Heavy Seas to Release Plank I to Kick off Rum Barrel Aged Series

Heavy Seas announces its next great experiment – aging beer in rum barrels.  This idea was hatched one evening over a couple of pints when the crew was talking about the upcoming Pirates of the Carribean 4 movie.

“What do pirates like to drink? Rum.  But wait – we’re pirates and we like good beer.  Let’s put the beer IN the rum barrel!”   Much cheering and clinking of glasses gave way to the question -Where do you find a rum barrel in the U.S.?

Our Master of Firkins searched land and sea, then acquired 5 white oak rum barrels from Prichards Distillery in Tennessee.  Each  15 gallon barrel had previously been used to age high quality rum for a full year.  We had the supplies, next was the beer selection.

Which styles would make our Heavy Seas experiment different from other offerings in the beer world?  Porters & stouts seemed to be the most popular so…

The soon to be released Heavy Seas Plank I and our current seasonal, Dubbel Cannon, became the lucky volunteers.  The old style English ale and a Belgian IPA have unique flavor profiles that will be complimented by the oak and rum.  Three barrels have been filled and the plan is to age them for roughly 4 weeks. Once they are ready, they’ll be transferred to firkins in time for American Craft Beer Week.  These select casks will be available in the Baltimore/DC area only.  Be sure to follow Heavy Seas Beer on facebook for more info on where to find this limited experiment in mid May.