River Dog releases Pappy BA Quad

river_dog_brewing

Among bourbon fans, Pappy Van Winkle bourbons are some of the most highly sought-after whiskeys on the market, with bottles of the 23-year-old variant garnering thousands of dollars on the after-sale market. Among beer geeks, any beer aged in Pappy barrels is bound to draw a wealth of attention.

Both groups of fans will be happy to know coastal brewery River Dog recently release a version of its Belgian Quad aged in Pappy barrels. Previously tapped at the Music to Your Mouth Festival, the beer is now available in the brewery’s tasting room. The base is an 11% Belgian-style quad with all the quintessential dark fruit and raisin notes, but with a Pappy sheen on top, bumping the final product up to 12% ABV.

Julian Van Winkle, the current president of the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, recently gave his stamp of approval to the brew.

BA Blackbeerd returns

coast-logo-pdfsm

The ship has sailed in once again, as COAST‘s barrel-aged Blackbeerd imperial stout is returning.

Starting Tuesday, the 9.3% stout will be available at the brewery on draft only. The beer will be bottled next week. Expect the announcement of a release date soon.

This will be the second version in a row aged in Blanton’s bourbon barrels for a year. The November 2012 release – considered by many to be the best yet – was also aged in Blanton’s barrels. The brewery says to expect more oak and less bourbon this time around. The beer has previously been aged in Jack Daniel’s and Buffalo Trace barrels, and then a blend of the two.

BBL Imperial Biscotti Break on the way

EvilTwin

We’ve gotten Biscotti Break and it’s imperial big brother. We’ve gotten it with chilies and hazelnuts, and with cherries. Some of us have even gotten it with jalapenos and Spanish ham. But aged in bourbon barrels? That’s a new one.

Coming soon from Evil Twin – and brewed and aged at Westbrook – is yet another take on the imperial stout brewed with coffee, vanilla and almonds. This time, the beer has been aging in mystery bourbon barrels since January. As Westbrook did with its BA Mexican Cake, the base beer was aged first, then the adjuncts were added after it was racked.

Around 350 cases were produced and could hit SC markets as soon as this week.

Westbrook BA Mexican Cake release details announced

Westbrook

SC beer geeks have been champing at the bit ever since Westbrook announced plans to release a barrel-aged version of its Mexican Cake imperial stout. Forums have been inundated with guesses as to when the bottles would be released, what the price would be, how many bottles people could get and so on. Well, now all those questions have been answered.

You’ll recall the beer in question is the original batch of Mexican Cake produced in 2011 that has been aging since then. Adjuncts – cinnamon, peppers, etc. – were added after barrel aging, meaning you still get all the things that pop in the original version as well as the barrel characteristics. The beer has been aging in Jack Daniels, apple brandy and Cabernet barrels since January 2012

Tuesday morning, the details for the release of the beer were finally announced. They are as follows:

  • The bottles will be released Friday, July 12, at 3 p.m. at the brewery.
  • There will be a four (4) bottle limit per person of each variant and 12 in total, in accordance with SC law. The brewery may reduce that limit based on how big of a crowd shows up.
  • Each 22 oz. bottle will cost $20 plus tax.
  • Bottles will not be held or reserved. You can only get them by showing up at the brewery and waiting with everyone else.

Apple Brandy, Red Wine BA Mexican Cake are coming

MEXICAN-CAKE-STICKER

Remember the other day when I said bourbon barrels weren’t the only ones Westbrook‘s Mexican Cake was aged in, and that other barrel-aged versions of the imperial stout were anxiously waiting to be bottled?

Told ya so.

A day after they teased BBL Mexican Cake, Westbrook on Thursday tweeted out a photo of a version that had been aging in apple brandy barrels and would soon be bottled. Soon after that, it was announced a third variant – this one aged in red wine barrels – was also on the way.

What’s the deal with these beers? Here’s what we know so far:

  • Mexican Cake has been aging in two Jack Daniels barrels, two apple brandy barrels and two red wine barrels. The bourbon barrel one has been bottled and the apple brandy version has been racked into the fermenter.
  • All of these barrels were filled in January 2012, so this is the first anniversary batch of Mexican Cake. However, the beer put in barrels was the base without any spices or peppers. So, when the beer is racked into the fermenter, the cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa nibs and Habaneros were added, meaning you still get the Mexican Cake you know any love with a little something extra.
  • Between 30-50 cases of each variant will be released – obviously less for the smaller barrels – and possibly at the same time. There is no solid release date, although June has been floated as a possibility. The label artwork is not yet finished.
  • This will be a brewery only release.

Westbrook begins bottling BA Mexican Cake

MEXICAN-CAKE-STICKER

Anyone familiar with Westbrook knows they’ve got a pretty impressive barrel room at their Mt. Pleasant brewery, and the stuff coming out of it is highly sought after and incredibly tasty.

So it should come as no surprise that Mexican Cake – you know, that imperial stout people are talking about? – ended up in some of those barrels. BA Mexican Cake was one of those things a lot of people knew would happen but was never officially confirmed until last week. (Seeing “Mexican Cake” scrawled on the side of barrels was a kind of giveaway.) Now, that official confirmation is even more official thanks to the brewery tweeting out a photo of Bourbon BA Mexican Cake going into bottles.

The bottles will be released sometime in June and the artwork is still being tinkered with. Don’t expect it to be was plentiful as the 500 cases produced of the original as this one will be a brewery-only release. And while I won’t spill all the beans just yet, I’ve heard bourbon barrels aren’t the only ones Mexican Cake found its way into …

KBS returns to SC shelves

KBS

When Founders began distribution in South Carolina again in 2012 after a years-long hiatus, so too came the possibility that some of the brewery’s more highly sought after beers would also arrive. Since they’ve come back, we’ve seen the latest releases from the Backstage Series – Frangelic Mountain Brown and Bolt Cutter – and recently began seeing the sessionable All Day IPA arrive recently after being promoted to a national seasonal release.

While the official release date of KBS – their annual 11% bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout – isn’t until April 1, the beer can already be found on shelves in Charleston as the photo the Charleston Beer Exchange tweeted shows.

KBS is not one to sleep on. The beer is regarded as one of the planet’s best imperial stouts and one of the best beers in general. It also ages incredibly well, so you’ll want to pick up a couple of bottles. Which is good, because chances are wherever you find KBS – if you can – supplies and how much you can buy will be incredibly limited.