It’s not just stouts, barleywines, and sours that should receive the benefits of wood-aging. For our final episode of Barrel-Aged December, we try five beers from breweries brave enough to take their drinkable cold-fermented beers and let them rest in different types of wood for any matter of time. The results are truly unique and enlightening as to how wood can transform a lager, and we bend our elbows with almost too much confidence for the night. Also, there’s motorized-cart mayhem in the grocery aisles, weather-based clothing gets a rebranding, and we play a soundbite-based game of Name That Wood. Happy New Year to all - and thanks for listening to us at any point in this past one. 

Beers Reviewed

Forbidden Root Brewing Company - Hoodie Weather (Oak-Aged Vienna Lager)

Werk Force Brewing Company - Rip Cut (Oat Lager aged in oak puncheons)

Solemn Oath Brewery - Foederface (Foeder-Aged Märzen)

Begyle Brewing - Foeder Doppelbock (Oak-Aged Dopplebock)

Waypost Brewing Co. - Keptwell (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Lager)

Focusing on drinkable lagers, pales, and IPAs has already carried Half Acre to legend-status locally, but their barrel program has developed into an undeniable force over the last few years - and we’re not even talking about Benthic for this one. We have five big barrel-aged beers from this year that are an impressive ode to one of Chicago’s best breweries. Also, Ryan has developed a whole new family of app-based apps that’ll revolutionize the dining industry. Plus, Craig dives deep into Half Acre’s cosmic gumbo writeups; we get our Glass Wavy on; and there’s a building nitro twist ending to this one. 

Beers Reviewed

Vim (Barrel-Aged Baltic Porter)

Orin (Blended Barrel-Aged Strong Ale)

Before Land Shook (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ marshmallow, vanilla, and sea salt)

Sickle Through Sable (Barrel-Aged stout w/ cocoa nibs)

World of Bog (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Barleywine)

Throughout this year we’ve been collecting barrel-aged stouts from different states without a real purpose for them: until now. From five states we have three straight barrel-aged stouts and two that are pastrified - and all are in the running for top spots in our rankings. Also, we engage with some AI-generated characters for their opinions about which states make the best barrel-aged beers; we push for more BA brown ales in 2024; and we make a few dirty boy snack confessions. Big thanks to Aaron Carlson for a few of the beers, and Dolphin Man for his valuable perspective. 

Beers Reviewed

Ethereal Brewing [Lexington, KY] - Baba Yaga (Russian Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels)

Warrior Brewing Company [Duluth, MN] - Barbarian (Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels)

Denton County Brewing Company [Denton, TX] - Night Witch (Bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout)

Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. [Decorah, IA] - Term Oil S’mores (Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with natural and artificial flavors)

WeldWerks Brewing Co. [Greeley, CO] - Starry Noche 2022 (Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels w/ coconut and hazelnut)

As winter barrel-aged beer releases expand into more adjunct variants and special barrels, you can’t overlook the base. For this show, we blind sample six barrel-aged local stouts that are part of a seasonal release lineup - but without any of the added gimmicks. We base our opinions only on the liquid in the glass, and we continue our rich tradition of being terrible at guessing the beers. There are more twists and turns than a high-occupancy vehicle-based action thriller, and we try not to be swept away by the relative viscosity. Hop on board.

2022 Beers Reviewed Blindly (in order of appearance)

Goose Island Beer Co. - Bourbon County Brand Stout

Revolution Brewing - Deth’s Tar

Old Irving Brewing - Krampus in the Buff 

Temperance Beer Co. - Might Meets Right 

Werk Force Brewing Co. - Sleepy Bear Single Barrel

Cruz Blanca Brewery - Rey Gordo