Why bourbon barrels?

Sounds like when I was in college and would "power up" the crappy cheapo beers by pouring some Jameson into them and drinking them that way.

Back to OP, I've had several beers aged in rum, tequila, and wine barrels and they are all interesting and often quite tasty, but also kinda esoteric and particular in their flavor. I think bourbon barrel aging gives the most accessible flavor match with beer as far as sales go, and Americans are obsessed with bourbon these days so it also probably lends itself to easy popularity. Also, as said, bourbon barrels aren't reused for bourbon so the distillers have to sell them to someone, whereas distillers of other spirits can just reuse their barrels.

And if anyone knows of a good peaty scotch-barrel aged beer (thinking Laphroaig-aged ale or the like), I'd love to drink that!

 

Bourbon County Stout most likely, and before you say it's not widely available, even up until 2010, I could buy it by the case in May or June at a grocery store. They always claim it was the first barrel aged beer at least.

 

Other barrels are certainly gaining in popularity though. At least rum and sherry.

 

Surprised it hasn't been explicitly mentioned yet but part of it probably has to do with the fact those other spirits aren't always aged in barrels.

Sometimes other spirits are aged in second use bourbon barrels so it's kinda like just skipping the middle man.

 

There's a local brewery that makes a rye whiskey barrel aged pilsner, but I haven't tried it, because that sounds gross.

 

Bourbon County may be the first to come to mind, but Dragon's Milk has been a widely abundant BA Stout available easily since 2002 at the very earliest.

 

Bourbon barrel aged beers are all the rage because people have found out how good stouts aged in them taste. However, I'd like to see more barrel variation, too. A brandy barrel aged barleywine would be perfect, since some barleywine already taste brandy-ish. More wine barrel aged beers, both red and white, would also be a welcome sight.

 

[QUOTE="jmasher85, post: 4388426, member: 965207]And if anyone knows of a good peaty scotch-barrel aged beer (thinking Laphroaig-aged ale or the like), I'd love to drink that![/QUOTE]

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale aged in Lagavulin barrels. So good it got me into single malt scotch. Also Harviestoun Ola Dubh in Highland Park barrels. All the various bottlings of those are pretty amazing too.

 

I love it all rum, whiskey, bourbon, tequila....bring it on

 

Yes--it was Jim Koch, and it was his 1994 Triple Bock. I learned this by sitting in his Barrel-Aged Beers salon at Savor two years ago. I walked in thinking Sam Adams was way too big to be craft anymore (I had a huge d-bag craft beer chip on my shoulder), but I got into the room early and spent about 10 minutes talking with Jim Koch. He is absolutely hands down one of the coolest dudes I ever met. Seriously, just a really down-to-earth great guy.

Anyway--he told the story, without bragging, that he was first person in the history of the world/beer, to age beer in spirits barrels. He got the idea for it in 1992 when he was walking into Home Depot, and saw that that they had cut up bourbon barrels for planter boxes, and the thought came to him that he wanted to age beer in those barrels. He told a funny story about how he had to get a special dispensation from a bunch of DC agencies and bureaucracies in order to buy the barrels directly from the distillery (due to the leftover residual alcohol in the barrels), and with that, he produced the 1994 Triple Bock, which in addition to being the first beer aged in spirits barrels, was also the first beer to get over 14% abv by natural brewing means (14% was the "sound barrier" for brewers for the longest time). The 1994 Triple Bock ultimately became Utopias.

And then when Jim got done telling that story, that SOB brought out cases of the '94 Triple Bock that he had saved and laid down this whole time, and poured some for everyone, to the hushed and ecstatic appreciation of every soul in the room. It tasted like a chocolate port. He even let us take the bottles home. One of the best beer memories of my life. Yeah, I became a Sam Adams fan for life.

 

Goose Island says the first batch of BCBS was brewed in 1992

 

J. W. Lees has used a mix of spirit and wine barrels (rum, sherry, calvados, etc.) well ahead of the current frenzy for barrel aged beers.

 

When I went to Smuttynose Brewing with the family the day after Christmas, one of the beers they were doing samples of was a Tripel styled beer aged in White Wine casks. It was fantastic. I think it was the white wine barrels that did it, but there was a subtle tartness to the beer that perfectly complemented the sweetness you get from a tripel (usually they add straight up brown sugar or molasses).

So I personally hope to see more diversity of barrels in the future. BBA'ing is kind of hit or miss with me if I am being honest. Don't like bourbon or whiskey at all and if it is too strong it reminds me of whiskey too much and typically retracts from the beer for me.

 

Interesting. Sam Adams also claims the same year, 1992, midway through the article: https://www.samueladams.com/media/p...gendary-barrel-aged-beer-samuel-adams-utopias. I wonder if he brewed and barreled it in '92, and then released it in '94?

 

BBA beers make up a large segment of my favorite stuff, and obviously folks around here recognize the flavor characteristics that the barrel can provide, but I'd guess that the rise in overall popularity of bourbon worldwide, and the concept of bourbon as a status item, hasn't hurt.

 

The flavor and smell off of those beers is so great.

 

Sourcing plus people like that flavor in particular

 

Bourbon is great. My next favorite is rye whisky. Then wine barrels for sours etc. love boulevard love child. Sour aged in whisky and wine barrels