Topic Archives: Whiskey

Posted in Oskar Blues Brewing, Cigar City Brewing, Don't Miss This

Oskar Blues & Cigar City debut ‘Bamburana’, a double barrel-aged imperial stout

Oskar Blues Cigar City Bamburana

Oskar Blues and Cigar City, both part of the CANarchy collective, are debuting a barrel-aged imperial stout nationally this month.

This collaboration is a big one, perfect for a winter release. The two breweries created an imperial stout, aged in both whiskey barrels and brandy barrels, with figs and dates. After blending into the finishing tanks, Bamburana was then aged again on Amburana wood spirals. Amburna is a tropical tree native to Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru.

“We were pleasantly surprised with the vanilla and gingerbread spice nuances this South American wood contributed into the finished beer and look forward to putting this delicious beer in front of folks,” said Wayne Wambles of Cigar City Brewing

Oskar Blues Cigar City Bamburana is a national release in 12-ounce cans and draft starting in mid-January, 2019.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Figs. Dates. Barrel Aged. Whiskey. Brandy.)
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Limited Release.

Debut: Mid-January 2019

12.2% ABV

Posted in EPIC Brewing Company, Don't Miss This

Epic Quadruple Barrel Baptist is big, bold, and blew us away

Epic Quadruple Barrel Big Bad Baptist

In the world of imperial stouts filled with various dessert-like additions, Epic Quadruple Barrel Big Bad Baptist stands alone. This big bottle of ridiculous is how you make a decadent pastry stout.

Big Bad Baptist was supposed to be released under another name – Jack Mormon Imperial Stout, back in 2011. Epic Brewing made a barrel-aged imperial stout brewed with Jack Mormon roasters coffee. Unfortunately, the state of Utah rejected the “Mormon” name, even though it was a homage to their coffee roaster.

Brewery co-founder Dave Cole is a California Baptist and decided to integrate his real-life “Big Bad Baptist” roots into the name.

In that first year, Big Bad Baptist scored a 100 on RateBeer.com, and still maintains that high mark today.

Since the launch, variants of this coveted imperial stout have been released, including a Double Barrel, Triple Barrel, and Big Bad Baptista Imperial Stout. Each one takes a creative step forward. Now there’s Epic Quadruple Barrel Baptist and it really is the best Baptist we’ve ever had.

The brewers at Epic racked their imperial stout to both whiskey and rum barrels. Meanwhile, the team barrel-aged their own coffee beans, coconuts, and almonds. Basically, the only thing that’s not barrel-aged is the cocoa nibs. You might read all that and think, there’s just too much going on here.

You’re not wrong. There are some imperial stouts out there that are packed with chocolate, vanilla, strawberries, lactose, even cookies, and cereal. Some taste great. Some of these coveted imperial stouts are just muddled in flavor. That’s how Epic got this beer right. Scroll up and read everything the brewery put in the beer. Now read the next paragraph.

Every flavor is present in every sip. Your first taste starts with this rich, chocolaty imperial stout which gives way to a balance of subtle almond, coffee, and coconuts that finishes with a mix of vanilla oak and toasted rum sugar. That’s what blew us away. All these flavors are very much there in a beautiful balance, from start to finish. To us, that’s the crossroad of imagination and brewing talent. Epic didn’t just throw all the buzz-worthy additions to a barrel-aged imperial stout and expect a line outside. This is a symphony of barrel blending, and we were some morose tipsy folks when the bottle ran dry.

Epic Quadruple Barrel Big Bad Baptist is available in 22-ounce bottles – an extremely limited release hitting distribution now.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Chocolate. Barrel Aged Coffee. Barrel Aged Coconut. Barrel Aged Almonds. Barrel Aged. Whiskey. Rum.)

Hops: Nugget, Chinook, Cascade.
Malts: Muntons Maris Otter Malt, Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt, Crystal Muntons, Weyermann Light Munich Malt I, 2-Row Chocolate Malt 2-Row Black Malt, Roasted Barley.

Availability: 22oz Bottles. Extremely Limited Release.
Debut: Late Oct/Nov 2018

12% ABV

Posted in Firestone Walker Brewing, Creature Comforts, Headlines, New Releases

Firestone Walker teams up with Creature Comforts, creates ‘Mother’s Milk’

Firestone Walker Mother's Milk

Firestone Walker debuts a new collaboration this weekend with Athens, Georgia based Creature Comforts in Paso Robles, California.

Every beer collaboration is born out of friendship and mutual respect for one another’s brewing passions. In this case, the fermented love spans 2,000 miles. Introducing Firestone Walker / Creature Comforts Mother’s Milk.

The base beer is a milk stout that has been aging for nearly a year in rye whiskey barrels – a very intentional move. According to Eric Ponce, Firestone Walker’s barrel program manager, the sweetness of bourbon barrels would have been too cloying. “We designed the base beer with the intent of aging it in rye whiskey barrels—we thought it would be the perfect marriage. The dash of salt just makes everything pop on the palate,” he explains in a recent press release.

Mother’s Milk will be available to all attendees of this weekend’s Firestone Walker Invitational. 12-ounce bottles will be available at the brewery on June 2nd.

