your local Brewsters, where its annually brewed Blue Monk Barley Wine is also malty. Like Thomas Hardy Ale, Blue Monk features strong molasses flavours, but in this case, they are accompanied by hints of chocolate.

For those who are hop fanatics, the American brewery Rogue Ales makes Old Crustacean, the 2006 vintage of which is available in Calgary. At 11.5 per cent alcohol per volume, you will either want to share this 750 millilitre bottle with a friend, or make use of the flip-top, resealable cap. Either way, you will enjoy a substantial hop flavour, though the beer is still malt-balanced. In this case, darker flavours dominate, with the molasses note replaced with something more akin to treacle.