![]() “Everybody’s done a bourbon barrel-aged stout, so they are trying to figure out how to one up each other a little more,” he says. ![]() The dynamic is one that Weekes sees at Rocky Mountain Barrel Company, a broker that sells about 80,000 barrels across the globe each year. He adds: “Working with the best distilleries is always our goal.” The brewery is able to get the barrels “as a result of building relationships with a lot of distilleries,” says Mike Siegel, the research and development manager at Goose Island. Goose Island makes the much-acclaimed Bourbon County Stout, and the 2020 editions highlight special Old Forester and W.L. “These distilleries are getting calls left and right to get these barrels,” says Mike Smith at Goose Island, which is owned by Anheuser-Busch, which operates a brewery in Fort Collins. The big-name distillers - such as Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace - are the most in demand from brewers and competition for the barrels is becoming tough. For brewers and consumers, he says “the chaos factor is a little more exciting and sexy.” You’re just guiding the flock,” says Parker at Avery. “Any time you put something in a barrel, you’re not in control anymore. Often brewers will add other ingredients to barrel-aged beers, such as maple syrup, peanut butter or chocolate to further amp the flavor.īut the barrel affects change based on the type of barrel and beer styles. The most common is the bourbon barrel thanks to the so-called bourbon boom and the fact that distilleries can only use them once, per federal law.Ī beer typically takes longer to develop in a barrel and often the recipe is designed to age and harmonize with the flavors imparted by the barrel, whether vanilla, tobacco or licorice. All barrels enhance the beer, whether through the wood, the flavors imparted by the prior liquid or the oxygen exposure, he explains. He now leads Purpose Brewing and Cellars in Fort Collins, a small-batch craft brewer that specializes in sour barrel-aged beers. “The technique is very old, but we don’t know how old,” says Bouckaert, a brewing legend from Belgium who worked for Rodenbach brewery and then New Belgium in Fort Collins. The barrel is rooted deep in beer history, whether used for fermentation, aging or transport, according to Peter Bouckaert, the co-author of “Wood and Beer: A Brewer’s Guide.” “We are just waiting for COVID to get over and get people back in the breweries and hopefully we’ll start seeing more breweries (call).” How a barrel influences a beer’s flavor ![]() “The IPA wave and the hard seltzer wave really took hold,” he says. (Kathryn Scott, Special to The Colorado Sun)Īt Rocky Mountain Barrel Company, Weekes says he still has strong demand from small breweries, but he’s seen larger ones go a different direction. 16, 2020, ahead of a shipment to a distillery. Rocky Mountain Barrel Company CEO and President Skyler Weekes rotates a new barrel and places it in line with others Dec. “Especially in COVID times, when people are price conscious, it’s hard to walk into the store and spend $20,” he says. Earlier this year, Avery forged a new path with Night Warden, a barrel-aged stout in 12-ounce cans with big flavor at a lower price. But the pinch has hit larger brewers most.Īndy Parker, the barrel herder at Avery Brewing in Boulder, says it’s tough to sell a 22-ounce bomber of a barrel-aged beer produced at a large scale at the higher price levels. The limited availability of barrel-aged beers from smaller breweries still drives consumer interest. The coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn have added their own dropoff as many beer drinkers turn to budget-minded brews and those easy to find in one stop at the grocery store. In recent years, the increase in consumer interest for fruity IPAs, low-calorie beers and hard seltzers put a dent in production of barrel-aged styles that are more complex in flavor and more expensive to make. The small-batch barrel-aged beers - particularly dark stouts and porters that match the dark days of winter - are a bright spot that defies other trends in the beer industry. It’s kind of like the people who seek out IPAs - there’s almost like a cult following.” “I think people really seek those out,” says Josh Grenz, the co-owner and head brewer at Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project in Loveland, which buys barrels from Rocky Mountain Barrel Company. ![]() Half of the barrel broker’s customers are local breweries that use the vessels to age beers that range in style from rich stouts and porters to effervescent sours.įor smaller breweries, which account for the majority in Colorado, the barrels create a means for experimentation and the ability to appeal to consumers who are always chasing new flavors. This is where great Colorado beers take shape. It’s the time of year for barrel-aged beers in Colorado, but not all are turning to the dark side - The Colorado Sun Close
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