There’s this theory called the Kardashev Scale that ranks how advanced a civilization is solely based on how well they can harness energy. South Carolinian @the8thstatebrewing is said to be fueled by Myrtle Beach jetskis, pecan sandies bakery exhaust, and the sighs of beer traders trying to resell Westbrook bottles. It is efficient.

8th state has confusing marketing, crazy bottles, and quality that swings from god tier to Caro syrup enthusiast. These guys are converting all hype energy possible. A Type I brewer is a planetary brewery, they can use and store all local hype energy. 8S has surpassed this with advanced Neck and Neck technology putting them on a stellar stage.

The problem with putting these guys on a strict Kardashev stage is how erratic things are. This beer is fantastic, but it is dead flat. It’s like some prime directive to not allow it to shine too brightly. I don’t need some jubilant Logsdon Bellagio fountain but, this is “fiancé at train museum” levels of enthusiasm.

What remains is this Weller fever dream of sugar daddies, dates, Sazerac dripping fig newtons, and a slick long hot mouthfeel. To invoke raisin descriptors makes it seem too wholesome, this is a society that made a Dyson sphere and then leveraged that energy to make ultra powerful gas station boner pills. You respect it and fear it at the same time.

Nose compounds things with Old Fashioned meets Payday bar. Maybe this barleywine is operating on a different level of decadent consciousness and like some kind of Fermi-ented Paradox, we cannot recognize it as life. It leans closer to spirits and cocktails in heat and execution than its beer underpinnings would suggest. REINCARNATE: It’s like they want to simulate the experience of pulling straight from the barrel.

A brewery in possession of energy at the scale of its own galaxy, with energy consumption at ≈4×1044 erg/sec would reach Hype Stage III. A brewery line so long that it is unending, folding chairs and Eventbrite Onzr reactors that replicate procedurally. This isn’t that good, but it is getting there.

This was my final beer of 2021 and this barleywine sent me into the god damn stars, while being dead flat