Keep It Secret
Skookum Brewery

This is a pretty unusual beer. According to Skookum, it's a bier de garde that has been aged for 8 months in Quilceda Creek wine barrels.

Serving: from a growler into a tulip. Appearance: copper colored, fairly clear, with a bit of head. Carbonation might have suffered from a 24 hour lag from purchase in the growler until I got a chance to drink it.

The nose has a lot of wine in it. The taste is what's unusual. It's got some caramel and malty character, but most of my impression is that this is not much like any beer I can remember. It's strongly wine flavored, and the combination of slightly caramel malts, the oak barrel, and the wine is interesting, to say the least. It's just a bit tart.

I didn't love this beer, but I give Skookum high marks for trying something different. I wouldn't urge people to chase after this, but it's well worth a try if you see it, and you have an adventurous palate.