Bourban Barrel Aged Beers - Question.

All of the above - and that's not a sarcastic answer. The barrel, what was in the barrel, how long it was in the barrel, the base beer, how long it was in the barrel... all factors.

 

Was going to say most of the same.
Some medium quality base beers can be "gussied up" with some barrel time. You've heard of putting lipstick on a pig right?
But sometimes barrel aging doesn't help much. I've had one that didn't...sorry can't recall it righ now.

 

Be prepared for a ton of opinions headed your way lol

Cheers, man

 

All factors but I think the most important is the base beer. If the base beer sucks then barrel aging it in say pappy barrels you could improve it, but would it really be great? But at least you could trade whalez for it, but I digress. But without a great base beer I don't think you could have a great BA stout.

Much like anything you need a great base.

 

This is certainly an interesting discussion. I would have to believe that the base beer would be the single largest factor, followed by the type of barrel used. There are so many factors involved. The location of the barrel in the building can play a significant role on what comes out. In addition, the first glass or bottle poured from a barrel can taste different, if only slightly, from the last. I have had beers where a barrel did amazing things to the base beer, and beers where I felt the barrel did nothing but hurt the base.

 

Certainly the base beer plays a large role as you can't (usually) polish a turd. A big factor in my opinion is length of time in the barrel. I've seen beers aged under two months in a barrel and you can't even tell it's been barrel aged. Also when breweries use a barrel way too often and the flavor isn't imparted because of the amount of times the barrel has been used previously.

 

I would think a great base is first in line, no barrel or time will cover an average or poor base beer. Next would be time in barrel, more time means more flavor adds a lot. Last would be barrel, I can't tell one from the other to be honest.

 

This^^

 

The base beer is certainly important, but with a few exceptions. There are certain beers that have terrible bases, that once they spend their time in a barrel, they become magical.

An example would be Dark Lord- the last few years of regular Dark Lord have been notoriously poor for most people- but the barrel aging (plus adding of adjuncts) really seems to put it on another level.

Other examples, sorta, would be beers where the base beer isn't even released commercially- the base beer is a beer explicitly made for barrel aging. Bourbon County is like this- the base, Cook County Stout, has never been widely released save for a few small events, and it never will be. It's supposed to be rather unimpressive without the length of time and amount of love Goose Island puts into it each years in barrels. Firestone doesn't release the base beers for most of their barrel-aged beers, other than Velvet Merkin, as far as I know. I'm not even sure what the base for Parabola, Sucaba, Stickee Monkee, etc, are. The base beer for KBS is not FBS, it's a different beer. (that is likely quite similar to FBS, but brewed especially for barrel-aging).

In these cases, the base beer is important- they clearly had to make one that would end up well after aging, but in these cases I'd argue the length of time in barrels, type of barrels, temperature of aging facility, etc, is more important.

 

The skill and knowledge of the brewer plays a huge role. Great beers are seldom made by accident.

 

It's in the skill of the brewmakers hands, which is a decision in all those factors...

 

Damn, that's explains my homebrewed beers. Keeping my fingers crossed for a few accidents here and there.

 

Great thread. And I agree with much of what has been written.

FWIW Islay whisky barrels tend not to work well with beer, even high ABV stouts.

 

it's like any math equation, every variable makes it more complex

 

I know that in GI BCBS they say that the expansion/contraction plays a big part of their beer development. Chicago has some blisteringly cold winters and is equally as hot in the summer. With their barrel aging storage being a non temp controlled warehouse, it really helps squeeze the goodness right out of the barrels. I have had BCBS before it went into the barrel, aged 3mo, aged 6mo, and the finished product side-by-side in a flight. It's amazing to be able to taste that transformation and really see the progression. That's my $.02.

 

Agree with most of previous posts..need all those factors because there are so many variables..from base beer to length of time, quality of bourbon,type of wood barrel is made from,temp,environment,etc...

 

The base beer is factor #1 in my opinion. I have had good stouts that I didnt like barrel aged.