Barrels in demand in craft beer scene

A current craze in the craft beer industry is to barrel-age beers.

So much so, that there's now competition to acquire used barrels from distilleries and wineries.

"It ebbs and flows," explains Ryan Schmiege, the assistant brewmaster at Deschutes Brewery of Bend, Oregon, known for its barrel-aged series. "We try to mitigate an always-changing situation."

The Town Hall Brewery of Minneapolis has been barrel aging since 2000 after brewmaster Mike Hoops read a blurb about the aging technique. The brewery won a medal for a barrel-aged beer at the Great American Beer Festival in 2001. The brewpub is in the midst of its annual barrel-aged week that features the tapping of nine barrel-aged beers over six days.

But as Hoops starts preparing for the 2016 barrel-aged week, he may have to break from tradition.

"One of our suppliers we normally use, I'm not certain we are going to get it for next year," Hoops said. "From my point of view, that's pretty dramatic. The consumers are getting used to certain brands."

But what has inspired the high demand for used barrels?

"Aging in wood is adding depth and additional characters," Schmiege said. "It's primarily adding complexity, nuances of flavor and components from the previous contents of the cask."

Hoops said he builds beer recipes specific to each barrel.

"The barrel is another ingredient," Hoops explains.

Schmiege said that while barrel aging is "not necessarily more labor-involved," the process does require the patience of waiting "six months to several years."

The most common barrels used in brewing are those from bourbon, whiskey and red wine production, because they pair best with certain beer styles. Barrels can be used only once during bourbon distilling, then reused in whiskey and scotch distilling or sold to breweries.

Hoops said that he's also experimenting with tequila and white wine barrels.

Because of the growing scarcity of barrels, some breweries are turning toward aging in a container that holds wood spirals instead. Aging with spirals also speeds up the process.

National brewpub chain Granite City Food & Brewery is going to release a Scottish ale aged with whiskey-soaked oak spirals called Way Up Yer Kilt in its restaurants Sunday.

Even Budweiser proudly boasts that it ages its beers on beechwood chips for 21 days.

"I find using the spirals is more controllable (than using barrels)," said Granite City head brewmaster Cory O'Neel, who creates the wort for each restaurant's beer at a regional site in Ellsworth, Iowa. "I found it to be more hit or miss with barrel aging. This way (with spirals) the process is very reproducible."

Hoops also said home brewing with barrels is now "more possible than ever."

And as using wood-aging in brewing becomes more popular, breweries are likely to continue tweaking their methods.

"Brewers love to be involved and enjoy experimenting with creating new flavors and designing new beers," Schmiege said. "It's the great elements that go with craft and brewing."

Follow Jake Laxen on Twitter @jacoblaxen.