Barrel Aged Series

Introducing our barrel aged series! Barrel ageing is the process of ageing a beer for a certain period of time in a wooden barrel or cask. The barrels typically used for ageing beer will have previously held a different liquid, usually a spirit or a wine. The beer takes on elements of both the previous liquid and the wood from the barrel. Additionally, wooden barrels will often harbour yeasts and bacteria which can further ferment the beer, producing entirely new flavours and aromas. The newly imparted flavours are what makes barrel aged beers so uniquely delicious and full of character. Read more about our barrel aged series past, present and future.

Our barrel aged beers have predominantly been held in Oak barrels from whiskey distilleries but we have also used wine casks to barrel condition some of our limited edition beers. If you enjoy barrel aged beers, you can stay ahead of the crowd with our beer subscription options launching soon.

We bring you all the comfort of a dark beer in a bright golden package. Smooth, malty, oakey with a hint of spirit and spice. “Sergeant Jimmy” is a barrel aged Saison, 7.7% ABV. First fermented in an open tank with our semi domesticated, house saison strain, before languishing in freshly emptied Irish Whiskey barrels for a few weeks. Finally, the beer is refermented in bottles for a truly new take on a very traditional process. The tale goes that Jimmy the donkey was born in a World War One trench and was made sergeant for his work with a Scottish regiment. You can discover more about the story behind the beer in our blog.

Released in June 2019, Double Barrel was an Irish Whiskey barrel conditioned rye ale. Almost a year in the making, Double Barrel was twice aged in two different sets of Whiskey barrels. Loaded with character, it was big, rich and spicy, with more than a faint whiskey undertone. The flavours of the 1500 limited edition bottles included Oak, vanilla, coconut and citrus, deliciousness.

Phraseology is a wild Irish Rye saison with strawberries. “Phraseology” was conceived on 3/11/2020. It then underwent a two year gestation in American oak barrels where it soured naturally, but we didn’t know quite what it would grow up to become. After a chance meeting with a Longford strawberry grower, its destiny was manifest, and today it is finally ready for release. Phraseology is fermented with our native Irish yeast strain Morrigan 1 (you may remember her from such beers as Savage, Allta and Rua). After about 18 months in oak, we added pureed, fresh local strawberries, from McCormack Fruit in Longford, straight into the barrels, and left the microbes to work their magic.

Try it with rich, sweet crepes this pancake Tuesday (or any day you fancy some pancakes). If you really want some next level pairing, fire up the oven and enjoy it with a delicious strawberry clafoutis.

Ruacioto is a single barrel release, based on our Underworld Rua, exclusively for Blackrock Cellar, and limited to 600 bottles.

Initially fermented with Morrigan 1 our wild native yeast, Ruacioto was then matured in ex Irish whiskey casks for 9 months before finishing in a Recioto della Valpolicella barrel, sourced from the Pasqua family winery in Verona, for an additional 6 months. The whiskey cask character is minimal, as those casks had previously held Sergeant Jimmy, our annual whiskey barrel aged saison. The Recioto barrel however was fresh from the vineyard, bursting with flavour and character. The resulting beer is a Native Irish copper ale, with an exotic Italian twist.

Are you a barrel aged beer lover? Well then, we have more barrel aged brews coming down the line this year. If you would like to reserve some of these brews ahead of time, stay tuned for the launch of our beer subscription service.

At Black Donkey Brewing, our beers are never filtered, never pasteurised and always independent. Get your hands on our beers from your quality local stockist or you can purchase directly from the brewery at our webshop.

Handmade, Irish Beer from Roscommon!