Additions to the Barrel Aging Program

One of the great things about Oakshire Brewing is the ongoing commitment to seasonals, one-offs, and barrel aging. Right after I arrived, we purchased two bourbon barrels and promptly began to age beer. (We pulled the threeish kegs of Overcast Espresso stout and a few lucky dogs will be pouring it soon!-the Watershed IPA is tasting great, but will get a little more wood exposure) We plan to get more bourbon barrels in the mix, but for now I set my sites on the plentiful harvest here in Wine country. Luckily, I made conatct with Eric at Sokol Blosser Winery in Dundee. He happened to have some well taken care of Pinoit Noir barrels that we could purchase. Last Wed, I took the newly painted rig up to Dundee to fetch them. Cool place, Sokol Blosser.

I met up with Doug, the assistant winemaker and Forrest. They helped me load ten barrels from various coopers. All the barrel were used three times and had pinot in them for about 16 months each. They smelled awesome!

And the scenery at the winery was wonderful. It was a beautiful sunny morning. I’d like to go back for a tasting.

On the way out to the winery, I happened upon a couple of hop fields. Zowee! They took me by surprise. As a brewer from the flatlands, I never really got to see my ingredients firsthand, except for the occasional malt house. This was nirvana. On the way back I snapped a couple of pix.

Now that’s freshness in every glass!!!

We’re not sure what all is going into the barrels but we have some solid ideas. Stay tuned for more…