Saint Arnold Brewing, Texas oldest craft brewery and the best known and most decorated brewery in Houston, announces the next release in its amazing Bishop’s Barrel series. The new beer, Bishop’s Barrel #15, is an English Barleywine and it will make its way into stores and bars beginning Monday, October 3, 2016.
Bishop’s Barrel 15 was inspired by a cocktail- the Old Fashioned, to be precise. The good guys and gals at Saint Arnold wanted to brew a beer reminiscent of an Old Fashioned without any added adjuncts or spices. Since all Bishop’s Barrel beers are barrel aged, it made sense to use rye whiskey barrels so Saint Arnold’s team set out to acquire such vessels, eventually scoring them from WhistlePig, a Vermont based distillery that many feel produces some of the finest rye whiskey in the world. After a few modifications to the recipe and sufficient aging, Bishop’s Barrel 15 was born.
This English style barleywine emphasizes the malty side of the beer equation. The beer has a reddish color with a thin head of foam that sticks around while you drink. The nose on this beer is one of dark fruit, toffee, and caramel. And, of course, there is a distinct rye character from the barrel aging, imparting the taste not just of rye whiskey, but also of spice and wood. The alcohol by volume is high- 13.1 percent by volume, to be exact- and it’s the most potent Saint Arnold Brewing release to date.
Bishop’s Barrel 15 is a beer meant to be sipped and savored. It should be served between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal taste. It can also be aged and will improve over time. Bishop’s Barrel fans will be thrilled to know that this will be the first beer in the series that will be sold in stores. Before now, craft beer fans could only enjoy Bishop’s Barrel at a local restaurant or bar, but now the beer will be available in bottles so it can be aged and enjoyed in one’s own home, with family and good friends.
Saint Arnold’s Bishop Barrel series is nothing short of remarkable and if this beer is anything like the others in the series, it will be an absolute treat for the senses. If you’re fortunate enough to live in the Houston area, be on the lookout for what sounds like a scrumptious beer and if you need some help tracking it down, be sure to follow @saintarnold and the hashtag #BBC15 on Twitter. It’s a limited release beer worth the effort to find so get your beer radar in place and grab some Bishop’s Barrel 15 from Texas’ oldest and most award- winning craft brewery.
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