Does the distillery for bourbon barrel-aged beers really matter?

I think the char level, abv of the beer, cellar temp and the length of beer time in the barrel will have a greater influence. One more thought, age of the whiskey when dumped too.

 

I'm with you, but maybe not as astute on the bourbon tastes. I've noticed a better quality sometimes when comparing different bourbons, but I never notice any difference in taste between barrel effects.

 

I've had a couple barrel aged beers in which four roses barrels were used and I could notice the difference between that, and say for example where Woodford, Buffalo Trace, etc were used.

Definitely like those BBA beers that used four roses, but it is not common to find.

 

I've never really been able to tell a difference. Maybe if the comparison was between a some gut-rot stuff and a high-end bourbon, but between 2 relatively equal barrels, I can't tell.

 

calling @Highbrow

 

I've been Willitized one time and recognized whiskey alone. These high end brand cross merchandising efforts are very clever. These two niche markets of beer and whiskey fit together neatly. I remember too much Bourbon from a few fraternity parties that permanently eliminates me from a life-long love of the aroma itself.

 

One more thought to flavor profile, the malt bill for the individual bourbon. Some have rye for the small grains, others have wheat.

 

I suspect that how recently the barrel was emptied makes a big difference. Wetter the better, I love it when the barrel treatment adds several points to the ABV.

 

like @Roguer said, there will certainly be differences imparted by the different barrels. Whether one or the other is better would depend on all the things that happen after the bourbon is removed, including the base beer that is put into it. In theory one might be able to find a 'perfect' bourbon barrel for any given base beer but just because one bourbon is 'best' for one base doesn't mean that it would be the 'best' to put some other base beer into.

One immediate thing that also comes to mind is the length of time the bourbon was in the barrel. Bourbon barrels are freshly charred oak wood and the charred wood flavors as well as the oak tannins are extracted by the, originally, clear bourbon. In theory, the longer the bourbon is in the barrel the more of those volatile compounds are being extracted and the fewer of them (especially the most soluble ones) that will be available to the beer.

Lots of variables, I imagine it's quite a fun part of the process for some brewers

 

Imo no. Sure, some bourbons are better than others that’s true with most anything, now you relegate that stout into a empty used barrel, I’d think no way. Obviously how wet or dry the barrels are influence the product as does time in the barrel, the more of each the more influence obviously. But there’s no way to pick out a Pappy barrel from a Elijah Craig barrel imo, the ratio of bourbon to beer is simply not enough, and from here it’s marketing. My opinion of course.

Let me add that I cant remember having a beer done in rye whiskey barrels, I could see a difference here because it’s a totally different whiskey. But picking out distillers , I don’t think so either.

 

I agree with your palate, I know what I like but I’m quite sure I couldn’t tell you blind which was what.

 

The whiskey that was in the barrel used to age beer can have a big impact on the flavor of the beer, but I don't think there's any notable correlation between 1) the tastiness of, price of, or hype around the whiskey and 2) the tastiness of the beer aged in barrels that once held that whiskey. As you've identified, however, there's certainly a correlation between 1) the price of and hype around the whiskey and 2) the hype around the beer aged in barrels that once held that whiskey. Whether there's a strong correlation between 1) the tastiness of the whiskey itself and 2) the price of and hype around it is a matter for a different site.

I'll take a moment to reiterate my common refrain that, to this whiskey fan, the vast majority of whiskey-barrel-aged beers are inferior to the base product that spent no time in barrels. Whiskey and beer are not particularly complementary flavors, and most non-sour beer, even in "cellarable" styles, is best fresh and not with time wasted in barrels or bottles. Also, while I'm sure there are some counterexamples in the world, all of the biggest whiskey-barrel-aged beer fans I know are not knowledgeable or experienced whiskey drinkers. I suspect whiskey tends to be an exotic and alluring flavor element to beer drinkers who aren't particularly used to whiskey and an unsatisfying watering down of what makes whiskey great to actual fans of both types of beverage.

 

I like whisky. I like it a lot. I've tried dozens of whiskies for sure (possibly 100+, but not sure), and earlier this year made a point to visit a few distilleries in Scotland. I do not consider myself a particularly sensitive taster, but I can tell the difference between whiskies and I absolutely have preferences.

I do think that the barrel aging treatment can have a complementary effect on beer. The smoke, the wood, the vanilla flavors, the boozy sweetness -- these all go really well (sometimes) with dark beers. I've even had one or two barrel aged IPAs that I thought went pretty well, but this is certainly uncommon. But, I can see someone who is looking for whisky tasting a BA beer and thinking, "What the hell is this watered down garbage?" You just can't be looking for whisky -- look for a heavily augmented beer.

I have also had a significant number of barrel aged beers that I thought were boozy messes, or fell so hard on smoke or wood that I just disliked them.

I have never detected a preference for beers aged in whisky barrel type A versus type B. So few breweries age the same beer in different barrels, and if you age different beers in different barrels, what's the point of comparing? They're just different liquids, and you can't tell why.

I think it's a crap shoot, whether some particular base beer will go well with whatever flavors it will pick up from whatever barrel it gets put into. Kudos to those who succeed.

 

I don't see why they wouldn't. Take sherry, for example: at one time, very popular in the UK. So some top quality barrels were "recycled" and used to age Scotch whisky. Now that its less popular, not as many bodegas will supply their barrels, so distilleries reduced to using lesser quality sherry to "season" a barrel for several months. People with experience can taste the difference

 

I would guess that it does for experts, but my own palate is not sophisticated enough to tell a difference. The distillery used does lend a nice quality to the name of the beer.

 

They definitely taste different. I've done several tasting line-ups where the same + similar beers were aged in different barrels. The trick is, better/rarer bourbon doesn't necessarily = better beer, though.