No, I don’t know everything about beer, but I do know some beers taste better in different seasons. There are 5 beer styles that taste best in the winter and two of them are favorites of mine. Stouts and Porters, an Imperial Beer and a Winter Warmers are 3 of the winter styles. Now, Bock beers and Barrel aged beers are the other two and are my Favorite winter beers. A Bock Beer is lager that generally takes extra months of largering (cold storage) to smooth out such a strong brew. Bock beer in general is stronger than your typical lager (higher ABV), more of a robust malt character with a dark amber to brown hue (color). Hop bitterness can be assertive enough to balance, though must not get in the way of the malt flavor, most Bock beers are only lightly hopped. I do not like Bock beers with any hoppy bitterness to them at all. The most popular Bock beer in Texas is Shiner Bock. Now on to barrel aged beers. In the Craft beer world the most common barrel used is a whiskey barrel from a local whisky distillery. By law, bourbon barrels (BBL) can only be used once, which creates an incredible supply of them. A lot of them head to Mexico for tequila to age in, as well as Scotland for scotch to be aged in. Until recently, when the draft beer world started Barrel aging beer in them. When a beer is aged in a BBL, the beer will pick up the flavors from the whiskey, the char and Oak flavors in the barrel. You will find more Stouts and Porters age in BBLs. Lakewood Brewing’s BBT (Bourbon Barrel ages Temptress) you will find Hints of burnt sugar, vanilla, oak, toffee, and caramel coming from the barrel aging. Lakewood Brewery also uses Wine and Tequila Barrels for gaging their Anniversary beers. All Barrel age beer are a bit pricey due in part to the cost of the barrel, loss of beer during aging, and a lower volume of beer available. Like with wine and whisky expect to pay anywhere from $12 to $16 for a glass of BBL aged beer. So look for Bock beers coming this February and come give them a try.
