Maroon Brew Co has unveiled its first-ever barrel-aged beer, a new twist on one of its original taproom favorites.
Byhalia Brown, a malty, caramel-forward brown ale, was aged in a rye whiskey barrel from Old Dominick distillery in Memphis and released on tap last week in Maroon’s Collierville taproom.
Owner and brewer Maggie Emerson told Memphis Beer Blog the idea came naturally from the beer’s flavor profile.
“It’s got a lot of caramel, brown sugar—not quite chocolatey, but almost candy bar-esque. It’s a really nice brown, and the notes in it made me think how good it would be in a whiskey barrel,” Emerson said.
“So that’s when I reached out to Old Dominick. I didn’t know what kind of a barrel I was going to get, but it was a rye barrel, and it ended up being really nice.”
The brewery set aside about half a batch of the beer for the project, letting it rest on the rye barrel for six months. The result is a beer that balances malt sweetness with the warmth of the barrel.
“When you smell it, you get the whiskey nose, but you also pick up the brown ale notes,” Emerson said. “And then when you taste it, it’s warming, and it’s got a nice rye spiciness on the finish. Then, after a couple of seconds, you breathe out again and pick up the brown sugar on it. It’s just a really nice blend.”
At 7.5%, the ABV is moderate for a barrel-aged release — but that was intentional, Emerson said.
It allows the beer to showcase the barrel-aged character while still being approachable. Plus, with the lower ABV, Emerson noted, you can actually have more than one.
Maroon Brew is located at 642 West Poplar.