I’m starting to really look forward to these barrel project releases from Kees.
Every month, he is releasing a barrel aged treat. Typically, Imperial Stout and Barley Wines lend themselves really well to barrel aging, particularly if the barrel previously held whiskey, bourbon or rum. But every so often, our very creative made from Middelburg comes up with something just a little different.
This is an imperial saison of 9.5%, aged for 6 months in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels. When I read that listing on his email, I wanted one then and there. But we patiently waited a few months, and now we can share them with you.
I guess the first thing I noticed was that is wasn’t very saison-y! There is a really solid malt body to this beer, that made me think of an English barley wine. And it is pretty obvious that it has spent time in a bourbon barrel, but that’s not a bad thing.
After a few sips, the saison character seemed to become more prominent. While the body is heavy, it is smooth (there are oats in the malt bill) and it finishes drier than you’d initially think. There is some light funkiness, even a little tartness to the aftertaste. And a bit of vanilla. It is an interesting and pretty tasty project. Defintely one of out the box!
A Russian Imperial Stout brewed to an original English recipe from 1750
A slightly happier version of a classic barley wine, using Cascade and Citra hops
A rich caramel malt body with a good dose of hop bitterness and a dry finish
A delicious dessert beer, this is like caramel fudge in a glass
Probably the flagship beer of Kees' beer portfolio
This beer replaces the Double Rye IPA, loaded with Mosaic, Simcoe and Loral hops with a crisp malt body
The second variant of Kees' Double IPA, double dry hopped with Simcoe & Amarillo
A spicy Rye Imperial IPA, with generous additions of Citra, Simcoe and Cascade
An old 19th Century beer style, dragged into the current craft beer world by a creative and talented brewer
A triple dry-hopped Imperial IPA, the 2020 single hop edition features Chinook hops
An IPA from Kees, finished with a French saison yeast for an interesting mix of beer styles
Kees' version of a NEIPA - or at least a hazy IPA - full of Citra, Mosaic and Loral hops
A new version of Kees' hazy IPA featuring Citra, Mosaic and Loral hops for a soft, juicy IPA
A lightly smoked summer dopplebock - apparently it's how the 'Indian's celebrated the autumn!'
Pils and Munchener malts, Amarillo hops, coriander and mango are all fermented with yeast from Westmalle
A milkshake IPA, made using lactose and with the addition of fresh mango and vanilla
A chocolate orange stout in collaboration with De Dochter Van De Korenaar
A hop-driven pale ale dry-hopped with loads of beautiful Citra hops
Pineapple, coriander and szechuan peppers plus a little lactose make for an intriguing milkshake IPA
A really juicy, and very intriguing, single hop IPA using experimental hop HBC472
A chocolate oatmeal stout with loads of fresh strawberries added
A rich Russian Imperial Stout with cinnamon and brown sugar, based on the traditional Dutch pastry dessert
This Bourbon barrel aged imperial stout is a three-way collaboration with Alvinne (BEL) and Velka Morava (RUS) brewed at Brouwerij Kees
