Barrel Aged

Posted in Almanac Beer Co., Don't Miss This

Summer Wild: Almanac Cerise Sour Blond

Slated to come any now is Almanac Beer Co.’s Cerise Sour Blond. Meant for hot summers like the one in San Joaquin Valley of California, Cerise Sour Blond uses fresh cherries, then aged in wine barrels. An American wild ale built to beat the heat.

This beer is inspired by the long and hot summer days in the San Joaquin Valley—the fertile basin that yields much of California’s bountiful produce. This tart blond ale was brewed with Rainier and Bing cherries from Bella Viva Orchards and fermented with our house sour culture and aged for many months in used wine barrels to create a tart, cherry-kissed wild ale.

Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Cherries. Wine Aged.)
Availability: 375ml bottles, Limited Draft.
Arrival: Late July, 2014

7% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bell's Brewing, Coming Soon, Headlines

Bell’s Planetary Spotlight: Saturn, The Bringer of Old Age

Bell’s Brewery (Comstock, MI) celebrates Gustav Holst’s classical masterpiece “The Planets”, with a specialty beer series that starts this year.

Each offering is a different interpretation of the composer’s movements, like the above Saturn, The Bringer of Old Age. Saturn is the only barrel-aged beer in the series, a bourbon barreled barleywine that went into the barrels in July, 2014.

Expect Bell’s Saturn sometime in April, 2015.

Style: Barleywine (Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles.
Arrival: April, 2015

Read more: Bell’s Planetary Series

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Clown Shoes Brewing, Don't Miss This

Clown Shoes Blends. Makes Extremely Angry Beast

Clown Shoes Brewing (Ipswich, MA) has come up with some pretty epic barrel aged beers. To review a few you need to know for this Extremely Angry Beast – Bourbon Barrel Aged Blaecorn Unidragon, Bourbon Barrel Undead Party Crasher, Rum Barrel Hammer of the Holy. Mix (blend) all that together, and you have an Extremely Angry Beast. A beer way more pissed off than Angry Beast, or even Very Angry Beast.

How do you create an Extremely Angry Beast? Mix one part bourbon barrel aged Blaecorn Unidragon, one part bourbon barrel aged Undead Party Crasher, one part Hammer of the Holy, then add a massive dose of incendiary rage. 

You’ll find Clown Shoes Extremely Angry Beast in 22oz bottles.

Style: Imperial Stout (Barrel Aged. Rum. Bourbon)
Availability: 22oz bottles
Arrival: TBA

12% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Headlines, Lazy Magnolia Brewing

Lazy Magnolia’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Money

The south has a lot of “old money,” and it will soon have some more thanks to Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. The Kiln, Mississippi brewery will add to their Debutante Series with a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout, Old Money.

Few things age as well as money in the bank and a fine brew in bourbon barrels – Old Money unites the legacy of both this rich imperial stout; aromatic with roasted barley, bittersweet malt flavors, and a warm southern finish. 

Look for Lazy Magnolia Old Money in 12oz bottles and draft.

Style: Imperial Stout (Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft.
Arrival: TBA

8.4% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Almanac Beer Co., Coming Soon, Headlines

Almanac Plans Second Pumpkin Offering

Almanac Beer Co has one pumpkin offering on the books, Heirloom Pumpkin. The ale is aged in a blend of rye and brandy barrels. To be bottled in August, is a new fall offering – Almanac Dark Pumpkin Sour.

This new offering features the same heirloom pumpkins from Cali based Bodega Bay, that have been caramelized for a sweet taste that is a departure from Heirloom Pumpkin.

Autumn in California means changing colors, cooler evenings and festive meals celebrating the bountiful fall harvest. Aged in used wine barrels, the dark sour pumpkin beer is inspired by the season, merging roasted dark malts with the sweet flavors of caramelized heirloom pumpkins from Bodega Bay and a touch of pumpkin pie spice. Serve this complex ale alongside Mom’s classic pumpkin pie. 

Almanac Dark Pumpkin Sour is slated to be bottled in August.

Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Pumpkin)
Availability: 375ml Bottles
Arrival: Fall, 2014

7% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This, Westbrook Brewing Co

Sneak Peek: Westbrook Chocolate Bourbon Mexican Cake

July sees the release of Westbrook Brewing’s (Mt. Pleasant, SC) Barrel Aged Mexican Cake. While the release date for the 2014 stock hasn’t been announced yet, the brewery is already putting Cake into barrels for 2015

One of the barrels coming next summer is Westbrook Mexican Cake aged in Pritchard’s Double Chocolate Bourbon barrels. The Kelso, Tennesee distillery uses cocoa nibs from Nashville’s Olive & Sinclair to create a small batch, highly sought after, chocolate bourbon.

Westbrook Double Chocolate Bourbon Barrel Mexican Cake should arrive in July, 2015.

Olive & Sinclair also provides cocoa nibs for recent Terrapin Beer Company releases, like Guano Loco, White Chocolate Moo Hoo, and Liquid Bliss.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Cocoa Nibs, Vanilla Beans, Cinnamon, Habanero. Barrel Aged.)
Availability: 22oz Bombers, Draft. Limited Release, May.

10.5% ABV, 50 IBUs

pic via Westbrook

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This, Firestone Walker Brewing

Firestone Walker Double DBA Arriving for Last Time

The last of ride of Firestone Walker’s (Paso Robles, CA) Double DBA arrives on July 12th. A replacement has yet to be announced.

“The 2014 Double DBA is a big and complex beer that still offers the balance and drinkability that are the hallmarks of DBA,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson.

The beer has been a popular one for the brewery, as Brynildson says, “This vintage is outstanding, so Double DBA is leaving us on a high note.”

Firestone Walker Double DBA is the brewery’s imperial special bitter, brewed double strength, then fermented in American oak barrels. After fermentation the beer is racked in American bourbon barrels and aged for one year. The barrel mix for the 2014 Double DBA included barrels from Woodford Reserve, Elijah Craig and Four Roses. This July is the last offering of this beer.

Style: Barleywine (Barrel Aged. Bourbon)
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft. Limited to 3,500 cases
Arrival: July 12th, 2014

12% ABV

Fun fact: The bourbon barrels used to mature the 2014 Double DBA are being shipped to Scotland, where Tullibardine distillery to age single malt scotch whisky.

by Reid Ramsay