The Sanctuary Barrel Program
UNFORGETTABLE ONE-OFF VARIANTS, CREATED A BARREL AT A TIME
IF YOU’VE BEEN BY THE REVOLUTION TAPROOM WHERE WE STORE OUR BARRELS, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED SOME MARKED “SANCTUARY.” THAT’S THE CODE NAME FOR OUR BARREL RESCUE PROGRAM, AN EXTENSION OF THE DEEP WOOD SERIES. IN THE OCCASIONAL INSTANCE WHEN A BARREL LEAKS, THE SANCTUARY PROGRAM IS ACTIVATED AND THE CREATION OF A TOTALLY UNIQUE DOUBLE-BARRELED BEER BEGINS.
A complex way to deliver great beer
We’re lucky to have brewer Marty Scott oversee our entire barrel program. That includes tracking each barrel, ensuring proper rotation, and other glamorous work like mopping, bucket placement, and forklift driving.
Storing beer in a wooden vessel isn’t like storing it in a stainless steel keg. Wood is naturally porous, and bourbon barrels not only come with residual spirits, but also several cycles of climate-driven expansion and contraction during their lifespan. Occasionally–about 5 percent of the time, Scott says–those barrels begin to drip or leak.
New barrels, new combinations
The beer from each leaky barrel is upgraded into a second, freshly ordered barrel and topped off with a different base beer to form a unique, one-of-a-kind blend. Filling barrels to the top, whether it’s a Sanctuary barrel or any of our Deep Wood Series beers, creates a great seal and staves off oxygen to let the beer mature and develop on its own.
The Sanctuary program is facilitating the discovery of new and exciting blends of our most precious liquid. We don’t just dump orphan barrels into the same new vessel–we taste and select for beers that we think will complement each other and lead to an interesting (if unintended) new beer.
“You never like to lose a barrel to leakage, but you end up with something special each time, because each one is double barreled,” Scott said, “Between the unique nature of double-barreled beers and the one-off character of each of these barrels, it’s a fantastic way to create special flavors without needing to add anything extra.”
A series of one-off blends
We couldn’t think of a better place to introduce the Sanctuary program than our first Deep Wood Series release, where you’ll be able to try it on draft. The first Sanctuary barrel, Double Barrel Lynott’s 2017 Stout, is a mix of oatmeal and milk stouts in WhistlePig 10-Year Rye and Heaven Hill bourbon barrels that come together for a smooth, silky behemoth of a blended stout.
“This same base beer became Jamo-nilla 2017 after a short aging in Jameson Irish Whiskey barrels and the addition of vanilla. It was brewed with more residual sweetness to offset a shorter barrel-aging period. After those Jameson barrels were full, we had enough of the base beer left over to fill a handful of our own barrels.” Scott said. “One of those barrels was a score–a WhistlePig 10 Year Rye barrel. After about a year, the barrel developed a small leak which couldn’t be sealed. The beer was marvelous coming out of the first barrel. “Now, after a second round in a Sanctuary barrel, the additional alcohol content beautifully offsets the elevated sweetness and lets the palate wonder upon the endless complexities derived from malt, oak, and more time.”
As we get further into Deep Wood season, you’ll see more of what Marty and the brewery crew are doing with unique Sanctuary barrels:
- In November, you’ll see an early pre-Sanctuary effort to make a fruit-forward cherry porter.
- In December, we’ve got the very first Sanctuary barrel, with a mix of 2016 and 2017 Deth’s Tar in Woodford Double Oak barrels, as well as a smoky, double-barreled version of Gravedigger Billy.
- In January, we’ve got a project that Scott calls “completely mental” [he means that in a good way] — Straight Jacket begun in a WhistlePig Boss Hogg Armagnac barrel, transferred to Heaven Hill bourbon barrels, and topped off with a bit of Very Special Old Ryeway. It’s been aging since late 2016, and is more than ready for its time to shine.
We hope you’ll join us for the entire series of Deep Wood releases. You’ll see not the kind of award-winning beers we create purposefully, but the amazing moments we’ve managed to capture along the way.
Sanctuary Beers
