At a recent beerfest, I shared a Lift All Higher from Deviate Brewing with a few friends following the afternoon’s event. It was a perfect way to end a phenomenal day of tasting. I absolutely love beer that’s been barrel aged , but I don’t need large quantities of it at a time. Like the liquor that is used to age, and flavor these beers, it is meant to be shipped and savored. Beer like this should be shared with friends, and it was a phenomenal experience to be enjoying it in such a fashion. I poured enough so that everybody only got a few ounces, and I can assure you that every drop was enjoyable!
While I enjoy many styles of beer, it is the barrel aged beer that I seem to collect. It doesn’t hurt that many of my favorite breweries seem to be making barrel aged beers on a regular basis. For me that’s exciting because it is an excellent sign the craft beer is where it needs to be. I can think back to many years ago when I only had a few options of barrel aged beers to choose from. Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout has been an annual beer that I have sought out along with Founder’s KBS. They are both excellent examples of barrel aged beers, and the beers that helped me to learn to appreciate this style.
So while bourbon barrels are the ones most commonly used, scotch, rye, brandy, and others are also used. In the picture above, Deviate aged one of their Scheming Demon variants in apple and cherry brandy barrels, and the other in Cognac and Bourbon. They aged their Lift All Higher which I mentioned at the beginning of the article in rum barrels. Deviate is becoming quite prolific in their barrel aging, and if you’re in Central Indiana, look for many more excellent releases from them in the near future!
When I think of some of the more interesting barrel aged beers I’ve had over the years, two come to mind. The first was a Hefeweizen aged in apple brandy barrels. It was made by New Albanian, and I got to try it back in 2014. The apple liquor notes paired up well with this wheat beer. The second I tried a year later at the Lancaster Brewing Company in Pennsylvania. The beer was called Underlord Acheron and it was a blend of their winter warmer, and their Russian imperial Stout, aged in both bourbon, and rye barrels. 2015 might’ve been a long time ago, but I assure you I still remember how amazing that beer was. It was robustly flavorful, and boozy!
As fall turns into winter, I expect the prevalence of barrel aged beers to continue to be prominent in what I have access to. I recently was able to take part in a podcast in which we sampled a 3 year vertical of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout. It was fascinating to sample this complex beer from different years across the span of an hour or two. It is a complex beer, and it was interesting to hear my fellow connoisseurs pull apart the significant notes found in this beer. I truly hope we get to delve into more barrel aged beers together in the future.
If you haven’t had a chance to try beer that is barrel aged, I’d like to say you don’t know what you’re missing. Or maybe you don’t like dark beers and that’s OK. Still I feel the majority of craft beer drinkers do like barrel aged beers and that’s why they are becoming so popular. I know I spoke mostly of beers made in Indiana, but I assure you as I get to travel around the country over the next few months, I look forward to trying barrel aged beers wherever I find them. I also have plenty in my collection and you never know when I’m going to bust them out. They make great gifts, and can be cellared for many years. I am sitting on a Founders CBS from last year, and I’m looking forward to drinking it soon!
My friend Chris and love stouts, and together we have got to try a lot of barrel aged dark beers. As fall deepens, I recommend seeking barrel aged pumpkin beers, or anything else seasonal. And then in the winter, the possibilities are endless. I’ll be looking for barrel aged beers, and if we see each other out at the bars, let’s drink one together!
So Much Beer So Little Time 