Single bottle (750ml) of Barrel-Aged Elderberry Dubbel (8.7%)
4 years in the making, and time well spent! Team F&L are really excited to release our first ever barrel-aged beer - this is a first for us, and it will certainly not be a last. A long and patient project, this belgian dubbel was brewed in the autumn of 2020 with Northumberland elderberries. The beer has rich malt flavours and sweet caramel tones balanced by earthy fruits; flavours which have evolved and smoothed out over time whilst slumbering in a French Oak barrel which previously held a top-notch Rioja red wine. Now at 8.7% abv, Elderberry Gran Reserva is a deep amber in colour, and presents complex oaked red wine character to balance a rich, malty and dry finish.
Handpicking a barrel, and brewing the beer which fills it are the parts we control. What really interests us ageing beers in wood, (and in barrels which have previously held another delicious dram) is that time and nature will take each beer on a whole new journey. There are many influences over the process which will then add an element of surprise for us as brewers, and which take months and even years to come to fruition. This excites us and spurs us on to take our time and reap the rewards later.
