Beer and the Bourbon Boom

Well I for one started on beers ages in Bourbon. After that I almost got into bourbon spirits, but it wasn't good enough to last. Back to lagers and whatever isn't an IPA.

 

Definitely an interesting perspective. I am definitely beginning to dabble in Bourbon because of beer.

 

Its' trully interesting

 

I'd say we can at least partly agree with him but its more complicated that he seems to realize. Its quite true that if Bourbon weren't so popular there'd not be all these used Bourbon barrels out there available for aging beer. However, the beer could be aged on oak chips rather than in used Bourbon barrels for less money and at lower risk of losing a batch to infection. yet oak aged beers aren't nearly as popular as Bourbon barrel aged beers. But, brewers can't just put any old beer in used Bourbon barrel for aging and expect it to be popular or something people will like. There is definitely a major contribution made by the beer flavors as well. So I'd argue its not the Bourbon itself but that the Bourbon flavors and the beer flavors work together to give us something more than we'd get from either by itself.

 

I personally started drinking bourbon long before I had my first BA Beer. To me though BA Beer to Bourbon seems like a more natural progression but I guess it depends on the person.

 

Here, too, and it was wayyy before I started drinking craft beer actually. And so the evolution of myself as a drinker hinged on me first enjoying finer spirits then enjoying finer beers. When barrel-aged beers became a thing, it was a marriage between two elements of drinking that is really enjoyed.

I agree with the author here. If bourbon weren't a popular spirit, a fine one that people viewed as refined and elegant, then it wouldn't be used in beers, particularly the ones considered world class.

 

Bourbon is perfect for beer, surprisingly the corn we/I despise in beer makes a great Bourbon. Slightly sweet, not really smoky like a great Islay Scotch, the oak, vanilla, and whatever comes thru by charring new oak barrels marries very well with beer.

 

Try New Holland's Bourbon finished in beer barrels. At least, I think that's who makes it.

 

Old Grand Dad, Wild Turkey and, sad to say it, Ten High were larger parts of my formative years than may have been best. In the process of sampling super premium tequilas, and single malts I, in the late 1990s, started trying Maple Hill, Noah's Mill, Pappy Van Winkle, Booker's, A H Hirsch 16yo among others. This was mostly a winter thing. Our Christmas Eve gathering typically involved two or three bottles of those and similar spirits on a friends table.

There are similarities to craft beer. It used to be fairly easy to get Pappy 20 year old. Now all I have is a dusty empty bottle and dreams of the whale.

Drinking 114 proof anything is something of an acquired taste. A buddy will insist on mixing coke and lots of ice, and then more ice in with your prized 20 year old.... way worse than drinking BCBS at 34 degrees.

There is something about the corn/sugar buzz I don't get from scotch, vodka, or even rum. At this point I seem to prefer the more gradual effect of beer.

 

I love some coca-cola as well as pappy but the thought of someone mixing the two together makes me want to have a complete melt-down..

 

At the risk of getting off-topic, one of the things I've had to change about myself is getting annoyed when people do things to food or alcohol that I wouldn't do.

For instance, I wouldn't mix coke and Bookers. I wouldn't cook my steak more than medium rare, but other people do do these things. It used to drive me crazy, but that's what people do. It's wrong and terrible (can't resist), but I just don't vocalize it anymore.

 

I'm with you in disagreeing with his statement. I didn't like bourbon until I started drinking BBA beers. The tail doesn't necessarily wag the dog.

 

Chuck is a real class act, and a great resource when it comes to bourbon. Great guy.

 

I've always enjoyed both beer and bourbon. I honestly think there is as much, if not more potential for BA beers to attract bourbon drinkers as draw for beer drinkers to dip a toe into bourbon. I can easily see the old bourbon drinker reluctantly sipping a BCBS and deciding he likes it - but it's a bit more of a stretch for me to see the seasoned beer drinker diving headlong into neat whiskeys because of his/her beer preferences. Granted, it should, and probably does, work both ways.

 

I would drink bourbon if I didn't drink so much craft beer. I love the sweet mellow taste of bourbon. So having the bourbon barrel aged beers is a plus for my taste buds. I'm turning a lot of friends on to the barrel aged stuff, too.

 

“…the beer could be aged on oak chips rather than in used Bourbon barrels…”

The breweries could also just age their beers on oak that was previously soaked in bourbon. That is how I made my homebrewed Bourbon Barrel Porter. I soaked some toasted oak cubes in Makers Mark Bourbon for a few weeks and then I added them to a carboy to which I transferred the Porter beer. I then aged the Porter on the bourbon soaked oak cubes for a couple of weeks. This method makes a tasty beer and it has the benefit of an abbreviated aging time (a contact and surface area thing).

The resulting beer has bourbon influenced flavors plus flavors from the toasted American oak; an intriguing combination of flavors to complement the base beer flavors.

Cheers!

 

Bourbon barrel beers is the reason I got into craft. I was drinking bourbon first so I can see Chuck's thinking on this. It is a natural progression, IMO. I could see the same thing for wine drinkers and wine barrel aged beers.