Barley wine One of the oldest styles of beer, the current form of barley wine originated in England during the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 18th century, it developed a short-lived popularity with English aristocracy, who were looking for an alternative to wine that had the same alcoholic strength. The first beer to be marketed as "barley wine" was Bass No. 1 Ale, around 1870. The Anchor Brewing Company introduced the style to the United States in 1976 with its Old Foghorn Barleywine Style Ale. Old Foghorn was styled as "barleywine" (one word) out of fear that occurrence of the word
Barley wine very distinctive, with an earthy hoppiness, a wineyness, lots of fruit and toffee flavours." He also noted that its original gravity is 1.062. Martyn Cornell was quoted as saying "no historically meaningful difference exists between barley wines and old ales". He later clarified, "I don’t believe there is actually any such meaningful style as 'barley wine'". Barley wines are sometimes labelled with a production date, as they are intended to be aged, sometimes extensively. Many jurisdictions have different taxing schemes for potables based upon alcohol content. Since barley wine has a high alcohol content, it is, in some jurisdictions, taxed