Our Barrel Program

Crafting a well matured and balanced barrel aged beer does not just mean filling a wooden cask with any type of beer and expect to end up with a beer that people like.

The barrel's aging process is a complex process where the unique characteristic of each barrel imparts its own character to the beer. The oak and the way it was toasted, to the liquid the barrel originally contained all contribute and adds a unique personality and expression to the final beer. Wild yeast and other organisms infiltrate the beer, and over time all these factors combine to produce a unique flavour profile that is quite different from the original base beer. Temperature variations between season and day and night force the beer in and out of the wood and draw out various flavours from the oak. One cask may give lots of oak character, another may put forward more vanilla notes, while another may take on more of the rich flavours of the original spirit or wine. Each barrel and difference and we blend these different barrels in an attempt to display the best characteristics of the beer and barrels.We age all our beers for a minimum of six months and taste sample every barrel as the beer ages and, when the time is right, we blend the best aspects of selected barrels just for you.
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Our flagship barrel-aged program is dominated by our Dark
beer and our Farmhouse style beers.
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Our dark beer range is spearheaded by our Imperial Stouts aged in Bourbon/Whisky barrels is our standout style. Our Imperial Stout is a high ABV beer, typically between 10-12%, and are aged in high ABV ex-spirit barrels. The combination of the high ABV of the fresh beer and the spirit barrel assist with suppressing competing yeasts and bacteria strains that will spoil the beer.On the other hand our farmhouse beers are aged in wine barrels that allow wild yeast strains and bacteria to produce complex tart and sour characteristics over time. Our sour/tart beers are characterised by Belgium-style beers, aged in wine barrels.