Bourbon Beer Barrel Database

[DeanSheen]

I've been randomly trying bourbon barrel beers for awhile now with mixed results. When I went to Savor in DC this spring we talked to 4 breweries that made these and 3 of the 4 were from JB white. The best one of the bunch was from a distiller I cant recall since I didn't take good notes.

In any event, I recently had North Coast's Old Rasputin XII and was not very fond of it which made me wonder if it was the beer or the bourbon. So I'm wondering if anyone has ever seen a list of bourbon beers and what distilleries and expressions they barrel's came from?

[funknik]

Allagash Brewing is a major force up here and they currently have bourbon-finished Belgian Trippel called Curieux. It's pretty good, but nothing too special I didn't think -- quite a bit mellower than their regular Trippel, though not really worth the $15 a 22oz. I do get it out at the bar when I find it, though. Guess whose barrels they use -- you guessed it -- JB White.

[ThomasH]

Party source sells a bourbon barrel beer Called Bluegrass that uses barrels from Jefferson's Reserve which are basically HH barrels. The stuff comes in 4 packs but isn't cheap at 10.00+ for a 4 pack!

Thomas

[silverfish]

There are some mentioned in this thread.

Someone suggested ratebeer.com - do a

bourbon search there for a list of results.

[jeff]

I've found that most brewers are rather secretive about the brand of barrels they use. I'm not sure if it is they who care, or the distilleries who prefer anonymity.

[smokinjoe]

Became aware of, and finally found, Atlanta Brewing Company's Red Brick 15th Anniversary Ale. It's a brown ale aged in Pappy Van Winkle barrels.

[OscarV]

Party source sells a bourbon barrel beer Called Bluegrass that uses barrels from Jefferson's Reserve which are basically HH barrels. The stuff comes in 4 packs but isn't cheap at 10.00+ for a 4 pack!

Thomas

[Josh]

I just got an email back from Alec at Founder's brewery in Grand Rapids. He told me that their Backwoods Bastard (a bourbon barrel version of their Dirty Bastard scotch ale) and presumably their Kentucky Bourbon Stout (KBS) are both aged in barrels from Heaven Hill.

He wrote, "We get many barrels that are of various ages, and are used for various bourbons, but they all come from the same place." This may mean the barrels EW/EC/HH lines as well as possibly Old Fitz barrels. I hadn't ever thought of the age of the barrels being a factor before, though. Food for thought.

[rocky480]

This is an historical beer at this point, but Dominion Brewing Company which used to be in VA made an Oak Barrel Stout that was only available at their brewpub which was finished in Virginia Gentleman barrels. Unfortunately, AFAIK the current version of OBS (now made by Coastal Brewing is Delaware) is made with some vanilla bean and oak chip method that simulates the bourbon aging. If anybody ever had them side by side, there was no comparison. The barrel aged stuff was one of the best beers I've ever had.

They also made an Oak Barrel version of their Millenium barley wine which was another fantastic beer.

[Odiedog52]

Great Divide (from CO) has a very limited bottling of their Yeti, Old Ruffian, and Hibernation Ale that they age in Stranahans whiskey barrels... These

are very hard to come by, but www.bruisin-ales.com got a case of each of the Yeti and Old Ruffian .. And they ship! The only downside is that it's $30 a

bomber.

[BradleyC]

One of the best and most consistent Barrel Aged beers is Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout. They use Heaven Hill barrels for this. They do a good job with it and it cellars wonderfully. They have a very limited release coming out this winter that has been in a Pappy 23 barrel.

Being from CO, I'm partial to Great Divide's barrel aged Yeti and Hibernation. They use Stranahan's barrels. I think the young barrel definitely impacts the taste. Also, our desert like humidity is not ideal for barrel aging. I think the yeti goes in the barrel around 10% and comes out 9 months later at 12%. I don't think they do any secondary fermentation in the barrel. Most of that is evaporation.

Other good BA beers are:

Kuhnhenn barrel aged barley wine

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

Deschutes Mirror Mirror barleywine

Hoppin Frog BA Boris stout

Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

Anything from a Barrel from The Bruery

Lost Abbey Bourbon Angel's Share (the brandy version is not very good)

Port Older Viscosity

The only negative thing about the barrel aged beers is they are tough to find. They typically come out once a year in limited quantities. They usually don't get distributed very far from the breweries. I always grab a handful of them when I see them.

[Josh]

I should also mention that a B.Nektar Meadery within walking distance of my house has been making a bourbon barrel mead.

http://www.bnektar.com/

[Bourbon Boiler]

One of the best and most consistent Barrel Aged beers is Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout. They use Heaven Hill barrels for this. They do a good job with it and it cellars wonderfully. They have a very limited release coming out this winter that has been in a Pappy 23 barrel.

