(Washingtonpost) - Like the terms jumbo shrimp, working holiday and pretty ugly, barley wine appears to be an oxymoron. The federal government recognizes the potential for confusion, and so requires brewers to slap the cumbersome phrase “barley wine-style ale” on the label of this strongest of ales. Yet, barley wine as a style designation dates at least from 1901, when Bass No. 1 Barley Wine hit the market. Long before then, however, country manor houses in England were turning out very strong ales, possibly to compensate for the interruption of port and Madeira supplies during England’s frequent wars.