Celebrating the barrel-aged beers that illustrate craft's creative magnificence

Detroit Free Press

The flavors from a barrel-aged beer are among the most complex and varied you can find in a drink. Also, they're some of the best.

Jason Heystek, Founders Brewing Company's Vice President of Planning, Packaging, Inventory & Logistics, passes a cup of Founders' "Backwoods Bastard" and a baster used to remove the craft beer from a barrel which the beer has been aging in since 2015 in a mine 85 feet underground at Michigan Natural Storage in Grand Rapids.

Barrel-aged beers are especially popular in Michigan, where nine of the 10 top-rated beers on Beer Advocate spent time in barrels. So given that someone deemed Friday "Barrel-Aged Beer Day," here's a guide (reviews below) to some of my favorites.

Damsel In Distress, No Rules, and Caesar's Gimp on display at Perrin Brewing Company in Comstock Park, Mich. on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. No Rules, an Imperial Porter aged in oak bourbon barrels will be released as always in the spring. "For no rules, you have to have no limit on the beer," said John Stewart.

The style of beer has grown in popularity with the proliferation of craft beer, and it illustrates just how experimental brewers can get. The most popular variant is a big stout aged in oak barrels that previously held bourbon. It's not unusual for a barrel-aged beer to have alcohol content as high as 10-14%, so it's one you want to sip slowly and enjoy one at a time.

Dragon's Milk by New Holland Brewing Co.

These beers tend to be available only as special releases in limited quantities, for limited times. Many don't stay shelved for long, and many stores will limit purchases to two bottles per customer. Some people are willing to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars just for one bottle.

In Michigan — and across New Holland Brewing Co.'s distribution map — there's one that's virtually always available: Dragon's Milk (11% ABV) bourbon-barrel-aged imperial stout. It's a fine example of the style, showing off the delicious combination of a smooth, roasty stout with the vanilla and oak notes imparted by the barrel.

More than 6,000 barrels of Founders Brewing Company's craft beer is aged in an old mine 85 feet underground at Michigan Natural Storage in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Founders Brewing Co. of Grand Rapids makes the legendary Kentucky Breakfast Stout (11.9% ABV), a stout made with coffee and chocolate, and aged in bourbon barrels inside cool, underground caves. There are rumblings that its sought-after Canadian Breakfast Stout — a version aged in bourbon barrels that were previously used for maple syrup — will soon be returning.

Founders brewmaster talks 2017 Kentucky Breakfast Stout release

This year, Founders expanded its lineup with some bold releases in its "Barrel-Aged Series" of beers: a cherry ale aged with maple syrup, an imperial IPA, and even a 14% alcohol malt liquor.

The brewery's next barrel-aged release, and one of my favorites, is Backwoods Bastard (11.2% ABV). It's a bourbon-barrel-aged scotch ale with a complexity of flavors that include hints of spice, smoke, plum fruitiness and plenty of warmth to help you adjust to cooler weather: Look for it in stores next week.

On the sweeter side, No Rules Vietnamese Porter (15% ABV) from Perrin Brewing Co., is comparable to a liquid Mounds bar. Made with turbinado sugar, coconut and cinnamon, it makes for a delicious, chocolatey dessert beer. You'll have to wait until April for the next release of this one — although, like many others, it will occasionally surface in kegs at craft-beer bars.

Some of Robert Allen's favorite barrel-aged Michigan beers

As rated on Untappd by Robert Allen, profile: raDetroit

Backwoods Bastard (11.2% ABV) bourbon-barrel-aged scotch ale by Founders Brewing Co. of Grand Rapids: One of the best ever. Caramel-toffee-plum sweetness, some cherry with lingering, tingly warmth. And bourbon. Smooth. 5/5.

No Rules Vietnamese Porter (2015) (15% ABV) by Perrin Brewing Co. of Comstock Park: Yum! Aroma of coconut, flavors of bittersweet chocolate, coconut, maple, molasses, brown sugar, some bourbon barrel. Perfectly balanced. 5/5.

Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Mayan Mocha imperial stout (10% ABV) by Odd Side Ales of Grand Haven: Habanero spice really pops on this one, backed by big, velvety chocolate flavors and a hint of cinnamon and barrel. 4.75/5.

Canadian Breakfast Stout (10.6% ABV) by Founders Brewing Co. of Grand Rapids: Fantastic; smells of sweet maple syrup. Tastes of molasses, chocolate, bourbon and oak, in that order. Smooth and magnificent. 4.75/5.

Kentucky Breakfast Stout (11.2% ABV for 2015 release) by Founders Brewing Co. of Grand Rapids: So fantastic! Rich choco-coffee flavors fused harmoniously with bourbon vanilla and a hint of barrel. Lingering bitterness on the finish. 4.75/5

Bourbon Barrel Plead the 5th Imperial Stout (11% ABV) by Dark Horse Brewing Co. of Marshall: Mouthwatering mix of semisweet chocolate, coffee, licorice flavors; bourbon notes/booziness in play as it warms. Smooth, rich, velvety. 4.5/5.

Tequila Barrel Aged Nectar De La Vida (6.2% ABV) by Short's Brewing Co. of Bellaire: Wow! Mexican beach party in a cup. It's a tequila beer with lime. Balanced. Light and bursting with agave-lime. 4.5/5

Dragon's Milk Reserve: Coconut Rum Barrel (11% ABV) by New Holland Brewing Co. of Holland: Coconut, sweet rum flavors, smooth with some vanilla-coffee notes. Yum. 4.25/5

DragonTrax (now called Traxxx) Night Fury (10.8% ABV) by Witch's Hat Brewing Co. in South Lyon: Dessert in a cup: toffee-peanut-butter-cocoa-roasty deliciousness. Velvety. Big, but with minimal heat. Sorta like a Heath bar and cappuccino. 4.25/5

Contact Robert Allen on Twitter @rallenMI or rallen@freepress.com.