Today, we filled two used Constellation Spirits Bourbon casks with the Old Toby Porter, in order to create Barrel-aged Old Toby.

Whisky barrels have long been utilized to age a certain beers. The brewer’s intent was to infuse their base beers with interesting flavors from the wood that were left over from its previous life. Since Bourbon barrels are only used once for whisky aging, they are readily available, inexpensive, and contain enough residual character to flavor the beer with aging. The process is a flavoring procedure in which a fully fermented and finished beer is held in a used barrel for a period of time.

The length of time the beer remains in the barrel can be as little as a week or two, or can be as long as a few months to a year. It just depends on the brewer, the type of barrel, and the intended result. Due to the extra time and expense involved, barrel aged beers are typically sold at a premium and are usually in short supply.