Style: Milk Stout (w/ Sea Salt. Lactose. Barrel Aged. Rye Whiskey.)
Hops:
Malts: Two-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Franco-Belges Kiln Coffee, Crystal 45, Oats

Availability: 12oz Bottles. Limited Release
Debut: 6/2/18

11.6% ABV

Image: Firestone Walker

Posted in Rogue Spirits, New Releases, Rogue Brewing

The first 5-year aged spirit from Rogue, Oregon Single Malt Whiskey debuts

Rogue Oregon Single Malt Whiskey

Rogue Oregon Single Malt Whiskey has debuted, the first 5-year aged spirit by the brewery/distillery.

Every bit of the Single Malt Whiskey has Rogue’s fingerprint on it. The brewery grew the malt on Rogue Farms. The yeast is Rogue’s Proprietary Pacman Yeast. It was distilled on site in Newport, Oregon, and transferred to barrels Rogue coopered and toasted onsite. Then, of course, bottled by hand.

Oregon Single Malt Whiskey opens with an attractive aroma of floral honey, peach and mango. Medium-to-full bodied, the aromas slowly transition to lush, ripe fruit and brown spice.

 

Rogue Oregon Single Malt Whiskey is available in year-round at select retailers in 750-milliliter bottles.

Style: Single Malt Whiskey
Availability: 750ml Bottles
Debut: February 2018

80 Proof, 40% ABV

Image: Rogue Spirits

Posted in Hoppin' Frog Brewing, Don't Miss This

Big frog. 17.4% Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged Gavel Slammer debuts on Black Friday

Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged Gavel Slammer

Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged Gavel Slammer will be available on Black Friday. 

Huge. Best descriptor for this big beer. On Black Friday, Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged Gavel Slammer. The 17.2% alcohol by volume dark has been aged in brewery selected whiskey barrels.

Barrel-aged over-the-top ale like no other, with a truly magnificent character from aging in select whiskey barrels. Rich, aromatic, lively and dark, with layer after layer of roasted, toasted, and caramelized malts, beautifully balanced from the oak barrel. We’ve done our part, slamming the hammer down for freedom from alcohol limits.

Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged Gavel Slammer will be available in 12-ounce bottles at 10 am on November 24th.

Style: American Strong Ale (Barrel Aged. Whiskey.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles. Brewery only release.
Debut: 11/24/17

17.4%, 65 IBUs

Posted in Hi Wire Brewing, Don't Miss This

Three different barrels & a little crazy: Hi-Wire Sour Pumpkin Ale

Hi-Wire Sour Pumpkin Ale

Hi-Wire Sour Pumpkin Ale is all over the flavor map. That’s a good thing. There’s a lot going on in this beer.

As fall creeps in, Asheville, North Carolina based Hi-Wire Brewing has released Sour Pumpkin Ale. Put the pumpkin spiced latte down because things are about to get a little weird.

After spending time wandering around local Rayburn Farm, Hi-Wire was struck with the idea of sourcing a beer from a single farm source. Sure, this is a pumpkin ale so you’re probably thinking something with pumpkins, cinnamon, and cloves. Make it taste like pie and ship it, right? Wrong.

Let’s talk pre-barrel. The base beer spent time in stainless steel tanks, with roasted delicata pumpkins, cinnamon basil, and blue ginger. Blue ginger is a Hawaiian variety known for its superior flavor. Cinnamon basil is also called Mexican spice basil. Methyl cinnamate found in the cultivar gives off flavors of the cinnamon spice when the leaves are crushed.

If this beer is already sounding unique, Hi-Wire isn’t done yet. After three months in stainless steel, the beer was split into rum, whiskey, and red wine barrels for six months, then blended back again. There’s nothing “basic” about this creation.

At this point, it is downright impossible to use something as simple as “pie” to describe Hi-Wire Sour Pumpkin Ale. It just doesn’t fit. Sour Pumpkin is aggressively sour as you dive in, melding into a light wash of ginger and cinnamon. As the beer warms, the blend of barrels are fighting for palate domination. Honestly, we think the rum won. This is no simple wild ale, with typical flavors. Everything about this beer is unpredictable in the best of ways. Speaking in the spirit of Hi-Wire’s hometown of Asheville, “Keep Fall Weird.”

Hi-Wire Sour Pumpkin Ale is a limited,  375-milliliter bottle release. Not for the faint of heart (or palate).

Style: American Wild/Sour Alehttps://beerstreetjournal.com/tag/american-wild-ales/ (w/ Pumpkin. Blue Ginger. Cinnamon Basil. Barrel Aged. Whiskey. Red Wine. Rum.)
Availability: 375ml Bottles
Debut: 9/2/17

8.6% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal

Posted in Hi Wire Brewing, Coming Soon

Hi-Wire Blackberry Sour releases April 1st

Hi-Wire Blackberry Sour

Hi-Wire Blackberry Sour joins the Asheville, North Carolina based brewery’s sour & wild lineup on April 1st.

18 months of fermentation were required to make Hi-wire Blackberry Sour, a blend of stainless steel, rye whiskey, red wine and North Carolina rum barrel ales.

Think blackberry jam, brett, and oak in this balanced and drinkable ale.

Hi-Wire Blackberry Sour can be purchased in 750ml bottles on Saturday, April 1st at the brewery’s South Slope location.

Style: American Wild/Sour Ale (w/ Blackberries. Barrel Aged. Rum. Rye Whiskey, Red Wine.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles
Debut: 4/1/17

8.2% ABV

Image: Hi-Wire Brewing