The five Shapira brothers didn’t know anything about bourbon whiskey, and certainly didn’t have any, when they founded Heaven Hill in 1934. Through a leap of faith, they wrote a check as a war was looming and opened shortly after Prohibition ended in Bardstown, Kentucky. Nevertheless, Heaven Hill made it through trying times and has remained in the hands of the family that started it since. Today, it’s America’s largest family-owned and operated distilled spirits producer and marketer. Their brands, including Elijah Craig, have grown beyond the company’s traditional roots as a bourbon distiller to become the country’s sixth largest overall distilled spirits producer and marketer with a portfolio of well-known, innovative, and relevant products, and barrels brewers love to age their beer in. Today, Peaks & Pints presents an in-house flight of beers aged in Heaven Hill barrels — a flight we call Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Heaven Hill.
Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Heaven Hill
Alesong Rhino Suit
11.4% ABV, bottle in cooler
The name Rhino Suit isn’t something the three Alesong Brewing & Blending owners wear to raise awareness and funds, but rather it’s a term dropped by their winemaker friend while Doug Coombs, Brian Coombs and Matt Van Wyk listened to his business advice. The Sonoma winemaker said you must wear a rhino suit every day to battle through walls of negativity. After the meeting, the Alesong owners knew the name of their first beer _ an imperial milk stout named Rhino Suit. It’s aged in freshly emptied Heaven Hill bourbon barrels adding smooth notes of vanilla and coconut to the rich chocolate flavors of the base milk stout. After working your way through the wax-dipped entryway, a strong rush of bourbon with milk hits the nose. On the tongue, expect creamy, milk smooth body with notes of dark chocolate and vanilla, plus some alcohol heat on the finish.
Timber Blended With Lumber #1
13.4% ABV, bottle in cooler
This Timber Ales barrel-blended imperial stout features one-third imperial stout aged for 28 months in Elijah Craig 8-year blended with two-thirds fresh imperial stout, and then conditioned on Ugandan, Mexican and Comoros vanilla beans.
Firestone Walker Parabola (2024)
13.8% ABV, draft
Aged for a year in 12-year Elijah Craig barrels, this year’s Firestone Walking Brewing bourbon barrel-aged Russian imperial stout Parabola offers intense flavors of black cherry, dark chocolate, vanilla, and roast coffee accentuated with fine notes charred oak, caramel, and vanilla, while the bourbon barrels impart their classic notes of toasted coconut and cocoa nibs.
Oakshire Heart Shaped Box
15% ABV, cans in our cooler
Inspired by candy shared on Valentine’s Day, Oakshire Brewing‘s 2024 version of Heart Shaped Box barrel-aged imperial stout begins as a massive imperial oatmeal stout. After fermentation, the stout is laid in freshly dumped Kentucky bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill Distilling. After resting for a year, Oakshire selects from the barrels a blend featuring notes of deep chocolate and strong bourbon. The beer receives a generous helping of vanilla beans, cocoa nibs, and coffee roasted by Farmer’s Union. Finally, a dose of raspberry puree helps emulate the hand-dipped confections.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
