Braxton Brewing Company will be releasing Bourbon Barrel-Aged Starter Coffee to coincide with their first bottled beer release on December 5th at the Braxton Block Party. This project is the next step in the Starter Coffee program in collaboration with Carabello Coffee in Newport, KY.

“Barrel aging Starter is one of the most fun projects I’ve been apart of,” said Jake Rouse, Co-Founder and CEO Braxton Brewing Company. “It’s been a truly collaborative effort and the product is something our entire team has never tried and we’re really proud of it!”

In addition to Bourbon Barrel-Aged whole bean Starter, Braxton will also be releasing Dark Charge Imperial Stout at their Block Party. This is the first beer in the company’s Heritage Series and will be sold in 22 oz. bottles and on draft. There will be three variants to complement the Imperial Stout: Bourbon Barrel Aged, Bourbon Barrel Aged with Vanilla, and Bourbon Barrel Aged with Starter Coffee.

The Bourbon Barrel-Aged whole beans were aged at Braxton Brewing Company as part of their barrel program and roasted by Carabello Coffee. They were then bottled and hand numbered to 300 at Braxton Brewing Company. The finished, wax-dipped bottles will be available for $30 beginning at noon on December 5th.

“To be honest, when Braxton came to me with this idea, I was both excited and scared at the same time,” says Justin Carabello, founder of Carabello Coffee. “We had never aged coffee in bourbon barrels before, and I knew that we only had one shot to get it right. But working through these types of challenges is also what has made our collaboration with Braxton so rewarding in such a short period of time. I could not be more proud of how this coffee turned out, and just love the fact that the Braxton crew approaches their coffee with the same level of craftsmanship as they do their beer.”

Carabello chose to age a Fair Trade Organic coffee from Honduras for its exceptionally smooth body and a flavor profile of caramel and butterscotch. Two hundred and fifty pounds of un-roasted coffee was then aged in two separate barrels, with each barrel being rotated every two days so that the absorption of bourbon into the coffee would be as even as possible. Since the coffee picked up additional moisture during the aging process, Carabello decided on a slower than normal medium roast that produced mahogany colored beans that have no visible oils on the surface.

Carabello and Braxton Brewing Company launched the Starter Coffee program in June. Working through an extensive coffee cupping process, Carabello Coffee created a specialty blend specifically for Braxton. This is the coffee that is used in Braxton’s coffee beers and served at the brewery three different ways – hot, cold, and on Nitro.

As part of the Starter Coffee program, Braxton opens at 8am Tuesday – Friday and invites the entrepreneurship and greater Cincinnati community to use their space and gigabit wifi Internet for free.

To learn more about Bourbon Barrel Aged Starter or Dark Charge, RSVP to the party and stay up-to-date on all event details by joining the event on Facebook.

Follow Braxton Brewing Company on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay in-the-know or visit their website for more company details.