By Kristen Kuchar

Avery chief barrel herder Andy Parker pulls a nail on a barrel-aged brew. *Photo - Avery Brewing*

Colorado’s beer and spirit conjurers are a perfect match to entice discerning tastebuds. Local breweries are turning to local distilleries for access to flavor-fueled barrels perfect for aging beer that develops a complex, bold flavor.

Andy Parker, Avery Brewing Co.’s chief barrel herder, tried to get tequila barrels for years with no success. But then he crossed paths with the crew at Boulder-based Suerte Tequila, which agreed to provide barrels. Since then, Avery’s barrel-aging program has skyrocketed.

“We brought in four barrels and put a different beer in each to see what might happen,” Parker said.

Now Suerte is getting Avery more than 200 barrels a year from its Jalisco, Mexico, operation. Laurence Spiewak, co-founder and CEO of Suerte Tequila, is excited that Avery Brewing opts for their barrels in the aging process.

“We’ve always loved their beer and are honored to see it aged in Suerte barrels,” he says. Avery’s Fortuna Ale is aged in these tequila barrels and enhanced with lime zest and salt for a sour and salty beer.

Avery chief barrel herder Andy Parker checks aroma *Photo - Avery Brewing*

As if aging in tequila barrels wasn’t interesting enough, their barrels were used for whiskey before tequila. “There’s a lot of complex flavor that can be imparted to the beer,” Spiewak explains. He says he’s tasted beers that have a distinct tequila taste and some that are subtler, making each brew a unique experience.

The unusual, robust flavor profile makes barrel-aged beers a popular choice. In fact, even though barrel-aged brews are a small portion of production at Dry Dock Brewing Co. in Denver, head brewer Alan Simons says they’re typically the more anticipated and popular beers of the year. For Dry Dock, Bligh’s Barleywine started it all — a big, malty English barleywine with notes of toffee, caramel, dark fruit, vanilla, and whiskey. There’s also the Double Apricot Blonde, which is a beefed-up version of their flagship Apricot Blonde, with twice as much apricot puree and a hefty nine percent ABV.

“We achieve more of a fermented and dry apricot flavor in this beer due to the aging in barrels,” Simons explains. “The whiskey and apricot come together in a way that’s reminiscent of an Old Fashioned.”

He notes that the process of barrel aging is a whole new ballgame. Brewers transfer sufficiently fermented beers into barrels, being careful not to oxidize the beer too much. They taste the beer throughout the aging process and before packaging, and then dump anything that isn’t up to their standards.

High standards are precisely what motivated Great Divide Brewing to turn to Bear Creek Whiskey and Laws Whiskey.

“They are good friends of the brewery and consistently make great products,” says Ro Guenzel, brewery manager at Great Divide. Great Divide uses these barrels when looking to introduce whiskey characteristics to Yeti Imperial Stout.

James Kunz, distiller at Laws Whiskey, says it’s been really nice getting to know the Great Divide brewers, and they’re proud to call them friends. He sees barrel aging as both a process and as an ingredient. “A good barrel-aged beer should be able to stand on its own first and foremost,” he says. “Then if our barrels can add a little extra character to distinguish the beer, our job is done.”

Jeffrey Dickens, co-founder and head distiller at Bear Creek Distillery, is thrilled that Great Divide used their rye whiskey barrels to create small batches of barrel-aged Yeti. They’ll soon be releasing a rye whiskey finished in Great Divide barrels from their most recent batch of barrel-aged Yeti, available only in the Denver tasting room.

When aging beer, Dickens says adding beer to the once-used whiskey barrels adds several layers of complexity to the flavor and aroma of the beer.

“When you dump a whiskey barrel, a small amount of whiskey is left behind, both in the bottom of the barrel and in the pores of the oak,” Dickens explains. When beer is added to the freshly dumped barrels, the beer mixes with and absorbs the whiskey. Additionally, the beer will interact with the charred oak barrel to add additional flavors, such as oak, tobacco, leather, cherry and more.

Kristen Kuchar is a Colorado-based writer covering craft beverages, food and travel.