It took barrel-loads of patience to wait 6 months while Duvel gently matured in oak bourbon barrels from Kentucky. But patience is rewarded: Duvel Barrel Aged is a unique tasting beer with an alcohol content of 11.5 % vol. that combines the tangy bite of Duvel with a creamy caramel and vanilla touch.
Our brewers have been conducting an exciting taste experiment: maturing Duvel in old, wooden barrels. Of course it is not just nostalgia which makes our brewers tick, but also the will and the passion to use this old technique to uncover new flavors and aspects of Duvel.
Our brewers selected oak bourbon barrels from Four Roses Distillery (nominated as distiller of the year in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015) and Buffalo Trace Distillery (‘most award winning distillery of the world’), both based in Kentucky .
These barrels are still soaked with the original bourbon, which adds a wonderful range of caramel and whiskey aromas. In this way, the tangy taste of Duvel gains a creamy caramel and vanilla touch, plus of course the delightful bourbon aroma released from the barrels.
Hedwig Neven, master brewer at Duvel: “The bourbon barrels release their flavor slowly, allowing our Duvel to blend gradually with all the aromas from the barrels. You can’t hurry flavor and every barrel evolves differently, so we just wait patiently until the flavor has reached perfection.”
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