The Little Woody celebrates an age-old tradition

Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 1, 2016

Labor Day weekend marks the return of one of Bend’s more noteworthy beer events, The Little Woody Barrel-Aged Beer, Cider & Whiskey Festival. Founded in 2009 as a small, locally focused brewfest with a unique angle — all wood-aged beers — the fest has grown to encompass two days and 26 different breweries and cider makers. It takes place Friday and Saturday at the Des Chutes Historical Museum downtown.

Originally, the festival featured only Central Oregon breweries. Each year as it has grown, the organizer, Lay It Out Events, has brought in additional breweries from outside the region. However, the local representation has dropped in recent years, and this year there are only seven. Why the reduction?

“We accept applications from the breweries we invite on a first-come basis,” said Karin Roy of Lay It Out Events. “Each year we invite a few new out-of-area breweries to mix it up. This year, the result has been a wider geographical representation.”

Change is good, and while the locals are bringing their best barrel-aged beers to the event, the guest breweries are pouring a terrific lineup as well. Each brewery and cidery has at least one, and often both, offerings aged on wood in some manner.

Putting beer in wooden vessels is by no means a new practice: Beer has been stored, aged and served out of barrels and casks for hundreds of years. Many of the great sour beers of Belgium are aged in foeders, giant wooden casks home to the many wild yeasts and bacteria responsible for souring the beer. But it has only been within the last two decades or so that American craft brewers began using wood to enhance their brews.

Goose Island Brewing in Chicago is generally credited as the first brewery to put beer into bourbon barrels in the 1990s, kicking off the modern barrel-aging era. Used bourbon barrels were a natural choice, as they were readily available from distilleries who can legally only use them for a single batch of whiskey. The experimental nature of American brewers took hold, and since then beers have been aged in all manner of wooden barrels, both used and new.

Breweries that don’t have the space or finances for a barrel program can still opt to age beer with wood. The most common methods are to add wood chips or spirals into a tank or keg of beer. Often these will be pre-soaked in a spirit or liqueur to offer much the same character that aging in a used spirit barrel would achieve.

Whiskey is the most common addition, and the majority of the Woody beers pouring this weekend incorporate it. Even so, not all whiskey-infused beers will taste the same, as there can be significant variations among different brands and styles of whiskey. McMenamins Old St. Francis School, for instance, aged its Black Widow Porter in a Hogshead Whiskey barrel — produced in-house at McMenamins’ Edgefield Distillery. Both Silver Moon Brewing and Wild Ride Brewing employed Bendistillery Rye Whiskey barrels, and Fort George Brewery from Astoria aged its oatmeal stout in Four Roses Bourbon barrels.

Wine barrels have become increasingly popular among brewers in recent years and are the next most-used barrel type at the festival. For instance, Worthy Brewing introduced a wild blend into a sangiovese barrel for 18 months for its Lyrical Genius. And Portland’s Ecliptic Brewing aged its Ultraviolet Blackberry Sour Ale in syrah barrels for nine months.

Spirit barrels can add not only desired flavors, but alcohol strength as well, particularly if they are freshly emptied. Wine barrels, on the other hand, only tend to contribute the aroma and flavor compounds of the wine they stored. How did Ecliptic Brewing settle upon this particular variety?

“Syrah is very full-flavored with little tannin. Whenever we look at aging in previously used barrels, we have to think about what the barrel will impart in the beer,” said John Harris, owner and brewmaster. “We just thought that with the base being Ultraviolet Blackberry Sour Ale, the wine barrels would work well — and they did!”

The brewery’s notes about the beer indicate that the “flavors of oak and ripe fruit meld with the sour blackberries for a delicious flavor.”

Other varieties to watch for include pinot noir, chardonnay and merlot. Looking for something other than bourbon or wine flavors? At least three beers will feature rum, gin or tequila. And don’t discount the flavors you can find from neutral, unused oak; Deschutes Brewery and Corvallis’ Mazama Brewing are each bringing a beer aged in such barrels.

All in all, there is a wide range of styles that have been kissed by wood pouring this weekend, from sours to stouts and even some surprises in between. Be aware: Many of these are stronger than the average beer found at most festivals, so plan accordingly. Organizers offer a reduced, $5 entry for designated drivers.

— Jon Abernathy is a local beer blogger and brew aficionado. His column appears in GO! every other week.