Top Barrel Aging Programs

Shmaltz. I fucking love every beer they have put out in their barrel aged series.

 

Probably not a top-tier program, but Tyranena has some very worthy BA porters.

 

Hair of the Dog should most certainly be at the top of any of these lists. I was hard pressed to find a beer more complex than Adam from the Wood, and then I tried Matt.

 

1 - Firestone Walker
...
2 - Cigar City
3 - Founders
4 - North Coast

Haven't tried CBS, but Firestone Walker is killing it with Abacus, Parabola, and the blends. Cigar City's Apple Brandy brews are fantastic.


To the people mentioning Cascade, RR, Cantillon... he said non-wild and in the states. No doubt Cantillon would be up in my list otherwise.

 

I put together 2 lists. A top 5 that is readily available to me. And a top 5 that is not. I couldn't really narrow it down to just one list!

Readily available to me:
1- Founders - CBS and all their other offerings are stellar
2- Hoppin Frog - BA Boris is one of the best I've had and its on every shelf all the time (see the price tag)
3- Great Lakes- BA Blackout makes me go to the release every year. Awesome stuff
4- Jackie-O's- Always available if I make it to a release or a friend makes it. Their barrel stuff is awesome
5- North Coast- BA Rasputin hits shelves here every here it comes out and is awesome

Not readily available:
1- Three Floyds- 3 words: Pappy Dark Lord. Enough said
2- Goose Island - Bourbon County and all its variants are awesome
3- Alesmith - Every BA Alesmith beer is wonderful. Only available for brewery only releases though
4- Firestone Walker - Each one is amazing. I especially like their Anniversary beers
5- Bells - Every BA Beer I've had from them is awesome. Just usually available only in Michigan. Rarely comes into Ohio so it makes this list

 

I would have to vote for Cigar City, Bruery, and Hill Farmstead. Does anyone else besides me think that if all you do is put beer in bourbon barrels then your 'barrel aging program' is a one trick pony at this point? (I.e. Founders, Firestone, Goose Island) I know, making a world class one trick has its merits, I'm stirring the pot because I don't generally care for bourbon anything. ( I did enjoy Parabola)

 

My top 5 in no paticular order:
The Burery
Founders
GI
FFF
Fifty Fifty

 

Russian River is not the only barrel program that puts barrel aged beers year round.

Curieux from Allasgash is year round.

 

hair of the dog isn't getting much love here. Surprising

 

I'll put in my two cents:

1. Avery- Huge barrell room which is increasing all of the time, with more and more awesome releases
2. Jolly Pumpkin - I beleive all of their beers are barrell aged? - And great.
3. Firestone is hard to beat or replace on any list
4. Lost Abbey - I'd put any of their barrell aged beers on some of my favorite lists
5. Crooked Stave- I expect great things from Chad yakobsen and his troop.

 

Allagash is a rare find around the Western half, but that would prob. be my #6....

 

Can I say Drakes as a sleeper?

1. GI
2. The Bruery
3. FW
4. Great Divide
5. Kuhnhenn

I am sure I am I forgetting some.

Cheers!

 

Olde Hickory cranks out some amazing barrel-aged goodies.

 

I was about to say Drake's as well. For a brewery that has never bottled a barrel-aged beer (to my knowledge) they certainly have a large program and ALWAYS have a few awesome, unique, and most importantly very tasty, barrel aged beers on tap at the barrel house, and at any tap takeovers they do.

 

Goose
Firestone
Cigar City
Deschutes
Bruery/RR

 

I'm a homer, but I can't imagine the rest of the world combined makes as many awesome barrel aged saisons as Hill Farmstead. Ann, Art, Flora, the Civil Disobedience seriers. Amazing. Plus, Juicy and Mimosa are out of this world great. The HF barrel aged stouts/porters don't exactly suck either...

For more widely available stuff, Firestone Walker is the king for me. Then there's a wide gap to Founders, Cigar City and the Bruery. That said, I will soon be tasting Leon and Cognac Sweet Stout, so I may be pushing CCB up on my list.

 

Agree 100% there. BA BORIS is an amazing brew that doesn't get near the "hype" I think it deserves. The rest of the barrel-aged offerings are pretty damn solid too. Great stuff.

 

I would like a ruling from jesskidden on this statement.

 

Not to step on Jesskidden's toes, but I don't think it's incorrect to say that Greg Hall pioneered, or at least popularized, the style. Maybe other breweries were doing something similar, but he's the one that brought it to the 1992 GABF (where it was disqualified since it fell so far outside the accepted style guidelines for an Imperial Stout).

 

I'll agree with every brewery listed here so far, but would like to give my local DuClaw Brewing a shout out for their up and coming barrel aged program. Bourbon Barrel X1 Rye Porter, Retribution, and Divine Retribution (had #1 and #2 on draft last night) are all delicious.