You’re probably familiar with the complex, thick and boozy taste of beer aged in bourbon barrels. They are the perfect brews for a cold winter’s night in front of the fireplace but not so much for kicking back on the porch during a summer afternoon.
Fortunately, there’s a trend that’s better suited to summer: Beer aged in tequila barrels, rum barrels, and even wine barrels. The result: A complex beer with a lighter and fruitier, yet still slightly boozy, taste.
Here are five barrel-aged beers to try this summer that aren’t stouts and aren’t aged in bourbon barrels.
Vinalia Urbana
Hardywood Brewery
Aged in a white wine barrel, this Belgium-style golden ale is a light, refreshing and delicate 9% ABV brew with white grape undertones. After fermenting its golden ale in a stainless steel tank, Hardywood ages the beer in freshly emptied 50-gallon wooden Sauvignon Blanc barrels for several months, creating a great summer sipping beer.
Points Unknown IPA
Ecliptic/Wicked Week/Stone Brewing’s
This tequila barrel-aged IPA is the result of a collaboration of three breweries—Ecliptic Brewing in Portland, Ore., Wicked Weed Brewing in Asheville, N.C., and Stone Brewing Co., in Escondido, Calif.—and a mix of two beers—a double IPA and a Belgian-style tripel. Step one: the Belgium-style tripel is aged for four months in oak barrels that once housed red wine, and then tequila. Step two: the aged tripel is blended with a freshly brewed West Coast double IPA in a one-fourth to three-fourths ratio. The result: A fruity, hoppy 9.5% ABV beer with hints of peach and banana.
Rum-Barrel Aged Belgium Dubbel
3 Brothers Craft Brewing
Aged in wooden rum barrels, this Abbey-style Belgium dubbel packs an alcoholic punch with 10 percent ABV. Darker than a tripel but not as heavy as a stout, this beer has a sweet malty taste with hints of spice and banana. Its smooth taste earned 3 Brothers a bronze medal at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival.
Interlude
Allagash Brewing Co.
This classic Saison beer features two strains of yeast – Belgium farmhouse yeast and Brettanomyces yeast, which brings out flavors of pear and apricot. A portion of the beer is aged in French merlot and sirah oak barrels and then mixed with non-aged beer, creating a slightly tart brew with 9.5% ABV.
White Monkey
Victory Brewing Co.
Victory Brewing Co.’s popular Golden Monkey, a Belgium-style tripel mixed with Asian spices, is aged for three months in Chardonnay barrels from Wente Vineyards in Livermore, California. This slightly sweet brew has a 9.5% ABV, giving an already unique beer a new, playful twist.