Speakeasy Ales & Lagers is set to expand its Syndicate Series with the launch of Syndicate No. 01, a rare blend of barrel-aged vintage ales in the US on 5 December 2013.
Developed by the brewery's brewmaster Kushal Hall and his team, Syndicate No. 01 is a blend of six strong ales matured between 12-26 months in various bourbon barrels.
The ale uses Old Godfather Barleywine as its base; two different Imperial Stouts, Black Hand Volume I and Two Minutes to Midnight to offer rich dark chocolate notes and a creamy mouthfeel.
It also contains Betrayal Imperial Red, which adds notes of dark fruit and toffee malt; Double Daddy Imperial IPA for a fruit-forward hop spice; and Payback Porter to offer subtle notes of bitter cocoa.
Syndicate No. 01 is rich with aromas of bourbon, vanilla bean and dark fruit, with complex flavors of burnt caramel, spice, and toasted oak.
Hall said that there were so many factors to consider in the creation of this beer -- the collective recipe writing, the brewing & fermentation of each of the component beers, the aging of each beer in the different types of bourbon barrels, and how the individual beers interacted with each barrel.
"We had to see how the the wood reacted with the beer and how the malts broke down and created new flavors," Hall added.
Packed in 22oz wax-dipped bottles, the company will introduce only 350 cases of this ale to be available at the brewery and in a handful of retailers across the west coast.
