Topic Archives: Barrel Aged

Posted in Headlines, New Beers, Terrapin Beer Company

Terrapin Double Red is barrel-aged collaboration heaven

Terrapin Double Barrrel Red Ale

It almost sounds like fiction now, but there was a time in beer when the mere mention of barrel aging would elicit a Pavlovian response. You released it, they would come. Somewhere we lost that.

 I’m not sure if it was just a flooded market or style-hype shift. The days of barrel-aged perfection faded for diabetic pastry stouts and chunky lactose haze bombs. In all honesty, I thought those days were gone until I stumbled upon this one. 

Terrapin Beer Company has always just done whatever they want to do, stayed true to the mountain biking, travel, solar-powered, live music hippie culture, and just be. Two decades of growth trajectory show it. 

Let’s talk about this beer. It’s no secret that Terrapin entered the Miller Coors portfolio years ago, and besides extra capital, it brought new opportunities for collaboration- in this case specifically – Coors Whiskey Company. 

David Coors’ interest in whiskey started in college (naturally). He recalls sitting in his father’s (Pete Coors) Suburban on the way to the Coors brewery in Golden, Colorado, and David declared “We should make whiskey!” Without even looking at David, Pete said “We are good at one thing and one thing only, and that’s making beer,” David recalls. 

That conversation nagged David for nearly 20 years. In 2019, Coors Brewing Company made the business decision to venture beyond the beer aisle. The time was right to make bourbon, but the question was the approach. He didn’t want to just source juice and slap a label on it. By the time the pandemic hit, Coors had started blending and fell in love with a single malt blended with a bourbon flavor profile that not a lot of people had been releasing. 

“We are good at one thing and one thing only, and that’s making beer”

“I was enamored by the flavor profile that came out of it. I was bringing all these different blends to family dinner on Sundays and finally found a blend we settled on and took it to market in 2021,” David says. 

Coors Whiskey had recently been doing a barrel-aged imperial porter for AC Golden, piquing a bigger interest in making other barrel-aged beers. They reached out to their various brewery partners. Terrapin immediately jumped in. Brewmaster and co-founder Spike Buckowski and President Dustin Watts loved the whiskey blends. They started by dismissing the idea of putting an imperial stout in the barrel, thinking that’s already been done too much. Rye malt is far and away Spike’s favorite to brew with and dotes heavily on retired Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster (Imperial Rye Ale). Spike used that grain bill to guide the creation of Double Barrel Red Ale

“The one eye-opening thing was the effect freshly dumped whiskey barrels have on the final flavor. It was so bold on flavor, and big on booze, pushing the final alcohol by volume to 12.7%. I really wanted the red ale to come out of the barrel mimicking the flavors of the 5 Trails blend,” Spike says.

“Having the beer locked and loaded by the time these barrels hit the ground was a challenge for us,” Dustin says. David Coors’ team emptied the barrels and shipped them to Georgia in less than 48 hours. We wanted to be ready to fill,” he adds.

The collaborative result is a liquid flashback to the heyday of barrel-aged beer beauties that we’ve stayed up far too late drinking. Besides conjuring warm fuzzy Big Hoppy Monster flashbacks, Double Barrel marries the best parts of blended whiskey and smooth barrel-aged beer. Terrapin has done a lot of barrel-aged beers in the past but this one stands apart from the others. This wasn’t just “brew a beer and find a barrel,” it was an intentional creation and it shows. It’s a barrel-aged art form we’ve missed. 

After the beer was emptied from the barrels, they were shipped back to Coors Whiskey Company who is aging a blend in the barrels, for an ale-finished whiskey coming in late 2024.

Terrapin Double Barrel Red Ale is available in limited 16-ounce cans and draft.

Style: Imperial Red Ale (Barrel Aged. Whiskey)
Hops: Centennial, CTZ, Warrior
Malts: 2-row malt, CaraMalt, Light Crystal, Malted Rye, Amber Malt, Extra light Crystal, Malted Wheat, Flaked Corn

Availability: 16oz Cans, Draft. Limited Release.

12.7% ABV

Posted in Coming Soon, Three Taverns Brewery

Three Taverns 10th Anniversary BBA Barleywine debuts this weekend

Three Taverns 10th Anniversary BBA Barleywine 1
Three Taverns 10th Anniversary BBA Barleywine releases November 18th.

Decatur, Georgia’s Three Taverns celebrates 10 years on November 18th. In addition to a celebration at the brewery’s original location, the brewery is releasing 10th Anniversary BBA Barleywine.

The blended English-style barleywine was aged in both 15th Calumet 15 Year Bourbon barrels as well as Laird’s Apple Brandy Barrels

Rich and luscious flavors of toasty vanilla, caramelized apple, char, and subtle vanilla abound in this 12% English-style barleywine.

Three Taverns 10th Anniversary BBA Barleywine is on sale on the brewery’s website now for pickup on November 18th, for $18 dollars each.

