Breakside Zelda Zonk

Zelda Zonk is our latest barrel-aged blend, combining casks from three different beer streams, each with a different age statement, and three spirit streams. As we prepared to blend this beer, we realized we had depleted much of our older barrel stock.

The casks most prime for use were younger than what we had selected in the last year or two. Rather than view this as a handicap, we took it as an opportunity to create a new beer that expresses a fresher, brighter, and younger barrel character. Instead of oxidation, char, umami, and rickhouse, we could pursue lighter spirit notes and high-tone alcohol zippiness.

The risk, of course, was ending up with a beer that was too hot, green, and disjointed.
Fortunately, we found a lovely set of Imperial Stout casks aged in Bourbon barrels that balanced notes of chocolate chips, licorice, slight vanilla, and a floral, almost perfume-like, whiskey expression. To complement these, we thought some fruit-forward brandy casks might do the trick, so we pulled in some double chocolate stout aged in Clear Creek casks.

This brought in notes of wood spice, white chocolate, and poached pear. The impact was subtle but noticeable, leaving an elegant throughline of orchard fruit flavor in this bombastic, dark beer.