Victory Brewing Company is renowned for its in-your-face hoppy brews, but its brewers have been turning out an impressive array of other styles, too. Late fall and into winter, the Victory faithful know they can expect something dark and dreamy, like Java Cask, the 14.3% ABV bourbon-aged beast—a perfect blend of coffee, sweet bourbon heat and a luscious stout base.
This year, Dark Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) heralded in two of four barrel-aged beers coming to a Victory Brewpub near you: Java Cask and Java Cask Rye. We sat down with director of brewery operations James Gentile for the full story on these beers and what makes barrel aging amazing.
PA Eats: Java Cask is hugely popular—how did you come upon a rye, too?
James Gentile: I was very excited to do two things this year: improve upon our first release of Java Cask and give it a parallel. Last year, we took a high ABV, flavorful stout and complemented it with the addition of both a lengthy stay in bourbon barrels and a high-end coffee. We made several tweaks for 2016 that resulted in a much more balanced base, but the biggest difference this year is the coffee. We spent a lot of time with our good pals at One Village Coffee going through all kinds of blends, roasts and techniques and ultimately landed on the Nordico as a coffee we felt stood up to Java Cask’s big flavors.
And that was just the start! We wanted to create something special for our Java Cask fans to compare and contrast against, so we decided to age our base stout in freshly emptied Bulleit Rye barrels. We went back to One Village Coffee for more delicious experimentation and landed on the spicy yet robust Smart Blend. This coffee had nuance and gusto and is an awesome complement to this beer. That’s how the 12.5% ABV Java Cask Rye was born.
Why barrel aging?
Let’s geek out for a second: The primary transition function to impart flavor into beer is contact and time. Some flavors are easily transferred with just contact and don’t need a lot of time. This is especially true with any residual spirit that might be left over in a barrel. The wood or char flavors from a bourbon barrel are also transferred due to contact but benefit from longer periods of time. The more time, the more these particular flavors will shine through, adding nuance to your extracted beer. Bourbon and rye barrel aging was a natural given the flavor profiles in Java Cask and Java Cask Rye.
Tell us more about what makes the beer base and barrels a match made in heaven for dark beer lovers?
It’s important to note that both of these beers are not something that Victory makes or has made in the past that we just aged in bourbon and rye barrels. Our intention for Java Cask was to make a stout that would then be complemented by bourbon barrel aging and finally the addition of coffee. This year, having a rye added the obvious variable of a different spirit, but we also challenged ourselves by finding a unique coffee to complement those flavors.
How long did the Dark Wednesday releases sit in barrels?
Java Cask spent 6 months in used bourbon barrels. Java Cask Rye spent 3 months in used Bulleit Rye barrels. The reason behind the rye spending less time is that we were very particular about which barrels we used for this smaller release. We wanted a rye we were impressed with on its own and were not satisfied by the initial barrels we found. Once we secured the Bulleit barrels, we filled them quickly after they entered our doors—they were exactly what we had in mind.
There are lots of roasty flavor notes in both beers. Is that typical with barrel aging?
For us, coffee flavors and aroma are a natural extension from the dark caramel malt and roasted barley in these beers. These occur naturally in most stouts, so adding an aggressive dosing of coffee after the barrel extraction was complete was another way for us to build more layers of flavor in these already very complex beers. They aren’t the only great match with barrel aging, but they are one of our favorites.
Are there more barrel-aged beers on the horizon?
Indeed there are! Watch for a mid-December release of a biere brut and a Flemish-style sour red ale. More to come on those!
Got any food pairing suggestions for those lucky enough to snag Java Cask and/or Java Cask Rye?
We hope everyone got their bottles! Java Cask Rye was only available at our Brewpubs; Java Cask was also released nationwide, so if you didn’t make it out on Dark Wednesday you can use our Beerfinder to track it down.
My favorite pairings? The big bold flavors of both these beers would do very well with a sweet and savory dessert, like a chocolate lava cake or black forest cake. For a meal, choose something meaty and rich like prime rib or a T-bone with a mushroom sauce. Or if you’re really feeling bold (and it’s the weekend), you could substitute it for a cup of joe in the morning (there is definitely caffeine in there!).
Find Victory Brewing Company at 420 Acorn Lane in Downingtown, phone: (610) 873-0881; 600 W. Cypress St. in Kennett Square, phone: (484) 730-1870; and 3127 Lower Valley Rd. in Parkesburg, phone: (484) 718-5080.
- Photos: Victory Brewing Company