Style: Barleywine (Barrel-Aged, Bourbon. Apple Brandy.)
Availability: 375ml Bottles. Brewery only
Debut: 11/18/23

12% ABV

Posted in Beer News, New Beers, Wild Heaven Craft Beers
Posted in Wild Heaven Craft Beers, Headlines

Wild Heaven & Bulliet Bourbon release 5th collaboration

Wild Heaven 5 Points can

Wild Heaven Beer and Bulliet Bourbon release 5 Points Doppelbock, the fifth installment of their ongoing barrel-aged series.

Recapping the project, Bulliet Bourbon was always stingy with their barrels in the past. As Tom Bulleit told Beer Street Journal during an Atlanta launch event more than a decade ago, all the distillery’s barrels were sent to Scotland for whisky aging. At the time he seemed almost confused at the notion that America’s breweries would want empty bourbon barrels. That would all change in 2020.

Bulliet did a little quiet research, looking for breweries with not just a robust barrel program, but breweries that really cared about barrel aging. Georgia-based Wild Heaven stood out to the Bulliet team and ultimately the Beer and Bourbon Series was born.

The idea behind this project is simple. Wild Heaven creates a beer and Bulliet overnights freshly emptied (wet) barrels from the distillery 437 Miles South to Avondale Estates, Georgia. Fill the barrels, and wait for the magic to happen. During one of the worst years in human existence, 2020, 95 Shilling Scotch ale kicked off the series. The alcohol by volume in that beer could never have been high enough for us considering the times.

RELATED: WILD HEAVEN’S BULLEIT COLLAB WAS WORTH THE WAIT

As fall descends upon Atlanta, the latest emergence is 5 Points – a German-style Dopplebock, aged in Bulleit Rye barrels. Let’s get straight to the point, this beer- much like this series- just keeps getting better and better. A Doppelbock may be a rarer style in the craft brewing world, but Wild Heaven’s head brewer Josh Franks has created a perfect reminder of how damn good they are. “I think it really turned out quite well,” Franks tells us. You’ll never hear the guy brag, but the smile on his face after a few sips of 5 Points tells us everything.

The fresh barrels from Bulleit really make all the difference world here. Vanilla flavors from the rye bourbon-soaked oak in 5 Points are fresh and bold, almost to the point of decadence. The creamy toffee and raisin flavors notes the dopplebock round out this cool weather sipper. More proof that this duo knows what they are doing.

Wild Heaven 5 Points Dopplebock debuts this week in 16-ounce cans and draft. Wild Heaven and Bulleit are already working on their next project.

Style: Dopplebock (Barrel Aged. Rye Bourbon.)
Availability: 16oz Cans, Draft.

Debut: October 2022

Posted in Guinness, Don't Miss This, New Releases

Guinness releases barrel-aged Mint Chocolate Stout

Guinness Mint Chocolate Stout

Baltimore, Maryland-based Guinness Open Gate Brewery has a new seasonal imperial stout ahead of the holidays – Guinness Mint Chocolate Stout

The imperial stout is brewed with dried mint leaves, then conditioned on pure cacao (chocolate), then aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels.

“Chocolate and mint are a classic flavor combination, and the way those flavors interact with the bourbon character leads to something really special. It’s the perfect beer to sip on after a solid meal with family and friends over the holidays,” says Open Gate head brewer Sean Brennan. 

Guinness Mint Chocolate Stout also compliments recently returning Gingerbread Stout, also brewed in the Baltimore brewery. 

Mint Chocolate Stout is available in 11.2-ounce bottles for a limited time. 

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Mint. Chocolate. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 11.2 oz/4pk Bottles. Limited Release. 
Debut: November 2021 

10.8% ABV

Posted in Founders Brewing, Don't Miss This

Maple syrup bourbon barrel Founders Frootwood back for 2nd time

Founders Frootwood

Founders Frootwood debuted in 2017. For the first time since its release, Frootwood returns to the brewery’s taproom this month- nationally in January 2022. 

The beer was a big hit amongst the brewery’s barrel-aged beer fans. Frootwood is a cherry ale, aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels. As you might recall, one of the Founder’s most requested beers is also aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels – Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS).

A flavor Battle Royale.

From the moment this story hit Beer Street Journal 2017, the readers were worried the beer would have too much cherry. Or even worse, being too sweet or too boozy. The result was actually a “Battle Royale” of flavor. Each sip pulled you three ways. The main contenders are bourbon, cherries, and maple syrup – each fighting for dominance.  When you hear someone say a beer is “all over the place,” Frootwood is a great example of just that. We hope the latest release is just the same.

We took a crisp, light-bodied cherry ale and hid it away in oak barrels that held both bourbon and maple syrup. After a lengthy sting, it emerged a changed beer, blanketed in notes of warm vanilla and earthy sweetness. The wood proves itself the star of this beer, adding depth and taming the tart cherry while the maple imposes a velvety texture that lingers for not a moment too long.

Founders Frootwood is a 12-ounce bottle release, as well as draft. Estimated retail $15.99 4/pack. 

Style: Fruit/Vegetable Beer (w/ Cherries. Barrel Aged. Bourbon. Maple Syrup.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft.
Debut: January 2017
Latest Return: November 2021

8% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal 

Posted in Beer News, New Releases