The Beer and its Barrel
We brewed about 60 gallons of this beer earlier this year in the pilot brewery as a fun side project, building a rich but fairly dry barley wine that was solidly malty with both toasty and caramelly malty flavors, and fermented in stainless. We then added this base beer to a Willett Rye Barrel and let it age over the warmer months in the brewery.
Tasting Notes
This one is not for the timid. The nose is intense, featuring notes of toffee, toasted grains, dried fruit. There’s a decided note of figs. The flavor has a sherry-like smoothness and sweetness, without being cloying at all. There’s a clear alcoholic strength here.
The oak and whiskey flavors are subdued, or simply buried in the massive malty, fruitiness of this beer, but it’s clear the barrel added a to the beer, giving a drying alcoholic heat and woody tannins. This beer seems to want to conjure up a campfire or fireplace on a cooler night, and pondering. A good beer for a holiday feast, pairing well with the dinner or the dessert.