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 Barley wine Barley wine is a style of strong ale of between 6-11% or 8-12% alcohol by volume. It is also sometimes written as one word, barleywine. In Ancient Armenia, a style of fermented grain beverage was referred to as "κρίθινος οἶνος" ("krithinos oinos") - "barley wine", by the Greek historian Xenophon, who mentioned to have experienced it, while being in Armenia, in his work "Anabasis" and Polybius in his work "The Histories". These barley wines would be dissimilar to modern examples as their mention predates the use of hops (a key component in modern barley wines) by several centuries.