Category: Tools of the Trade

In search of a new flavor profile, brewers turn to gin barrels, which can add herbal citrus, botanical notes, vanilla sweetness, and oaky depth to certain beers.

While anachronistic, the coolship is now used by more than two dozen breweries across the US to create spontaneously fermented ales in the Lambic tradition.

Although concrete fermentation tanks are new to the beer world, the vessel’s use dates back centuries to vintners in Europe. Its porous material and smooth shape aids in fermentation and flow.

The journey of pH1, a French oak wine barrel that ignited American sour beer history, begins at New Belgium in Colorado.