The OFFICIAL Kuhnhenn Winter Solstice thread

Todd also told me that the just released 2012 bottles were actually just filled from 2 year old barrels. Looking forward to cracking one open.

 

Well that settles it folks...confirmation from a Kuhnhenn employee. You can take that to the bank!

 

As long as you don't ask again.

 

Not to burst anyone's bubble, and hopefully this is different for beer, but most of the barrel characteristics picked up by a spirit in a barrel take place in the first 6 months. There is a significant plateau after that.
More use a barrel gets (for refills, etc) the less it will impart on the liquid inside (but thats fairly obvious).
And of course, the quality of oak along with the quality of the previous spirit (bourbon in many cases) inside previously make a big difference.

I am just relaying info from the master blender at the distillery I work at. These are results founded from his recently completed thesis. But again, thats for DD, not beer. I am only hypothesizing that the results may follow a similar curve. Not saying that an additional year in the barrel won't do something, but it may not be as significant as people may think or hope it does.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.... and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Who gives a shit what the extra year of barrel aging does to the taste... It makes it RARE!!!

 

What are you going to tell us next?

 

Bourbon County Rare and Founders Devils Cut (2 years in a barrel KBS) being so damn good must have nothing to do with being aged an extra year in the barrel then. Also not sure what makes Scotch aged in a barrel for 20 years smoother than a young version either then.

 

Fixed this for you.

 

Good thing I put my 3 bottles from Saturday with the 6 2012s I had left from last year...I checked and the packaging is exactly the same. I have no way to know which is which at this point...

 

Well then you have to open at least four of them at once to know for sure.

 

Any goodies left at the brewery? I'm thinking about making a trip down later this week just to enjoy the beer in a normal bar setting vs. crazy release day.

 

I stopped on Monday and they had a lot of bottles left. Of course no BB beers. I was on my lunch so I didn't even bother looking at the tap list.

 

Again, just relaying what my master blender was explaining to a group of us at a tasting at work.
Spirit will change over time and it will obviously smooth it out. We've all seen that. How much more you are getting from the barrel is likely not noticeable (according to him) once it gets to a certain point. Trust me, we were all surprised that the plateau began at 6 months.

Based on your simple logic, a beer or whiskey will not change in a bottle over years. Its all barrel influenced, right? Sorry, just having a little fun poking back at you.

I guess a PhD ain't worth the paper its written on these days.

Honestly, I will get more info once we're back at work.

 

Sorry, I was not trying to dispute that most barrel notes are imparted within the first 6 months. Just trying to say that there are other benefits to barrel aging for longer periods of time. Aging on oak chips in a non-porous container can impart some nice notes but its missing the other benefits of barrel aging.

Oak barrels breathe, allowing for a gradual oxidation and evaporation (angels share) which for reason beyond my expertise have been known to improve many beers, whiskeys and wines when aged in them for extended periods of time.

 

On the subject of extended BA, one of the first BA-4D vintages (2010 or 11) had a second release, the next spring, that spent ~50% more time in the barrels than the one sold at the Solstice event. (They both had the same year printed on the label, (which is why I always mark my bottles separately)). Now I'm curious, going to have to dig them out and try a complete vertical!

Extended BA does have an impact on beer - not always for the better (Idiot's Drool?) Anyone try the original 2012 BA4D with the 2-year BA version just released yet?

 

i was 249, got everything except french toast & had a bunch of good beer friday night...no complaints from me, lookin forward to summer solstice too. gonna open some cherry browns for xmas.

 

What if all four he tried were from the 6 left from LY?

Best bet is to look at the markings on the bottle bases and/or bottoms. Definitely not foolproof, but sometimes there's consistency that might differentiate the bottlings.

 

Damn, I thought he said three of each.

 

Just checked, exact same bottles.

 

Drink all 9?