Yesterday, I had the pleasure of tasting a chocolate stout aged for a few days in an oak barrel. My friend, John, had received his one-liter barrel as a gift from his son. He had stored some bourbon in the barrel for a week or so to infuse the bourbon flavor into the oak wood. Dbear provided a liter of his renowned Fosse Chocolate Stout to age in John’s barrel. The hope was to add a little oaky-bourbon flavor to make this delicious Chocolate Stout more complex and just a little boozy tasting.

Being the kind friend I am, I agreed to sample this barrel-aged stout to see if it was ready for bottling. Yep, IMHO it’s ready.

The nose of this as yet unnamed variant of Fosse is mostly bourbon with a bourbon and mellow oak taste up front and cocoa finish. I suggested Dbear blend some non-aged stout to John’s bottles to find just the right mix. Of course, if you like the strong bourbon flavors, it’s ready for bottling, just the way it is. I’m not sure what the final decision was, but I look forward to tasting this interesting Chocolate Stout in a couple of weeks.

A little over a year ago, I too, received a barrel for one of those “zero” ending birthdays. The charred wood inside this barrel was marinated with corn mash as it was aged to make bourbon. Cleaning out this wooden vessel is just an excuse to let my nostrils soak up the complex aromas. So far, I have made 3 different “Bourbon Barrel” batches, all quite interesting:

• Bourbon Barrel Black, a Chocolate Stout at 12% (one of my most popular home brews).
• Bourbon Barrel White, a collaborative Belgian Tripel made with Dbear’s Black Bears Home Brewery.
• Jack O’Lantern Patch, a Belgian Pumpkin Ale.

After tasting John’s new brew, I remembered my neglected wooden friend, and drug it out of the basement. I’ve flushed it out and will make a beer, hopefully in the near future, as time permits. I’ll keep you posted.

Cheers!

Warren