The nights are drawing in and there’s a chill in the air, so it seems appropriate that Vocation Brewery has released a trio of dark barrel-aged brews.
All aged in Bourbon oak barrels, the beers are available only in limited quantities.
Vocation has collaborated with Neon Raptor on a Coconut Imperial Stout coming in at 11.2% ABV. It had a limited launch at Neon Raptor’s Derby Beer Con a couple of weeks ago.
The beer has been aged for eight months in Bourbon barrels to lend a real charred-oak, cinder toffee warmth, bringing out the toasted flavours of coconut, which was added at four stages in the brewing process.
Baltic Porter (9.3% ABV) is a take on a 19th century style, brewed with six malts in the grist for a complex base of dark chocolate, espresso, and toasted coconut.
Seven months in Bourbon barrels balances this deep, roasty bitter, and gives sweet notes of butterscotch and vanilla on the finish.
Finally, there’s 2022 Barley Wine (10.8% ABV), which started life last summer, and which has been brewed to traditional standards, using all-British ingredients, right down to fermentation with native yeasts.
Twelve months in Bourbon barrels, followed by a further three months conditioning in bottle, has intensified the honeyed stone fruit and cognac flavours, and rounded out the profile with vanilla and treacle toffee notes for a warm, fruity finish.
