Strong ale

English Barleywine

BJCP 17D

The biggest English beer: intense bready and caramel malt, dark fruit, and English hops that fade over the years while the malt deepens.

Vital statistics

Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles

Original gravity

1.080 - 1.120

Final gravity

1.018 - 1.030

Bitterness

35 IBU - 70 IBU

Colour

8 SRM - 22 SRM

Alcohol

8% - 12%

Colour also 16-43 EBC

What goes wrong

Hopping it like an American barleywine. The English version is malt-led, and the hops are structure rather than flavour.

Commercial examples

Burton Bridge Thomas Sykes Old AleConiston No. 9 Barley WineFuller's Golden PrideJ.W. Lees Vintage Harvest AleRobinson's Old Tom

Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.

Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Not yet checked against the published guidelines: treat these ranges as a planning aid and read the source at bjcp.org before entering a competition.

The rest of the strong ale family

17A

British Strong Ale

5.5-8% · 30-60 IBU

17B

Old Ale

5.5-9% · 30-60 IBU

20C

Imperial Stout

8-12% · 50-90 IBU

22B

American Strong Ale

6.3-10% · 50-100 IBU

22C

American Barleywine

8-12% · 50-100 IBU

22D

Wheatwine

8-12% · 30-60 IBU

26D

Belgian Dark Strong Ale

8-12% · 20-35 IBU

Plan a batch to these numbers.

Bitterness Colour Alcohol