Night Tripper is a really special beer for us, in that it is one of the few large beers we make that isn't barrel aged. It still ages, however - on stainless steel for at least 4 months - developing, mellowing and improving in complexity the longer it sits.
Nevertheless, we couldn't resist putting it in barrels.
5 of them to be exact.
The best thing about barrel aging small batches is you can stow them away and forget about them, only to return every so often upon remembering they're still there, and taste them.
With the most recent batch, I had several varieties of barrels each filled with this sweet dark nectar. Some rum, some bourbon and some whiskey.
Aging ranged from 8 months to over a year! While a few barrels were finished off in our very own Zeppelin Whiskey barrels.
Blending was easy, working with 5 barrels, compared to the 130 + it takes for blue sunday.
I took the three best barrels at that point and trial blended them (just in tasting glasses). It was magnificent.
Finalized it that day and pulled those three barrels together in our small batch specialty tank.
The kicker?
It was 16.6 % ABV!!!
Cheers.
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