Perennial Artisan Ales Blue Ridge (2025) English Barleywine

Technical Details

Tasting Profile

Blue Ridge 2025 pours deep mahogany with a slow-building tan crown, releasing aromas of sticky raisin, stewed fig and dark plum lifted by warm bourbon and toasted oak. The palate is luxuriously dense, layering caramel, toffee and molasses over a backbone of vanilla and char-kissed barrel spice. Dark fruit weaves through every sip, while the extended time in second-use Maman barrels finished in Heaven Hill or Willett bourbon casks adds a gentle whiskey heat. The finish is long, sweet and spirit-forward, leaving lingering impressions of demerara, leather and oak resin.

Food Pairing

Pair with a sticky toffee pudding or bourbon pecan tart, where caramelized sugars echo the beer’s molasses and vanilla depth. For a savory match, try aged blue cheeses such as Stilton alongside dried figs and walnuts, letting the barleywine’s dark fruit and bourbon warmth cut through the richness.

About Perennial Artisan Ales

Perennial Artisan Ales operates from a historic building in St. Louis, Missouri’s industrial Carondelet area, a structure with deep roots in American manufacturing history. The facility began life in 1920 as the Temtor Fruit & Products Company factory, designed by architect Harry G. Clymer for his cousin Milton G. Clymer, who had founded the Best-Clymer Manufacturing Company in 1913 to produce preserves. The building was strategically positioned with direct rail access via a spur from the nearby Missouri Pacific Railroad. In 1937, Coca-Cola acquired the property and converted it into a syrup plant to serve the Midwest region, operating under the direct control of their Atlanta headquarters to protect their secret formula. For five decades, this facility produced concentrate that was shipped to independent Coca-Cola bottling franchisees throughout the region. After Coca-Cola closed the plant in 1988, the National Register of Historic Places recognized the building’s architectural and industrial significance. Today, this same structure that once housed generations of beverage production continues its legacy as home to Perennial Artisan Ales, carrying forward St. Louis’s proud tradition of crafting distinctive drinks.