Action alert. Today, June 23rd at 12pm- Brickstore Pub is tapping another rare keg in conjunction with their 12th Anniversary. It’s Sweetwater’s French Oaked Double IPA.
First of all, in the past Sweetwater has not made many Double IPA’s. (Recently one was released as a part of the “Dank Tank” series – Double Medlin IPA.)
Anyway – today’s keg is a little different. This double IPA was aged in French Oak previously used to age first run Bordeaux. There is some significance to this. To simplify, oak casks are simply wood lined barrels used for aging – whether it be wine, whiskey, beer etc. The oak casks allow a tiny bit of air into the product, while allowing the woody aromas to enter into your (in this case) beer.
So todays keg sat in a woody cask that aged a first run bordeaux. ( Some wines age in what is called a 200% process – first round 1 oak cask, second round another.) In the case of this double IPA, the bordeaux took up some of the woody oak aroma, and in turn transfered some of its wine flavor to the wood. Once the double IPA is added, it takes up some of the woody, wine favor into its body as it ages.
The result? Should be a hoppy, oaky flavor. French oak is typically not as strong as American oak. It provides a different favor in the aging process. Again this keg is tapping at noon today, and will go fast I’m sure. I will add a photo soon. Off to try!
Check twitter for live images of the tapping…
