Beer of the Week: Shagtastic Voyage

From the Beer Writer: Barrel-aging can be a taxing process for a brewer. In addition to sourcing viable barrels, dosing, storage, blending and contending with scores of technical matters, there’s the attachment issue. In funneling beer into barrels to spend several months, or even several years, a brewer is hedging bets and becoming more and more married to an unpredictable finished product the longer it ages. In some cases, the beer outlasts a brewer’s employment. Such was the case with this week’s featured beer, Shagtastic Voyage. It’s named for its creator, Ben “Shaggy” Blaney, who began this voyage while working for San Marcos’ Mason Ale Works. Last year, when he crossed Highway 78 to become head brewer at the My Yard Live brewpub, he had to bid his barrel-aged baby bye-bye. But thanks to a handshake deal with Mason’s owner, Shaggy was able to bottle this well-matured, cherry and wine-grape-infused sour Belgian-style quadrupel and sell it at his new digs. Tangy and bold in its oak expressions with a vinous quality that syncs well with the cherries, it is a layered beer with a booziness that becomes more noticeable as the beer warms.

From the Brewer: “The reward of being able to drink a beer that has spent so much time changing and developing new characteristics is one of my favorite things in brewing. This beer was a Belgian quad that was aged in bourbon, red wine and gin barrels with sour cherries, Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and some house cultures. I was really excited about the beer because I’ve never worked with wine grapes before and I had also spent about four years getting a unique house culture established, not to mention I really had no idea how it would turn out with so many different components. I’ve been excited to release this beer since I put it in barrels 20 months ago and I think it was definitely worth the wait.”—Ben “Shaggy” Blaney, Head Brewer, My Yard Live