I had the Craftsman Cabernale last week and was really surprised how good it was. The issue Im having is Craftsman doesn't bottle. Does anyone know of any bottled beers out there that are aged in Cab barrels that are fairly easy to come by?
Forget easy to come by and just trade your first born for some cab barrel-aged Mexican Cake. It's fantastic!
That's the first one that came to mind for me. Northern Californians can come by it fairly easily. So go for a trade.
Cab barrel aged Heavy Seas Below Decks is very good. Not sure how accessible it is in CA, but it's a great value when it's available. Think I paid like $8 for a bomber.
Maybe the Almanac Farm to Barrel series. They don't specify type of wine barrels used to age, but, maybe cab barrels are used on some where they generally describe aging in "used wine barrels." I see them in SoCal, but once they hit shelves, they don't last long. http://www.almanacbeer.com/ourbeer/
Mystic Brewery in Boston has aged a couple of their beers in cabernet barrels. I'm sure it's not too hard to come by in Boston if you want to trade for it.
Elsewhere it says the Goose Island Juliet used Pinot Noir barrels, but it looks like the 2009 at least was aged in Cabernet barrels: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1146/45368/?sort=high&start=250 Edit: Sorry, probably not easy to come by. But, quite delicious.
Maui Brewing had a Belgian aged in wine barrels when I was there in August. I thought it was pretty good.
Actually, it's practically impossible to come by because it was a year ago. These two beers: Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Fermented Descendant and Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Fermented Saison. Saison in particular was exceptional, imo. If you happen to see one, then it's just got lost on a shelf by chance. And unfortunately, they cannot procure Cab Sauv barrel right now. Their latest edition, just came out, is saison fermented in chardonnay barrels - really good, but, imo, not quite what Cab Sauv edition was.
