Cerebral Brewing | Triple Mash Pappy Van Winkle Here Be Monsters

There are certain spirits in the world of barrel aged beer that elicit perked up ears, and then there are those brands that generate whiplash causing sore necks and desperate trips to the chiropractor. Pappy Van Winkle (PVW) falls squarely in the latter category, a mythical wheated bourbon whose popularity and even legend has skyrocketed in the past decade causing bottles to sell on secondary markets for 20-30x their retail prices of $120-$300. Even the used barrels from these 15-23 year aged whiskeys sell for exorbitant prices as breweries clamor to get their hands on them. Cerebral Brewing was lucky enough to land two Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year barrels, and they chose to rest a triple mash version of their Here Be Monsters Imperial Stout in those barrels. This particular single barrel expression aged for 39 months, an incredibly long time yielding an incredible creation.

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Breakside Barrel Aged Stouts

If you operated a regional brewery and suddenly found yourself with extra tank capacity, what would you do? Would you pump out more of the beer you’ve been making seeking to increase your market presence? Would you offer contract brewing to smaller or gypsy brewers? Or would you completely revamp your barrel aging philosophy, taking a fresh perspective on how you create barrel aged Stouts? When presented with this exact scenario in 2020, Breakside Brewery out of Portland, Oregon chose this last option and created a blended Stout program.

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Living The Dream’s 3rd Annual Barrel Aged & Stout Showcase

Living the Dream Brewing will host its annual Barrel Aged & Stout Showcase this Saturday, Feb. 4, at its Littleton, Colorado, taproom. The showcase features brews aged in bourbon and whiskey barrels along with a special mixed-barrel sour. The event is free and open to the public. Read More

Wild Blue Yonder | Cellar Reserve: Tropical Storm

When is a Pastry Stout not a Pastry Stout? At what point does a barrel-aged 11.2% beer become refreshing to drink? These were questions I pondered while drinking Wild Blue Yonder Cellar Reserve – Tropical Storm, a rum barrel aged Imperial Stout with bananas, toasted coconut and macadamia nut. Expectations were exceeded and stereotypes were broken with this unique concoction brewed in Castle Rock, Colorado.

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New Image Brewing | Noema Blend No. 2

Aging beer in spirits barrels is nothing new in the world of beer, but some breweries are placing an increased emphasis on this style, creating dedicated series of beers that solely focus on barrel aging in its various forms. New Image is one of those breweries taking their barrel aging game to the next level with the creation of the Anaphora and Noema (pronounced No – Emma) series of Stouts. While Anaphora will focus on massaging the utmost flavor out of barrels without the use of adjuncts, Noema seeks to enhance the natural flavors of barrels by working with additives. New Image Brewing Noema Blend 2 is a showcase example of New Image’s vision and flawless execution. 

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Brew Gentlemen | Double Mex Imperial Stout

Double Mex by Brew Gentlemen is a fondly awaited staple in the Pittsburgh beer community. Although the pandemic altered distribution, the 2021 release of this beer continued to uphold its reputation.

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Cerebral Brewing | Mysterious Forces Blend 02

Occasionally there comes along a complex brew that simultaneously highlights all its components while cohesively combining them in a masterful amalgamation. Cerebral Brewing Mysterious Forces Blend 02 is just such a beer. 

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New Image Brewing | Five for Freezing Imperial Stout

As part of their five-year anniversary series, New Image Brewing tackles the complicated science of fractional freezing with their new Imperial Stout, Five for Freezing. Typically, frozen beer is a travesty. There’s nothing quite as disheartening as cracking open the beer you crave, only to find that it’s morphed into a slushie mess or worse, discovering that a bottle left to chill in the freezer exploded like a Peep in the microwave. However, freezing beer before it’s packaged, is actually an old-world technique that yields some highly desirable results.

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Ultimate 6er | The Evil Villains Prefer Dark Beer

In the comics and movies, evil villains spend both day and night obsessing with how to topple our lives and destroy the good guys. However, after a long day of plotting and scheming, these villains still need a beer to help unwind. As you would imagine, many of them prefer brooding Stouts in one form or another: The darker side draws them in and makes them feel warm.

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Wooden Cask Brewing Company | Reformation Scottish Stout

Newport, Kentucky’s Wooden Cask Brewing Company doesn’t mess around when it comes to brewing traditional English, Irish and Scottish ales. As soon as you pick up one of their bottled beers, visit their website or step into their brewery (located on historic York street, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati), you are greeted with their motto: Time, Taste and Tradition. As their website notes, they are committed firmly to “quality not efficiency” and adds that “there is no point to brewing our beers unless we make taste superior products.” Their Reformation Scottish Stout clearly meets these standards as soon as it begins to ooze its thick, dark and malty richness into a glass.

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Side Project Brewing | O.W.K.

It’s been almost (exactly) two years since this extremely limited release from Side Project came out. While many who are familiar with O.W.K still consider it to be the best beer ever produced, perhaps even a larger percentage of people still don’t even know of its existence.

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New Holland Brewing | Dragon’s Milk Reserve Orange Chocolate

As Chicago barrels toward a week of historically cold temperatures, I was eager to get out to my local Binny’s and stockpile some dark, heavy stouts to keep me sane as I prepare for a week filled with cabin fever. Read More

Brewer’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cassian Sunset | Central Waters Brewing Co.

Despite its neighbor to the south being named Beer Capital of America, Wisconsin’s breweries are plentiful and still sling some pretty damn good beer. While New Glarus might be the destination of choice for those on a Wisconsin beercation, braving the shivering Midwest January weather and making the drive a little farther north brings you to the small town of Amherst, home of Central Waters Brewing. Expect the journey to be arduous as you attempt to avoid snowdrifts, slippery country roads, rogue cows and Green Bay Packer Fans. However, you’ll be rewarded by visiting a brewery that brews one of my favorite winter beers from America’s Dairyland.

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12 Beers of Christmas | Snipes Mountain Brewery | Terror

ABV: 10%

For me, Christmas time is synonymous with getting my hands on the darkest beers that I can find. And though I can be easily satisfied with a stout with a hint of peppermint, or a porter with a hint of pecan, there is one style in particular that I crave once Christmas tunes start playing and once the tree is decorated: The coveted barrel aged stout. Read More