The Fun Process of Barrel Aging

Barrel Aging. The fun and unpredictable art of adding beer into a wooden barrel and waiting 6-12 months to taste the result. We take a company trip to Northeast Barrel in Lansdale every February or March and hand-select barrels for our Imperial Stout. When we open a barrel, we each search for a vanilla characteristic that is sometimes buried underneath all the intense flavors bourbon can have. Sometimes, we open up 10-12 barrels, and we cannot find a single one with vanilla. There have also been times when we opened 6 in a row, and each has the aroma we are looking for.

Our base Imperial Stout recipe is brewed, fermented, and then cold-crashed in preparation to be transferred into the cooperage. The beer, after fermentation does not taste pleasant because we need to add extra IBU (bitterness) because of the extended aging time. After filling, we taste test after 4-5 months, and then every month after that to determine when they are ready! On the day/days we empty them, we get together as a staff and decide which barrels will be aged on what. It’s amazing to see how each barrel has drastically different flavors, and we need to account for that when selecting which adjuncts to add to what.

Barrel aging is extremely time-consuming and expensive, but it’s one of the things we all are passionate about. We look forward to enjoying these with you in the coming months!

As always, Cheers!
Ryan Seiz