Buzzy Beer, Planning Phase Part 1

I was recently informed of a well that is running on some of the land of my ancestors up in Ledyard! I am super excited to sample some of this water and, perhaps, to try it in a beer. Besides 'Our man in the field', one of the most colorful characters from Ledyard is Buzzy.

Buzzy is the subject of lore and controversy far too deep and involved to be discussed here. Suffice it to say that I thought the term 'Buzzy Beer' was a really good name for a beer from Ledyard.

The character of such a beer, should be quite strong. The beer should get better with age, much like Buzzy lore gets better with age. It should also be a beer that is perfect in small doses and on the right occasions.

I did some research into the different beer styles in my two books How to Brew and Designing Great Beers. I found a style that is perfectly suited to making Buzzy beer, namely Barleywine.

Barleywine contains no fruit so it is actually a beer. It was an ale that originated in England in the early 1800's. It was typically very strong, with an alcohol content of 8 to 12%. Thus it would be good in small doses. It is also usually very strongly flavored and served in small amounts. The Bluegrass Brewing Company had a barleywine the last time I was there and they would only sell it in half pints. Barleywine also gets much better with age and some batches are years and years old. How could there be a better beer style than Barleywine for Buzzy Beer?