Barrel-Aged Beers from Burien

In 2008 we acquired two French oak barrels inoculated with two different strains of Brettanomyces, reputedly from Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, California by way of Arlen Harris, then brewer at Rogue's pub in Issaquah, WA.

We filled one barrel with our Red von Boorian and the other with the last remaining kegs of our Blonde von Boorian. These each aged for one year in the cellars of our Burien pub. We transferred them into kegs back in September 2008 and have begun the carbonation process in preparation for releasing them to our patrons.

A blending of the two Brett beers made its draught debut at the WABL 3rd Anniversary Party earlier this month. The next unveiling will be at the Brouwer's Big Wood Festival, which begins December 4 at their pub in Fremont.

Alongside the Blended Brett Beer we'll pour our latest barrel-aged creation, a keg of Burien 1st Birthday Baltic Porter, brewed in February 2008 and aged in a 2003 Syrah barrel acquired from DeLille Cellars in Woodinville. The resulting beer has an added depth from the wine and noticeable oak notes, without over-powering the palette with vanilla.

After emptying out the Baltic Porter we refilled the Syrah barrel with a batch of barley wine we brewed back in August 2008 in preparation for the 2009 Pro-Am competition at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. Look for this beer to be released sometime in the Spring of 2009.