Barrel-aged beer

Chestnut, ash, poplar, cedar, acacia, cypress, redwood, pine, and even eucalyptus have been used for barrel-ageing with varying success.

[5] Timmermans is one of the oldest existing breweries, dating back to 1702, and the production of the blended lambic derivative gueuze is believed to have started in the same year.

[6] Eugene Rodenbach started brewing Flanders red ale in the 19th century, after learning how to "ripen" beer in oak barrels in England.

[8] Another Belgian sour beer style, Oud bruin is not typically barrel-aged,[9] although there are some examples from both Belgium[10] and North America.

[11] In the German town of Bamberg, smoked beer or Rauchbier has been tapped directly from oakwood casks at the Schlenkerla tavern since the 15th century.

[7][13] Large oak vats were once the norm for fermentation and storage of beer in England, a fact made notorious when one of these burst in London in 1814, killing eight people.

[15] Others also specialise in barrel-ageing particular beer styles, such as Põhjala which has a focus on Baltic porters[16] and Jester King with its Méthode Traditionnelle.

The microflora from the wood contribute to a spontaneous fermentation and brewing activity was concentrated on the colder months of the year to avoid spoilage.

Each distillery uses its own blend of oak and its own level of charring, leading to distinct differences in the sorts of flavours that brewers can derive from the used barrels.

Goose Island's Brett Porter said: "We let the warehouse run to Chicago temperatures—cold winters, followed by hot humid summers—that causes the staves in our bourbon barrels to bring in and then force out liquid, and that's where the flavour comes from.

Some early successes were Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout), The Bruery's Black Tuesday and The Lost Abbey's Angel's Share (barley wine).

[26] America's enthusiasm for Bourbon barrel-ageing inspired Harviestoun in Scotland to join forces with the Highland Park Scotch whisky distillery.

[1][33] The first American breweries to commit to wine barrel-aging were in California, led by Sonoma County's Russian River Brewing Company.

In 1997, brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo began making a series of heavily wine-influenced beers, like Temptation (chardonnay barrels), Supplication (pinot noir) and Consecration (cabernet sauvignon).

"[33] Allagash's Brewing's Coolship range of beers are spontaneously fermented and aged in French oak wine barrels, for one to three years.

They attempted to redefine the term to include a forced, wood flavouring process that only they use and that the rest of the industry does not recognise as barrel-ageing.