Why the predominance of bourbon barrels for barrel aging?

Bourbon has to be aged in new barrels every time. That's one of the rules of making bourbon. In fact used bourbon barrels are used to age scotch (for example, Laphroaig is aged in used Maker's Mark barrels). So, because, unlike scotch, bourbon barrels have to be new each time, used barrels are available. It's also good, but I strongly suspect that brewers started experimenting with bourbon barrels because they could get them, and they tend to do larger volume batches with them for the same reason.

 

Bourbon is the American Whiskey so more barrels available here.

 

In my experience , I have come to dislike, or rather distrust, "Whiskey barrel" aged beers due to the fact that by definition the barrels are reused where bourbon barrels can only be used once. So in my mind a whiskey barrel's attributes may have been leached out several times over due to repeat usage in the spirit making process. A bourbon barrel can only be used once so it imparts strong bourbon (though equal to other spirits) flavor but also donates a more complete portion of the barrel's assets to the beer. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Case in point most recently would be Firestone Abacus vs "Barrel Aged" bigfoot. Both are exceptional beers and will vary due to the base brew but the Abacus for me has a sweeter/vanilla/oak finish compared to bigfoot's more bitter and whiskey finish. There are pro's to both, where I prefer the bourbon flavor and sweetness, the whiskey barrels don't transform the beer as much which lets the base brew shine a little more. Long story short, I like bourbon and you should try both and drink what you like (or both).

 

a few breweries did exceptionally well with it, making excellent beers. many other brewers decided to try and follow suit - with varying degrees of success. seeing as the barrels are relatively easy to come by, it must seem as though it's at least worth a try.

 

brewers who use "whiskey barrel" may or may not be using a newly-emptied bourbon barrel. sometimes it's simply the whim of the brewer how they want to label or market the beer. in any case, ALL american whiskey (bourbon, rye, tennessee, etc), with the sole exception of corn whiskey (80% or more maize used in the mash), must be aged in new charred barrels in order to even be labeled as "whiskey".

 

What would change with multiple whiskey agings in the same barrel are the characteristics contributed by the oak. The whiskey contribution would be equally strong each time because roughly equal amounts of whiskey would be retained by the wood as the barrel is emptied. However, when the barrel is used multiple times for aging whisky it is usually the case that it is recharred so that at least some, if not all, of the "exhausted" surface is burnt away leaving behind access to relatively fresh oak. So in the long run there could still be both whiskey and oak character contributed to the beer depending on how it has been treated before the brewer gets it.

The strength of the bourbon contribution is more likely to be a result of how well emptied the barrel was, etc. After they pour all the bourbon out at the distillery, there is still some whiskey retained absorbed into the wood, etc. Some disteilleries will not sell an emptied barrel to local fraternties of groups of young adult males because those guys have lerned that one can pour a limited amount of water into the barrel, close the bung hole, roll the barrel around, etc. and then pour out some reasonably strong bourbon and branch from the barrel.

 

Bourbon is in a bit of a renaissance (in my opinion) these days, and some points have been made that already state the fact. Spent bourbon barrels get re-used to brewers, Irish Whiskey (Jameson) is an example.

Boubon barrels are somewhat plentiful, and they get re-used by breweries, other distilleries, to everything from being turned even into furniture.

Where is Scotch made... 3200 miles on the other side of Atlantic... what is easier to acquire for a domestic US manufacturer? barrels from Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace?... or barrels from Johnnie Walker, Laphroaig, et al??

 

using a whiskey or a bourbon barrel will give a dramatically different final result

 

I think the similarity of ingredients and flavors play into this as well. I would love for more rum barrel aged offerings though.

 

the fundamental bottleneck in supply is simply the fact that only american whiskies must by law be aged in new charred oak barrels. all producers of other spirits can reuse their barrels an infinite amount of times, and will indeed often use them until they are simply falling apart. you will not find many scotch, rum or tequila producers willing to give up their barrels because they largely ALREADY BOUGHT THEM VIA CONTRACT BEFORE THEY EVEN HELD BOURBON.

THAT'S RIGHT - ALMOST ALL THE FILLED, AGING BARRELS, SITTING IN THE RICK-/WAREHOUSES AND CELLARS IN THE USA, HAVE LONG AGO BEEN PURCHASED AHEAD OF TIME BY PRODUCERS OF OTHER SPIRITS.

 

Shit tastes good.

 

agreed, but the point I am making for the original poster is what is easier to acquire for a domestic brewer to use?

a barrel that comes from Kentucky, or other US state from a bourbon, or a Scotch barrel from 3200 miles away? Seems like a no brainer to me.

So when you look at Innis And Gunn they have Scotch barrel aged beers, probably out of convenience and ease of use.

What about this (ooo!! I got a bottle and can't wait to try). (no it's not a stout)

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/12142/89034

The point I am getting at, is the answer to the original posters question is probably cost.. in my opinion. Also someone just pointed out about acquisition...

Also here's a heads up for the original poster, here is a Scotch barrel aged brew I saw recently seek it out if that's your thing.

http://schlafly.com/beers/styles/single-malt-scottish-ale/

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/583/87209

 

Yup This.

 

agreed - when it's all said and done though, i tend to prefer the bourbon barrel aging over whiskey. dramatically different flavor profiles. i have yet to have a beer aged in whiskey barrels that has wowed me (in fact, many have been lackluster)

 

I am sure that is part of it but proximity is also a part, Ola Dubh is in Scotch Barrels and as a UK brewer that makes sense.

 

see my post above

innis & gunn was only using american bourbon barrels until recently (only 2 or 3 years?) for its new line of specific barrel treatments.

 

yes, proximity is a part. i never denied that. but until very recently not many UK beers were barrel aged begin with. the ones (like harviestoun's ola dubh) which did use scotch barrels obviously made an arrangement that was helped along by proximity and no need for additional importation. but others, like fullers and innis & gunn, were using bourbon barrels. and again, even then, it likely started out as an arrangement with a scotch producer that already owned a massive number of barrels coming in from the USA.

 

Have you ever put scotch in a stout? Its terrible...

 

This thread has really taught me a lot, and is a welcome change from the typical threads we've seen lately. OP- thank you. Also thanks to everyone sharing knowledge.

Carry on.