I picked up our 25 gallon barrel last night from Santa Fe Spirits, which was emptied just a couple hours prior. The barrel was originally an apple brandy barrel but has had Colkegan Single Malt Whisky in it for the last 2 years. The barrel looked and smelled amazing.
In total we had seven of us who brewed a huge barleywine to age in this barrel. We met at Michael’s house today, where he’s going to be storing the barrel. We sampled all of the barleywines just prior to aging and they were all fantastic. We had just enough beer to completely fill the barrel, leaving a little bit behind for a couple of us to have as a comparison against later. I’m really looking forward to trying this in 4-6 months.
Corey also brought a couple beers to share (Weld Werks Juicy Bits and a Westbrook Mexican Cake) and Michael opened up one of his stouts.
As we get closer to this beer being ready, we’ll start talking about a second round to go into it. We’re thinking a big imperial stout would be fantastic, since it’ll be a little less boosy and more oaky.
Some photos from the day:
Sangre de Cristo Craft Brewers 