Mr Otter’s Barley Wine by Nowhereman Brewing
This week’s beer comes all the way from Leederville in Perth and Nowhereman Brewing. I believe it is also my first barely wine I’ve written about as well. It’s punchy, it’s complex, it’s Mt Otter’s Barley Wine.
I was lucky enough to make it over to Nowhereman in person last year. But, for obvious COVID-y type reasons I haven’t been able to get back over to Perth for some time. So I put in an order to get some shipped to the east coast. It was definitely a good call and one that I would highly recommend. The Nowhereman core range is worth the price of admission (or shipping as the case may be). But the recently released Mr Otter’s (as well as the Small Odds Double IPA) are both a cut above.
Barley wines are definitely not for everyone. They are, by their nature huge beers with some unique flavours. In unskilled hands, that can be a recipe for disaster (or at least a profoundly unpleasant beer). Luckily there was no such problems here as it turns out, the hands of Nowehereman are extremely skilled in barley wine brewing.
Like most barley wines, there’s an initial hit of sweetness. As the sweetness lingers, the rest of the body of the beer starts to come into focus. With Mr Otter’s that consists primarily of a rich caramel-y wave. There are also little hints of bitterness and roastiness floating around in the caramel wave as well. The flavours are very strong, but very well balanced. The whole combination blends together really really well and just works.
As with most barley wines, Mr Otter’s also involves a sizeable boozy hit. In this case it’s a hefty 11.5%, which equates to 3 ½ standard drinks in a normal 375ml can. But that booziness is by no means the star of the show here. The warm, rich flavour is why you drink this beer (although the accompanying warm fuzziness is not an unwelcome side effect).
Again barley wines are not for everyone. If barley wines are a beer variety you happen to be partial to, Mr Otter’s is a brilliant example. But if they are a bit too far out there, I heartily recommend at least having a crack at some of the rest of Nowhereman’s offerings.