word to the wise on barley wine:
IT WILL FUCK YOU UP.
seriously. i've had many barley wines, and the only consistency is a) amazingly bold flavoUr and b) they will knock you on yer fucking ARSE.
the best way to describe them is that they taste like a beer (particularly a Strong Ale) and will level your ass like wine does. they can catch you offguard because you think they are beer so therefore you drink 32 oz. of them, then you try to stand up and realize it feels like you just drank a bottle and a half of wine (because you did).
the best barley wine i've had was called Old Horizontal. something like 11% ralcohol, a buddy of mine (one of only 2 dudes i've met who can outdrink me) and i split a 6-pack once and were LEVELED.
on top of everything, the shit tasted great.
will i ever get back to watching Sin City tonight?
or shall i make 429087504287 more paragraphs in this post instead?
edit: i've never had Mendocino barley wine, i can only guess it's amazing because even Sierra Nevada (50% good, 50% shite) has a GREAT barley wine.