As if barrel-aging alone wasn’t enough, breweries these days are taking beers that have already experienced an extended oak rest and dumping them into another barrel to age even further. We sample five beers that result from this process (or something similar) to see if all that patience pays off in the end. This final installment of Barrel-Aged December features two legit top ten candidates for beers of the year, and we attempt to extend our merchandising output. And as if two barrels for every beer wasn’t enough, Ryan has brought the extra heat for this one: two Craigs. Get ready for the Craigboard. 

Beers Reviewed

Off Color Brewing/Metropolitan Brewing - Avec Le Guillotine (Blend of doppelbock, calvados foedre-aged Flemish-style with apples, and American Wild Ale aged in wine barrels with Cabernet Franc grape must; all refermented with cherries and aged in bourbon barrels and Pomegranate Fox Wild Ale barrels)

Church Street Brewing Company - Double Barrel Doppelbock (Doppelbock aged in bourbon and port barrels for 2 years)

Brink Brewing Co./Nine Giant Brewing - Double Bourbon Barrel-Aged Loose String (Barleywine aged in rye and bourbon barrels)

Private Press Brewing - Electric Roads (Double Barrel-Aged Barleywine)

Mikerphone Brewing - Double Barrel-Aged Super Imperial Smells Like Bean Spirit (Imperial Breakfast Stout w/ maple syrup and coffee, aged in Heaven Hill rye barrels and Smoke Wagon rye barrels)

This is Deep Wood Stout Edition 2021 for our fourth Barrel-Aged December episode, as we drink through the five Revolution stouts in their fall/winter specialty release series. Each year, this lineup finds a new way to step forward - and there’s one beer in particular here that surprisingly leaps to the top of our lists. Also, Ryan confronts Craig about the Hair Bag Incident, Craig keeps insisting on entering the chat, Ryan’s High Life vertical is f*cked, and we just sort of have a love fest about Revolution’s output in 2021. Stay tuned for the drunkest rankings of the year.

Beers Reviewed

Deth’s Tar (Barrel-Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout)

Café Deth (Barrel-Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout w/ coffee)

Deth by Raspberries (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ raspberries)

Vanilla Deth (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ vanilla)

Dark Mode (Imperial Milk Stout aged in bourbon barrels)

An oasis in a month of enormous beers, this episode resets our palates to ready us for the remainder of Barrel-Aged December. But that’s not to say that saisons don’t have quite a few tricks up their sleeves, like the five on this show certainly do. We also are introduced to Milwaukee’s Supermoon Beer Company, and Craig grabbed an interview with co-founder Rob Brennan. Additionally, we have surprising strolls through the mall, and Craig tells you where he’ll take his glitter. #DrinkSaisons

Beers Reviewed

Supermoon Beer Company - There Is A Plot (Gin Barrel Blended Saison)

Keeping Together - It Was Like A Holiday (Barrel-aged Saison w/ toasted coconut, lemon, orange, and honey)

Werk Force Brewing Company - Barrel-Aged Farmhouse Vultures (Saison w/ blackberries and raspberries aged Cabernet Sauvignon barrels)

Zero Gravity Craft Brewery - Après Vous (Gin Barrel-Aged Saison)

Lawson’s Finest Liquids - Saison Aged in Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin Barrels

No matter what your strategy is at the fest, it’s almost impossible to avoid FoBAB FOMO. We were lucky to attend the 19th edition of FoBAB, but we also felt like we missed out on trying some of the exciting medal winners - until now. For our second Barrel-Aged December show, there are five medal winners from 2021 across various styles on this episode that confirm, hey, yeah, maybe the judges know what they’re doing. We also brainstorm some local beer gift box ideas, find Craig roaming the island of misfit candy, and audition to #FineTuneFoBAB.

Beers Reviewed

The Hopewell Brewing Co. - Arrow of Time [Blend 002] (Oak-aged Wild Ale) - Silver in Wild Mixed Culture Beer (Acidic) Sours

Black Horizon Brewing Co. - Gin Barrel-Aged Stand and Deliver (Gin Barrel-Aged Golden Strong Ale) - Bronze in Other Pale Beer

Milwaukee Brewing Company - Barrel-Aged Barleywine - Bronze in Barleywine/Wheatwine

Short Fuse Brewing Company - Bourbon Barrel-Aged Precious Little Treats (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ vanilla beans) - Silver in Specialty Strong Porter/Stout

Werk Force Brewing Company - Double Barrel Sleepy Bear (Double Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ milk sugar, cacao nibs, and vanilla)

Rising from the depths of an obsidian sea to bring about an experience both conceptual and elemental that bends past the traditional, or something: Benthic 2021. To kick off Barrel-Aged DecemberNFT we wade through the cosmic gumbo for this show on Half Acre’s big adjunct stout release for 2021. Five variants of the barrel-aged coconut stout are up for review and lead us to the 4PM Shedd Aquarium tour where things get a bit raunchy. Also, we talk about the podcast we would’ve started at age 15, a Craig soundboard for prank calls, and the symptoms of Fish Can Influence. Ready your decks and watch your hit points, folks.

Beers Reviewed

Benthic (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ coconut and coffee)

XTRA DUBL Benthic (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ 3x toasted coconut and 2x coffee)

Vanilla Benthic (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ coconut and vanilla)

Rum Coconut Benthic (Rum and Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ coconut)

Vampira Benthic (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/ coffee and coconut aged 10-22 months)