Why the predominance of bourbon barrels for barrel aging?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by IamMe90, Feb 17, 2013.

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  1. Ohsaycanyoubeer

    Ohsaycanyoubeer Initiate (0) Feb 8, 2012 Colorado
    Deactivated

    Yes, but isn't Armand making his own gueuze again after the cooler incident?
     
  2. chinabeergeek

    chinabeergeek Pooh-Bah (1,837) Aug 10, 2007 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    to the best of my knowledge, the 4 seasons "armand" series was the last time he brewed any himself. supposedly he has somebody studying under him to eventually do both duties, but that's a few years off into the future.

    in any case, plenty of other blending-only outfits, like de cam, hanssens and now tilquin. that said, obviously none of them have the power of diageo or pernod ricard over the scotch industry...
     
  3. spicoli00

    spicoli00 Pooh-Bah (2,231) Jul 6, 2005 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah Society

    No one has mentioned wine barrel use
     
  4. chinabeergeek

    chinabeergeek Pooh-Bah (1,837) Aug 10, 2007 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    http://beeradvocate.com/community/t...n-barrels-for-barrel-aging.69502/#post-973527

     
  5. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Try one from this series:

    http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/323/47581

    and report back.
     
  6. tcanaday

    tcanaday Initiate (0) Oct 23, 2012 California

    Agreed, and I love scotch.
     
  7. taxman

    taxman Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2012 Illinois

    One of the more common ways to make a boilermaker is a shot of bourbon and a glass of beer. So why not just age the beer in the ex-bourbon casks to impart the flavor? Someone asked this question and bourbon barrel aging was born. That's my theory.
     
  8. smitherz22

    smitherz22 Initiate (0) May 8, 2012 California

    I think that the vanilla and caramel flavors that come from bourbon and whiskey lend themselves well to stouts and other ales. But there are a lot of other beers, especially funky/sour type beers aged in wine barrels because the flavor profile matches and they work together well.... I can't even imagine how bad a beer aged in scotch barrels would taste - but I guess I could be surprised
     
  9. chinabeergeek

    chinabeergeek Pooh-Bah (1,837) Aug 10, 2007 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    i believe the main point of the boilermaker and other "bomb shot" cocktails is just to get drunk as quickly as possible, not to enhance the flavor...
     
  10. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,291) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I keep a list of beers that I've had in the past, but I don't keep notes of when I drank them or the particular details of the taste. However, I found 4 that I think I've had within that past 3 years, and they must not have impressed me with the effects of the barrel aging when compared to bourbon barrel-aged beers that I've had, of which there have been many.

    Two of the 4 beers were aged in "whiskey" barrels -- O'Fallon's Whiskey Barrel Smoked Porter, and Rogue's John John Dead Guy Ale Aged in "Whiskey" barrels (I believe there were also rum and gin barrel versions of this one too).

    The other two beers were aged in brandy barrels -- Dogfish Head's Poppaskul , and New Holland's Charkoota Rye Smoked Dopplebock.

    I've always liked the taste of bourbon (although I also like brandy and other whiskeys), so there may be some bourbon prejudice to consider here, but from the four non-bourbon beers noted above I've learned not to pay a premium price for a barrel-aged beer that is aged in anything but bourbon barrels. I just don't get any extra satisfaction from them to justify the extra cost. Whether non-bourbon barrels are more well-used, thus don't impart as much flavor into the beer could be a basic reason, but I'm not going to purchase them to find out.
     
  11. Sharkophile

    Sharkophile Initiate (0) Jan 6, 2012 New York

    A few things with this:

    I recently had an imperial stout aged in pinot noir barrels and it got me thinking about barrel-aged beers. A lot of breweries age beer in whiskey barrels, and I've always been curious why these beers are so over-represented relative to those of other kinds of aged wine and liquor. What are some good beers out there that are aged in a non-whiskey barrel?

    Also, are there specific reasons for this imbalance? I feel like aging a beer in wine, tequila, rum or (especially) cognac barrels would provide just as much if not more flavor than a whiskey barrel, and yet not many breweries uses these kinds of aging processes.
     
  12. Cinderbike

    Cinderbike Initiate (0) Jan 16, 2011 Nevada

    My guess? Availability. I've had much better luck finding bourbon/rye barrels vs. scotch/rum/brandy/cognac/tequila/etc. Wine barrels are pretty easy to come by, but I live ~2 hours from Napa so I don't think that's the norm.
     
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  13. 5thOhio

    5thOhio Initiate (0) May 13, 2007 South Carolina

    Since both beer and whiskey are made with malt as a base, I would guess it's done because the flavors are more compatible.
     
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  14. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Well, first, plenty of sour beers age in wine barrels (everything RR does, for instance, is used wine barrels), so that part of your question is just wrong.

    As for things like tequila, rum, or cognac, I believe the problem is availability and price. Some places like to rum age, but mostly breweries that are near rum producers (Florida ones) or distill themselves (Ballast Pt). Similarly Tequila ones show up, but not that often. My guess with those two is that there just aren't that many barrels available, and that the flavors kind of suck for beer aging (though this will depend).

    Cognac is just absurdly expensive, from what I understand, since you need to ship it overseas. But still, it happens.

    Bourbon is just a special case since, by law, barrels are only used once. They need to go somewhere, and so breweries will take them. AFAIK that's not the case with any other kind of spirit. So you do see those other barrels, but they're not as common because there are far less on the market.
     
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  15. eatabagofbooger

    eatabagofbooger Initiate (0) Mar 27, 2009 Oregon

    Figgy Pudding (brandy), Rye-on-Rye (rye whiskey), Ola Dubh (scoth whisky), BA Cavatica (rye whiskey), and Temptation (chardonnay) are some of my favorites aged in non-bourbon barrels. Having said that, I've had a lot of barrel aged beers and find that bourbon usually melds better with beer than other spirits. I suspect that this is why they are so common.
     
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  16. Ol_Johnny_Skippelwicky

    Ol_Johnny_Skippelwicky Initiate (0) Feb 13, 2013 Minnesota

    I would be all over a beer aged in Johnnie Walker barrels.
     
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  17. dianimal

    dianimal Pundit (982) Apr 18, 2012 California

    I think they're more available because they can only be used for the whiskey once. Once the whiskey is gone, they get rid of the barrel. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
     
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  18. evilcatfish

    evilcatfish Initiate (0) May 11, 2012 Missouri
    Trader

    I think you are correct but I'm no expert.....
     
  19. evilcatfish

    evilcatfish Initiate (0) May 11, 2012 Missouri
    Trader

    Is Jaegermeister aged in barrels? If so that could be an interesting beer....
     
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  20. Dan114

    Dan114 Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    American whiskey has to be aged in new oak barrels. So they sell them to Scotland usually and also brewers more recently. Also American whiskey (read bourbon) is not a malt based product. At least 51% corn, I don't believe Rye is made from malted Rye. That being said I'm not too stoked on bourbon barrel aged stuff because of the corn flavor. To each his own though.
     
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