Barrel project recipe formulators and executive committee members gathered at De Boer Cellars this week to do a tasting of the barrels to assess progress of the beers three months into the aging process. Also joining us was Chip Walton from Chop and Brew to document the process for an upcoming webisode on our barrel project!

One common theme was that all of these barrels need more time. The beers in them would be fine to drink now had we not done all the coordination and work to get them into wine barrels. Cellarman Aaron De Boer said it best: “The barrels are the star in this experiment and need more time to exhibit their own characteristics.” Another theme was that each of these beers tasted of professional quality. When you combine 12+ batches of homebrew into one barrel, many flaws of individual batches are hidden while providing additional complexity to the end product.

Here are the tasting notes:

• Barrel #1, Russian Imperial Stout, Cabernet (Fields) barrel
  • Black in color, sticky motor oil in texture
  •  Big coffee and some chocolate notes on the nose
  • A little tannic but not at unexpected levels for the style
  • Wine-like aftertaste, dark fruit notes either from the Special B in the recipe or from the Cab that had been extracted from the staves
  • Not much oak apparent yet, a fine beer but needs more time to take on “barrel-aged” oak characteristics

• Barrel #2, Rye Saison with Brettanomyces, Merlot (Fields) barrel
  • Strong coriander aroma
  • Expected Saison characteristics, some pineapple, some floral and herbal notes
  • Surprisingly no rye apparent especially because it was there in many batches on fill day
  • No discernible oak or Brett characteristics have developed yet, needs more time

• Barrel #3, Flanders Red, Zinfandel (McCay) barrel
  • Haziest of all the brews sampled, the lactic phase will soon begin and this should be much clearer at the next tasting milestone
  • 3.7 Ph – think “sweet tart” or “smartie”
  • Acetic and some lactic acid apparent
  • Some apple cider and balsamic vinegar flavors apparent but not overpoweringly so
  • No acetobacter apparent (good!)
  • Some residual sweetness on the palate
  • Sourness will become more complex in time as different bacterial take hold

• Barrel# 4, Wee Heavy / Scotch Ale, Zinfandel (McCay) barrel
  • Smokey aroma, some wine notes
  • Full mouthfeel up front that drops out in the finish, much thinner than you’d expect of the style which could improve vastly once chilled and carbonated
  • Aftertaste is very much like Zinfandel, tastes like you were drinking wine rather than beer
  • Not much oak apparent, needs more time

BONUS TASTING!!!!!

• Barrel project 1.0, Belgian Blonde, Honey Ale – sample bottle pulled and carbed at 7 months (Nov. 2012)
  • 3.4 Ph – very tart and complex
  • Sweet on the nose
  • Super dry, champagne-like
  • Brett is definitely in the mix
• Barrel project 1.0, Belgian Blonde, Honey Ale – sample bottle pulled at 13 months (May 2013)
  • 3.4 Ph (no change from 7 months)
  • Fuller middle in body
  • Greater complexity, more rounded than the 7 month sample
  • Definitely ready to be pulled from the barrel and distributed to participants