From Bill W's AA Grapevine articles:

"The Individual in Relation to AA as a Group" July 1946
"Apparently no human being can force alcoholics to live happily and usefully together. But Mr. John Barleycorn can — and he often does!"
 
"Why Can't We Join AA, Too?" October 1947
"When each AA's life literally depends upon his unselfish service to others, when false pride, self-pity, or unhealthy self-seeking is almost certain to be unmercifully chastised by John Barleycorn..."
 
"Tradition One" December 1947
...our common welfare is protected by powerful safeguards. The moment any action seriously threatens the common welfare, group opinion mobilizes to remind us; our conscience begins to complain. If one persists, he may become so disturbed as to get drunk; alcohol gives him a beating. Group opinion shows him that he is off the beam, his own conscience tells him that he is dead wrong, and, if he goes too far, Barleycorn brings him real conviction.

"What Is Freedom in AA?" May 1960
Literally, we must "do or die." So we make the choice to live. This, in turn, means the choice of AA principles, practices, and attitudes that can salvage us from total disaster by insuring our sobriety. This is our first great and critical choice. Admittedly this is made under the fearful and immediate lash of John Barleycorn, the killer.
 
"Freedom Under God: The Choice Is Ours" November 1960
As a Fellowship, we cannot fight anybody, anywhere or at any time. This has been proved. When we had directly attacked John Barleycorn, we had lost. Booze fighting had never worked. When we quarrel too much with each other, we get drunk.
 

"How Some Basic AA Ideas Were Tried Out
Nearly a Century and a Quarter Ago…" October 1962
...old J. Barleycorn hasn’t changed much in the past hundred years.  
(in reference to "The Washingtonian Society"- see:
The Complete Washingtonians at CHIPS on the WEB)

From AA Publications

From -  A.A. Comes of Age p. 105
There is God, our Father, who very simply says, "I am waiting for you to do my will." The other authority is named John Barleycorn, and he says, "You had better do God's will or I will kill you."

From -   Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.24
John Barleycorn himself had become our best advocate.

From -   Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.29-30
Since we were brighter than most folks (so we thought), the spoils of victory would be ours for the thinking. The god of intellect displaced the God of our fathers. But again John Barleycorn had other ideas. We who had won so handsomely in a walk turned into all-time losers.

Copyrights AA Grapevine Inc.  and   AA World Services Inc.

From Bill W's Addresses and Talks

Basic Concepts of Alcoholics Anonymous
N.Y. State Journal of Medicine Vol. 44, Aug.,1944.
If he doesn’t succumb at once, he will almost surely do so later when Barleycorn builds a still hotter fire under him, thus blocking off all his other carefully planned exits from dilemma.

The Society of Alcoholics Anonymous
Amer. Jour. of Psychiatry, Vol. 106, 1949
So we just indoctrinate the newcomer. We never evangelize; Barleycorn will look after that. The clergy declare we have capitalized the Devil. ... Barleycorn the Tyrant Dictator is quite impersonal. But Hitler never did have a Gestapo half so effective.

Remembering A.A.’s Early Friends
General Service Conference – 1952
... a table was being prepared in the presence of our ancient enemy, John Barleycorn. Candles were already upon it, and meat and drink was there, but the guests had not arrived.

Alcoholics Anonymous in it’s Third Decade
New York City Medical Society on Alcoholism  April 28, 1958
So menacing is the growing spectacle of alcoholism that nothing short of the total resources of society can hope to vanquish or much lessen the strength of our very dangerous adversary, John Barleycorn.

Trust of "Servant" Necessary
General Service Conference – 1959
We do not require concentrated power any place. We do not require a government. We do not require any government agency. Barleycorn will kill us if we don’t behave, as individuals and as groups. Barleycorn is our dictator and he is enough...

A Question of Prudence
General Service Conference – 1959
...we have developed these attributes under the lash of Barleycorn, because we must.
...we hope and believe that by borrowing from the structural forms that men throughout the ages have tried, even from the anarchy to the democracy, the republic, the hierarchy -— even the maligned dictatorship of Barleycorn and the benign dictatorship of our Father -— borrowing from all those things, we can hope and believe that we have created a synthesis of principles and of relationships in which we can be just as supremely confident as this group was when it laughed -— because there was no fear of a thief.

Proposal by Bill W. For Twelve Concepts For World Service
10th General Service Conference – 1960
Next, the cruel lash of John Barleycorn who said, "This you must do, or die."

"Individual Has Responsibilities," Bill Notes
General Service Conference – 1964
...prodded from behind by John Barleycorn and drawn by the love we feel here and by the love of God, we pick up the tab for a little more responsibility...
...we conform to these principles and their practice in all our affairs because this is really what we want for ourselves...not just because John Barleycorn is going to kill us if we don’t conform, not just because the A.A. community says they are right, but because we want them for ourselves.

Copyrights  Various Sources and Publications