CARSON, Wash. — Backwoods Brewing Company is releasing a new bourbon barrel-aged stout next week, named The Stumbler. Not to be confused with their Imperial Honey IPA, the Bumbler, The Stumbler is a Russian Imperial Stout aged for 18 months in Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels. This is the longest barrel aging Backwoods has ever done.
“Prior to this, our longest barrel aging has been around 6 months,” said Jordan Tanasse, head of sales for Backwoods. “We get excited to try the beer and share it, so we have only ever had the patience for a 6-month aging. This time around, we used as much restraint as we could and held out for 18 months. When we finally decided it was time, everyone on our production team was ecstatic!”
The Stumbler gives off notes of vanilla, charred oak & brown sugar, and follows with a light smokiness. It clocks in at 12% ABV and 35 IBU. The base stout is comprised of four different malts, including roasted barley and chocolate malt.
Sourcing the barrels to age the stout was no easy feat. Kevin Waters, Backwoods’ Brewmaster, was able to order 12 barrels altogether for this beer (each barrel was filled with 50 gallons of stout).
“Barrels are getting extremely expensive and hard to find. Generally, you have to do a buy-in with several other breweries in order to meet the distillery’s minimum. For this shipment of barrels, we teamed up with Everybody’s Brewing and Breakside Brewing,” said Waters. “There is also no guarantee that the barrels will function properly and hold the beer without leaking. Lucky for us, the barrels held strong for a year and a half.”
The Stumbler will officially be released Friday, November 10th, at Backwoods Brew Pub in Carson, WA. It will be available in 22oz hand-waxed bottles and on draft.
Following the pub release, it will be made available at tap houses, independent bottle shops and specialty markets in both OR and WA. Only 90 cases are going out the door, so get ’em while you can!
About Backwoods Brewing Company
Backwoods is located in the heart of the Columbia Gorge, in the small town of Carson, WA. It was founded by the Waters family in 2012, as a single-barrel brewpub. They now operate on a 20-barrel system in their newer Stevenson facility, kegging, canning and bottling beer for the WA/OR markets. Their focus is on balanced beers, such as the flagship Logyard IPA. Backwoods works with local producers to source their hops, grain and yeast. The brewpub in Carson is open daily, from 11:30 AM – 9 PM, and welcomes all ages.