Beer Barrel Aged Bourbon

I bought a bottle at the brewery but haven't opened it yet. ($30) I had a tiny sample while at the brewery but I didn't notice any unique flavor that could be from barley or hops. When I open the bottle and try a larger drink maybe those tastes will be more obvious.

A minor correction in the OP's post: the brewery does have a small distiller's license, but for this product they purchase the Bourbon elsewhere that gets aged in the Dragon's Milk barrels before it becomes Beer Barrel Bourbon.

 

We're one step away from an infinite recursion here! Coming next - beer aged in bourbon barrels that originally aged beer. *mind officially blown*

 

Since bourbon can only be made in unused charred oak barrels this is impossible. That is just some whiskey.

 

I think the way they can get around it is that it's aged in the unused charred oak barrel first before getting moved to the beer barrels. I could be wrong about this, but as long as it's aged in unused charred oak barrels first, they can still call it bourbon.

 

It's aged first in charred new oak and then finished in the beer barrels.

Yep! From the website:

Beer Barrel Bourbon is first aged in new American oak barrels for several years, before a three month beer-y slumber. The beer-barrel aging lends biscuity notes and a smooth malt character to the robust whiskey tones of toffee and caramel.

 

It was:

"The basis of Beer Barrel Bourbon is a blend of 110 to 115-proof Bourbons that come from Lawrenceburg Distillers in Indiana. New Holland places this whiskey in the used Dragon’s Milk barrels, and 90 days later it emerges, transformed into an incredibly smooth 80-proof taste treat."

And that is why the price was so good for $30 a 750. New Holland didn't distill any of the base spirit. It was the same price for half the volume of the Double Down brewers whiskey.

 

It's basically a "finished" bourbon, like Angel's Envy, a recently introduced bourbon that spends some time in port wine barrels after six years on the original first-use oak. (Oddly enough, some craft brewer -- I think it was Greenbush -- advertised a beer not too long ago that was "aged in Angel's Envy barrels." I contacted them to ask which of the two Angel's Envy barrels it came from; I believe the reply was that it was the original oak, which is kind of funny when you think about it, since it won't really have Angel Envy's unique taste!)

 

as a bourbon drinker I scoff at this obvious pitch towards doofey BAs

 

Haymarket did this with Nina, their imperial stout aged in Angel's Envy Barrels. I had it on tap there and I'm pretty sure they had it at FOBAB, definitely got a complex array of the bourbon and port.

 

Now that process makes sense. Looks like Against the Grain down in Louisville used Angel's Envy barrels as well for something called London Balling.

ETA: And I just looked through some old messages. It was Against the Grain that I contacted, after Bavarian Lodge put London Balling on draft and noted the Angel's Envy use. Here was the reply that I got from them:

Against The Grain Brewery

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Good question... Its the original bourbon whiskey barrels. however, we do have plans to do some work in the port barrels soon. stay tuned!

 

Not really a big fan of how this Bourbon is marketed. It's basically implied that New Holland distilled this and before this thread, it took some decent research to find that they did not.

 

I wholeheartedly agree. I read the description on their website pre-purchase, nowhere does it mention that they bought the bourbon from elsewhere. Not sure I would have purchased it if I were aware that they had not distilled it themselves.

 

I think to be able to call it "Bourbon" they probably had to purchase Bourbon to be able stick with the style name. Doesn't Bourbon have to be made in KY (or a company that is based in KY) to be able to use that name? (I don't know where the company is based that supplied the Bourbon, although it was said it was distilled in Indiana, they may be based in KY.) Otherwise they would have had to call it Beer Barrel Whiskey, and that doesn't have the same marketing 'ring' to the name as Beer Barrel Bourbon.

 

Can you imagine what would happen on here if Pappy Van Winkle finished a bourbon in used barrels from Goose Island or Three Floyds?

 

London Balling was amazing.

 

No, bourbon has to be made in the USA, but not in KY exclusively.

A ton of good American whiskey is produced this way. High West is fantastic, and they only sell whiskey purchased from other distillers (right now - they are making their own as well).

Bourbon must be aged 2 years to be called bourbon, and usually you want more time in the barrel that that. Sounds like they wanted to move forward with this idea without waiting. It's really not a big deal, or shady marketing.

 

I believe this to be incorrect.

Here is what I know, Bourbon must be made with 51% corn, made anywhere in the U.S., no more than 80 proof, and must be aged in New Charred Oak barrels.

Straight Bourbon adds another requirement, and must be aged in those barrels for a minimum of 2 years to be called Straight

 

All bourbon requires two years. "Straight" isn't a technical or legal modifier. And it's at least 80 proof, not no more than. George T Stagg is 140 proof or so, and harder to find than freaking Cherry Rye BCBS this year.