Tag Archives: chardonnay barrel

HopAnomaly – Nebraska Brewing

by Mike

From Nebraska Brewing in Papillion Nebraska comes their “HopAnomaly” an Ale aged in Chardonnay Barrels.  The beer pours a cloudy orange colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of candi sugar, citrus, Chardonnay, oak, some spice and Belgian yeast.  The flavour is of Chardonnay, citrus, tropical fruit, candi sugar, toffee, oak, sweetness, spices, Belgian yeast, hops bitterness and some alcohol.  The alcohol content comes in at 10.6% with an IBU of 87.  While I am not a fan of Chardonnay at all this beer really worked well with the wine barrel and was an absolute treat.  I wish I had the ability to get more of this beer or more from the brewery but that is the nature of trading beers.

Commercial Description:  An artful creation which began with our HopAnomaly Belgian-Style IPA, enhanced by a 6 month maturation in French Oak Chardonnay Barrels. This version of Hop God is a fascinating, big, bold Belgian-style Tripel hopped in very high amounts to concentrate citrus, grapefruit and floral aromatics in the nose. The addition of Chardonnay barrel aging adds further dimension and oak tannins to an already wonderfully complex Ale – bringing to mind tropical fruits and peach. We know of nothing that compares – enjoy!

Food pairing as per brewery:  Hors d’ oeuvres = Mushroom Risotto, Cheese = Bleu Cheeses, Gouda, Entrée = Pizza, Gourmet Grilled Burgers, Chimchurri, Roasted Chicken, Desert = Pecan Pie, Lemon Mergane Pie

En Blanc (Barley Wine) – Steel & Oak Brewing

by Mike

From New Westminster’s Steel & Oak Brewing comes their “En Rouge (Barley Wine)” a Barley Wine aged in Chardonnay Barrels.  The beer pours a deep brown colour with a brown head.  The aroma consists of coconut, chardonnay, roasted malts, dark fruits and oak.  The flavour is of chardonnay, coconut, dark fruits, roasted malts, molasses, oak and alcohol.  The alcohol content comes in at 10% with an IBU of 15.  While I liked this beer I wish that the Chardonnay was in the background not the main flavour.

Check out the En Rouge Barley Wine aged in Cabernet Sauvignon Barrels.

Commercial Description: En Blanc and En Rouge are the same 10% abv barley wine fermented with wine yeast, and aged for a year in Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon barrels respectively. En Blanc is described as having notes of “vanilla, coconut, apricot, peach, molasses and fruitcake with a touch of citrus,” while En Rouge offers “black currant, dark cherry, leather, tobacco, plum and dates.”

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