Several months ago, we were lucky enough to get our hands on a freshly dumped bourbon barrel from our friends at Lockwood Distilling. We ran it back to the brewpub, tucked it into our barrel rack, and then we filled it with a big, bold English barleywine to let it do its thing.

We’ve waiting patiently for it to develop, and, based on our most recent tasting, it’s ready to see daylight.

This base English barleywine’s dark toast, molasses, and caramel notes have evolved with a complex but very, very present barrel, woodsy character and generous wafts of bright, fresh bourbon whiskey.

Boozy and dry, this beer drinks way too easy, especially at more than 14% ABV, with minimal sweetness. So we thought it best to call it what it is – a great nightcap.

Nightcap will make its limited draft debut this Thursday by 2 PM.