Being from CO, I'm partial to Great Divide's barrel aged Yeti and Hibernation. They use Stranahan's barrels. I think the young barrel definitely impacts the taste. Also, our desert like humidity is not ideal for barrel aging. I think the yeti goes in the barrel around 10% and comes out 9 months later at 12%. I don't think they do any secondary fermentation in the barrel. Most of that is evaporation.

Other good BA beers are:

Kuhnhenn barrel aged barley wine

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

Deschutes Mirror Mirror barleywine

Hoppin Frog BA Boris stout

Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

Anything from a Barrel from The Bruery

Lost Abbey Bourbon Angel's Share (the brandy version is not very good)

Port Older Viscosity

The only negative thing about the barrel aged beers is they are tough to find. They typically come out once a year in limited quantities. They usually don't get distributed very far from the breweries. I always grab a handful of them when I see them.

Welcome, and thanks for the informative first post.

[Odiedog52]

Foothills (Winston-Salem, NC) is releasing their Barrel Aged Sexual Chocolate this Friday at 4pm .. of course it has to be 2 hours away at 4pm on a Friday! They release their regular Sexual Chocolate every winter in bottles, this is the first time ever releasing this version however. It is aged in PVW 23 barrels.

I'm a whore for barrel aged beers, from ANY barrels, but this is the beer that made me go buy my very first bottle of bourbon, which just so happened to be ORVW 23 (opted for ORVW cause it was put into barrels with 2 weeks of the day I was born)!

Pelican Pub and Brewery in Oregon also has a release coming up in the next few months, of a beer previously called The Perfect Storm, but this year has been changed to Mother of All Storms. A wonderful wonderful english style barleywine aged in 1998 Evan Williams Bourbon Barrels.

The Oregon Coast is famous for its winter storms. Exciting, tumultuous, captivating, their allure is unmistakable. But on rare occasions, there's one both mighty and generous. Just such a one is what inspired The Mother of All Storms. Based on Stormwatcher's Winterfest, our English-style barleywine, The Mother of All Storms spent four months aging in 1998 Evan Williams Bourbon barrels. Now at its peak, The Mother of All Storms delivers flavors of deep toasted malt, bourbon and oak. The finish rewards with whispers of vanilla, toffee and caramel. Best enjoyed with gusts exceeding 60 mph.

YUM. And they ship, but at $20 bottle and having to buy a case, it wasn't cheap! A very under rated beer the last two years, but people have definitely caught on.

[Josh]

Sexual Chocolate!

[smokinjoe]

Just picked up a Widmer Bros. "Brothers' Reserve" Barrel Aged BRRRBON. They take their Winter Seasonal BRRR and age it in KY Bourbon Barrels for 4 months. Haven't tried it yet, but hope to over the weekend.

[cowdery]

Just picked up a Widmer Bros. "Brothers' Reserve" Barrel Aged BRRRBON. They take their Winter Seasonal BRRR and age it in KY Bourbon Barrels for 4 months. Haven't tried it yet, but hope to over the weekend.

What's the price?

[smokinjoe]

What's the price?

It wasn't cheap. $12 for a 22 oz. bottle. :crazy:

[cowdery]

It wasn't cheap. $12 for a 22 oz. bottle. :crazy:

[smokinjoe]

That's why I asked. Wine prices.

[cowdery]

For me, that's more than I pay for wine.

Me too, usually.

[bcrossan]

You won't find it in bottles, but there is a local brewery called 512 that does a Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter. It is put into Maker's Mark barrels as I found out today when I saw them on the racks. Very good beer!

http://www.512brewing.com/beers.php

[imbibehour]

THe killer I had recently was Backwoods Bastard from Founders which is from Van Winkle barrels... it's unreal.

The Goose Island Bourbon County Stout is fantastic also. I am cellaring 4 bottles.

I could have picked up some Brooklyn Brewery Black Ops but passed it was $25 bucks a bottle.

[ggilbertva]

THe killer I had recently was Backwoods Bastard from Founders which is from Van Winkle barrels... it's unreal.

Backwoods is a very good beer but it's aged in HH barrels as Josh pointed out in an earlier post and as I learned while speaking with the Founders rep a month or two ago.

[imbibehour]

Backwoods is a very good beer but it's aged in HH barrels as Josh pointed out in an earlier post and as I learned while speaking with the Founders rep a month or two ago.

Whoops... my mistake... got carried away there!