Do brewers re-use barrels multiple times?

You do know people can like different things than you do, right? You seem wholly unable to grasp the concept.

 

I can also recognize the value of a concept eclipsing precious beer that's held inside. So yes, it's alone my strong opinion that many beer enthusiasts are being led down a path that says barrel is better. Anyway, you're right in some respect. Enjoy your bourbon beer.

 

are you just contemplating aloud or this statement comes from actual experience or knowledgeable source?

 

Winemaking experience / brewhouse experience, deal with barrels on the daily. Oak goes neutral after about 3 years. Winemakers are a great source for a confused brewer or someone trying to experiment.

 

Tart of Darkness batch 2 was also aged in spent Black Tuesday barrels.

 

Better than Firestone Walker my ass! Go back and take a look/read at FW BA program.

 

more like have a taste, and believe me i have, happily. disagree if you like, but goose island gets flavors and depths that i've just never experienced from other breweries.

is parabola an all around better beer than most vintages of BCBS? sure it is. sucaba better than BCBBW? that's a stretch, but they're so different that i can't decide really.

believe me, i'm not shy with my praise for firestone walker. to compare GI's barrel program favorably to theirs is a high compliment.

 

Don't be turned off just yet! I really like their Straight Jacket and Very Mad Cow. They both have really strong bourbon notes, but not overbearing and not too much oak/wood. I think the thickness of Straight Jacket and the lactose sweetness of Very Mad Cow made a substantial enough base to carry the barrel character. I haven't had the Deth's Tar, though.

 

I love FW. They may be my favorite brewery. And I certainly like their regular, non-ba offerings more than GI's. But Goose Island is miles ahead in terms of barrel aging. Bourbon County is a step up from Parabola. It's bigger, more flavorful, ages better, etc. And the limited releases! Rare, King Henry, Baudonia, Prop. GI continually comes out with these mind-blowing BA beers with a consistency and quality that no one else has yet to match.

 

I think this statement is too broad. Unless you're taking about something specific and I'm missing it. Then what about distilled spirits? They seem to "use" oak for much longer than three years, much longer.

 

I think the folks that make traditional gueuze would politely disagree with you on the topic of whether barrel-aging makes for a better beer.

 

Not to geek out too much but I have to believe that any transport of molecules from barrel to fluid is affected by the density, or specific gravity, of that fluid. AKA I think osmosis plays into this.

 

Not bourbon gueuze, pal

 

We use French oak, it goes neutral after about 3 years. It offers no more oak flavor, unless you were to retoast it. Although a barrel goes neutral it will still micro oxygenate your product. Also due to the constant evaporation of the product into the staves, you will increase and improve mouth feel and body. As well as concentrate alcohol. If you were to rack a beer into a previously used barrel, yes you would pick up some of the previous flavors. I agree spirits are aged a lot longer than most beers. I don't have any experience aging spirits, but I would say most spirits that display the most oak flavors are aged in brand new american oak by law. Back to beer, brewers that I am familiar with will usually age beer in a used spirit barrel to pick up on the flavor of that spirit, they usually start with something like a brown that's 7% ABV or higher. Then reuse it with something a little bigger such as a 9% ABV stout. They definitely reuse them, some sterilize in between with a series of chemicals and/or steam, some only use them once. Some brewer's don't sanitize in between and just fuck up beers. We constantly have new microbreweries knocking on the door asking if they should use peracetic acid to clean barrels? Don't put beer in barrels if you are not familiar with CIP protocol or how to properly clean a barrel, is the advice I would give.

 

I can back this up this. Just had a wine rep come in to the restaurant where I work for a wine tasting, and he mentioned "neutral 3 year barrels," and went on to say barrels that old are used simply to store the wine, not add anything to flavor/mouthfeel.

 

Not every barrel used for aging beer once held bourbon. Cantillon saw fit to try aging lambic in Cognac barrels. Does that not meet with your approval?

 

A bit more

 

It was not their first time experimenting with barrels. Very Mad Cow has been showing up since December of 2010, about 3 years before Deth's Tar.

 

Mine typically has had interaction with a fermenter. Apparently I'll enjoy anything