It is getting to be that time in Florida when the temperature takes a dive into the low seventies and the parkas and Ugg boots come out. We can pretend it is a snowy winter wonderland and it is time for those dark, viscous, crude oil beers to come out. Although, I asked recently on Twitter what everyone's go to winter beer is and the general consensus was an IPA; when I think of winter, even the Florida winter, I think of high alcohol by volume stouts and porters. An added bonus, breweries take these delicious ebony creations and age them in different barrels for an even more complex taste. I have seen and tried beers aged in rum, Irish whiskey, Scotch, Calvados (apple brandy), bourbon, tequila, Chardonnay, port, sherry, Cabernet and Pinot Noir barrels.

The barrel room at Terrapin Beer Company

Naturally, with beers aged in wine barrels, you get essences of grape must (fresh squeezed grape juice), soft tannins (the polyphenolic compounds found in wine subsequently gives the beer, as well as the wine that was aged, an astringent finish), hints of vanilla from oak, and a slight char taste if the oak was toasted. With Scotch aged beers, you get mild peat, a toffee presence, hints of smokiness and those same oak notes. Port and sherry finishes impart a nutty sweetness. I had Innis & Gunn in Oloroso sherry cask and it was delightful. Calvados casks bestow baked apple and a little sweetness. Irish whiskey and bourbon barrels give mild whiskey notes from smoky to caramel, but Anderson Valley is the only beer company to work with Wild Turkey and have permission to bare the Wild Turkey logo on their products. There are two beers, a stout aged in the barrels and a pumpkin spice beer called Pinchy Jeek Barl that was fantastic.  The high proof of the Wild Turkey 101 displays much brighter and more complex bourbon notes. Tequila barrel aged beer usually comes from Anejo tequila meaning the tequila itself was aged for at least a year to gather the most flavor. Tequila gives the beer a tropical finish (to me) with notes of pineapple, guava, papaya and a little agave sweetness. I have found that most rum aged beers are in spiced rum casks mainly for the strong vanilla notes and that well-known spiced rum taste.

Not all aged beers are stouts. The agave tastes complement the hops in IPA and Oskar Blues Gubna double IPA is one worth trying. Tequila aged beers are not to be confused with the old Anheuser-Busch Tequiza or the newer Heineken produced Desperados, where agave nectar is added to the brew to give the “essence” of tequila aging. A number of different beer styles age better in their respective barrels such as strong ales, Scotch ales and Scottish ales. Innis & Gunn, I have found, has the best variety of styles and barrels they age their beers in as well as ease of access in ABC. Some breweries simply age their beers in new oak, meaning the barrel has not seen any other spirit nor toasting or charring, and the beer takes on typical new oak barrel tastes. 

Some breweries that do large-scale aging use foudres (foo-druhs), which are huge barrels, and some are not even the typical oval shape. Barrels, also known as cooperage, range in size with the smallest being a firkin all the way up to a tun. Breweries sometimes do not age their beers in a barrel, but instead add wood chips like oak, cedar or in the case of Budweiser, beechwood to the secondary fermentation to achieve the desired “barrel aged” effect.   

I was very lucky to procure a much desired beer from Sierra Nevada, a bourbon barrel aged Narwhal Imperial Stout, which I will do a brief tasting and review of now.

Appearance

Pouring at cellar temperature into my custom engraved Guinness pint glass. It pours a pitch-black color with a nice two-finger mahogany head.

Smell

Big bourbon, molasses, smoke, bittersweet chocolate, boozy.

Taste

Wow--very rich, boozy, velvety, notes of cinnamon stick, vanilla, milk chocolate, like a liquid bourbon torte.  It has great flavor and a high 12.8% ABV to boot! 

This is the epitome of a perfect cold weather barrel aged stout. I can picture bundling up and roasting marshmallows out of a chiminea while sipping this beast with good friends and family.  

Adam Shugan, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits beer consultant - Gainesville

Follow me on Twitter @abcbeeradams