Barrel-Aged Saint Augustine
Selkirk Abbey Brewing Company

 

 

 

22oz bottle purchased at Huckleberry’s in Spokane for around $5-6. “0958AM 0508 2014” is etched on the bottle below the label. I’m not sure if this is when it was bottled or when it was brewed. I’ve been sitting on this for about a month or so. According to the brewery’s website, this was aged in Dry Fly rye whiskey barrels. The label is exactly the same as the standard Saint Augustine, with only a neck label with “Aged in Barrels” superimposed over the Dry Fly Distillery emblem telling you this is a little different. Here’s the info from Selkirk Abbey website:

9:30 on a weekday…and the power went out. Thank God we weren’t brewing. Nothing to do now except maybe try the Rye Whiskey released earlier this morning from Dry Fly. “Wow, this is great. Let’s do some boiler makers with our rye saison.” A couple drunken hours later...the idea to barrel age Saint Augustine was born. We kept the aging to a minimum to preserve the integrity of the saison but left it in just long enough to impart some Dry Fly deliciousness and smooth oak. This is our first barrel aged beer and rest assured it will not be the last, not by a long shot. We had been long considering which of our beers and whose barrels to use first, Dry Fly being the top contender for barrels from the start, when divine providence stepped in and helped us make the final decision.

Apparently there’s no difference in alcohol content or IBUs between this and the standard St. Auggie, which is a little surprising to me, as I always thought time spent in a barrel ramps up the abv, but by their own admission, minimal barrel aging was done.

Poured a chill-hazed apricot color, with a half inch or so of off-white foam that dropped quickly but was easily agitated back to life by a swirl of my St. Bernardus glass. Streaky and spotty lace.

Smells quite a bit like the standard St. Auggie: Belgian yeast notes, a little bit of spicinesss, a little bit of funk, rye bread notes.

The barrel-aging is generally only apparent in the taste, and it’s subtle. Thing seem generally like the standard St. Augustine, much like in the nose, but there’s a little bit more of a woodsy note in the background. Things also seem a little more tart than I remember the standard St. Auggie, and the rye aftertaste seems a little more rich.

Body and mouthfeel are spot-on for the style.

A tasty and very drinkable rye saison, this seemed like an interesting variation, one that I need to explore a little further with a bottle of the standard St. Augustine to make a closer comparison. When I purchased this, I picked up two bottles. Next paycheck and its resulting beer run, I will be buying the standard model and doing a side-by side comparison.