Whisky in Beer Casks

Beer is a drink that everyone knows! The Purity Law for beer production has been in force in Germany since 1516. It states that beer may only be made from the four ingredients water, malt, hops and yeast. Interestingly, the production of beer and whisky is initially identical. After fermentation, hops are added to the beer, while whisky is distilled. The storage of whisky in beer barrels is relatively new. Craft breweries are experimenting with the storage of beer in whisky barrels.

A wooden beer barrel is traditionally made from oak wood. The beer can be kept in the barrel for two to nine months. In a brewery, a beer barrel is used for around five years. Nowadays, beer is stored in steel containers or plastic barrels as well as in bottles. Unlike whisky, beer does not extract any flavours from the wood.

The duration of storage is crucial. In most cases, storage in a beer cask involves a finish. This means that the whisky was previously stored in an oak barrel - usually a bourbon barrel - and is then stored in a beer barrel. The longer the whisky is aged in a beer cask, the stronger the typical beer flavours, such as sweetness, fruitiness, but also spiciness and bitterness. The type of beer plays a major role here. The finish in an Irish stout cask, for example, gives the whisky creamy chocolate and coffee flavours.

The type of beer has an influence on the colour of the whisky, as does the time of barrel maturation. A light beer tends to give off light colour tones and a dark beer dark tones.