Circle of Wolves
What we respect in others, we cultivate for ourselves.
We are sponges that soak and retain. As we absorb, we determine what speaks to us, developing the building blocks that will eventually serve as inspiration. We learn from those we admire, we develop our own vision, we pay homage by creation.
When the opportunity came to create The Veil’s interpretation of an English Barleywine, Matt Tarpey (Co-Founder and Head Brewer) reflected on his own deep admiration of malt forward beers like Barleywines, Old Ales, and Stouts. He remembered tasting King Henry from Goose Island and how mind blowing of an experience it was. He reminisced about Barleywines from Hair of the Dog, Hill Farmstead, and Firestone Walker. Shortly after The Veil opened its doors in 2016, Tarpey created an English Barleywine recipe that was more complex from a malt perspective than standard Barleywines, slightly deeper in color, and maintained a similar body, if not slightly richer. The recipe would become Circle of Wolves, one of The Veil’s most celebrated and sought after beers. The name was loosely inspired by Panic, a punk hardcore band and their 2005 EP, Circles.
Circle of Wolves has been designed to develop complexity and depth of flavor through careful, patient barrel aging. Due to unique speciality malts, hand-selected barrels, and layered complexity developed over an extended period of time, most variants are released without any additional ingredients in order to allow the Barleywine to shine. The batches that receive adjuncts are introduced with such subtly that only further enhance something already rich with expression.
Circle of Wolves develops at its own pace, without any demand or pressure from a fixed release schedule. The beer rests in the barrels undisturbed for at least eighteen months before being sampled. Each batch is released only when the beer is an ideal representation of what it’s meant to be, whether drinking fresh or allowing the beer to continue to age in the bottle for years to come.
Each batch of Circle of Wolves includes an extensive journey of traveling barrels, patience, and labor intensive extraction and packaging by the production team.
Double Barrel Circle of Wolves, the latest offering, is an English Barleywine aged in maple apple brandy barrels for fourteen months and then in Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrels for another twenty-nine months. The apple brandy barrels held 100% pure maple syrup for six months before being filled with Circle of Wolves, a distinctive and singular treatment. After fourteen months, the barrels were emptied to create Maple Apple Brandy Circle of Wolves. A portion of that batch was transferred over to Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrels for twenty-nine months to create this rendition of Double Barrel Circle of Wolves.
With every Circle of Wolves you can expect complex flavors of caramel, raisins, and dark fruit. Double Barrel Circle of Wolves builds upon that foundation and adds notes of maple spice cake, dried dates, and honey Graham cracker dipped in chocolate. Despite being 15% alcohol by volume, it’s smooth without the heat expected from fusel alcohols and softened by a light maple syrup sweetness. Akin and as elegant as a fine Cognac, this English Barleywine is meant to be sipped.
Each and every bottle of Circle of Wolves contains multitudes, a world unto itself, intricacies laced with our interpretation of a revered style.