Barrel-aged beer

Lambics have been brewed in Belgium's Zenne Valley and Pajottenland since the 13th century. 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. Rodenbach Classic contains a blend of young beer with beer matured on oak for two years, whereas Rodenbach Vintage consists entirely of beer that has matured for two years in one selected foeder. Another Belgian sour beer style, Oud bruin is not typically barrel-aged, although there are some examples from both Belgium and North America. 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. Greene King's Strong Suffolk Ale is an example of an 18th-century "country beer". It is blended from Old 5X, which is aged for two years in oak tuns. 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. 20th century beer writer Michael Jackson characterised Ballantine IPA as "wonderfully distinctive, an outstanding American ale unique in its fidelity to the East Coast tradition of Colonial ales." In the era of craft beer, some breweries produce exclusively barrel-aged beers, notably Belgian lambic producer Cantillon, and sour beer company The Rare Barrel. Others also specialise in barrel-ageing particular beer styles, such as Põhjala which has a focus on Baltic porters and Jester King with its Méthode Traditionnelle. International craft brewer, Mikkeller operates a custom barrel-ageing facility at an old shipyard in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2016, Craft Beer and Brewing wrote that "barrel-aged beers are so trendy that nearly every taphouse and beer store has a section of them. Food and Wine wrote in 2018: "A process that was once niche has become not just mainstream, but ubiquitous." In 2023 the Boston Globe reported that demand for barrel-aged beers had dropped, and they were becoming much harder to come by. ==Lambic beers of Belgium==

Lambics are fermented and aged in wooden barrels similar to those used to ferment wine. 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. The barrels used by traditional Belgian lambic breweries can be up to 150 years old, and the lambic ageing process typically lasts from one to three years. Willem Van Herreweghen of Timmermans said: "We have oak and chestnut barrels. Chestnut is neutral and imparts no taste to the lambic. Oak gives a vanilla-like flavour usually described as 'oaky' and, of course, this is the most common type of wood used by lambic makers." New barrels are rarely used by lambic brewers - instead used barrels are procured from the wine regions of Spain, Portugal, Greece, and especially France. The wooden barrels come in three different sizes: Brussels tuns (approx. 250 litres), pipes (approx. 600 litres) and foeders (foudres in French) with a capacity of up to 10,000 litres and even larger. Most pipes are used port wine barrels that came into wide use in lambic production after World War I when port became a popular drink in Belgium. Every brewery has also bought barrels from colleagues who have stopped production, as evidenced by their markings. In 2016 Jester King Brewery released a blended, spontaneously fermented beer which it labelled as "Méthode Gueuze." However, the High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers (HORAL) objected to the name, and the two parties arranged a meeting in Belgium. It was agreed that in future the American brewers would use the designation "Méthode Traditionelle". ==Gallery of traditional barrel-aged beer styles==

File:3fonteinen.jpg| File:Rodenbach - belgisches Bier der Brauerei Palm.jpg| File:Petrusoudbruin.jpg| File:Cantillon Kriek Lambic.jpg| File:Birra Lindemans 001.jpg| File:Faro Boon.jpg| ==Bourbon barrel ageing==

bourbon barrels in Clermont, Kentucky Many beers are aged in barrels which were previously used for maturing spirits. Imperial stouts are often aged in bourbon barrels, which impart flavours of American oak (coconut, dill, sweet spices), accentuated by charring of the barrel interior. Bourbon barrels are by far the most common oak barrels used by brewers in the United States. 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. Chicago also hosts an annual Festival of Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer (FoBAB), the world's largest beer festival and competition of its kind. Other breweries began following Goose Island's lead, typically ageing rich Imperial stouts. Some early successes were Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout), The Bruery's Black Tuesday and The Lost Abbey's Angel's Share (barley wine). Chris Pilkington of Põhjala said "We've learned the best barrels give noticeably better results." Since bourbon barrels are only used once, they are often sold on to producers of other spirits who eventually sell them on again to breweries for barrel-ageing beer. The Bruery, which specializes in experimental barrel-aged and sour beers, has used bourbon, rye, brandy, rum, tequila, Scotch whisky and many other spirit barrels to age beer for anywhere from six to eighteen months. ==Wine barrel ageing==

in Bordeaux. Unlike bourbon barrels, whose alcohol content kills off bacteria like Lactobacillus and Pediococcus and the wild yeast Brettanomyces, emptied wine barrels are often a breeding ground for them. While these microflora are considered a problem for most brewers and winemakers, they are essential in the creation of the many sour beer styles inspired by Belgium's sour ale tradition. Consequently, most wine barrel-aged beers end up becoming saisons, wild ales and other acidic beer styles. 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). Wine barrels are usually made from French, American or sometimes Hungarian oak. French oak is denser, more mildly flavoured, and far more expensive than American oak, as its flavour contributions are thought to be more balanced. By the 2020s traditional barrel-ageing of sour beers had been partly superseded by kettle souring, a rapid process where Lactobacillus is added to the beer during the production process. ==Gallery of barrel ageing facilities==

File:Timmermans 39.jpg| File:Põhjala Brewery 6 - Joosep Kivimäe (cropped).jpg| File:Rodenbach 19.jpg| File:Coolship Spontaneous Fermenting.jpg| ==Wood ageing==

's oak-aged beers are an export success for the Scottish brewery. Wood-ageing is a more manageable option than barrel-ageing for home brewers. They sometimes add cubes, chips or spirals of wood directly into their beers to add bitterness and character. These products are also useful to commercial brewers desiring new wood flavours, and their beers are often labelled as "oak-aged." Anheuser-Busch's flagship brand Budweiser is aged on American beechwood spirals which promote fermentation and speed up the ageing process. In 2017 Innis & Gunn decided that barrel ageing did not need to take place in a barrel and could be done in as little as five days. 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. A backlash from other brewers using the term in its traditionally understood sense ensued and the outcome is, to date, unresolved. The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) has a category for wood-aged beer, which states: :This style is intended for beer aged in wood without added alcohol character from previous use of the barrel. Bourbon-barrel or other similar beers should be entered as a Specialty Wood-Aged Beer. ==Gallery of barrel-aged beers==

File:Norwegian sour beer.jpg| File:Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout.jpg| File:Texasrangerbarrelaged.jpg| File:North Coast Old Rasputin XII.jpg| File:Astrid (33894301675) (cropped).JPG| File:Great Divide Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti.jpg| ==See also==