The 21s Are In
Walk into the taproom and you'll notice something new on the racking. A row of Jack Daniel's barrels, each one chalked with a bold 21 on the end. Those are ours. They went in this week.
Inside them is our Coming of Age Imperial Stout — 10% ABV, brewed to mark Epic's 21st year. We started this brewery on 14 December 2005. That's 21 years of brewing, of learning, of doing things the hard way because it's the right way.
Coming of Age felt like the only name for it. Seven months in Jack Daniel's oak, then bottled for our 21st birthday in December.
Those Jack Daniel's barrels are new to the racking. But if you were watching closely over the past few years, you'll have noticed their predecessors — the Four Roses bourbon barrels, chalked 15.
Those barrels carried two beers. First was Fiercely Epicly Intolerant — our Imperial Milk Stout collaboration with Fierce Beer from Scotland, brewed in August 2019. The barrels were filled, and then the world changed. They sat through the lockdowns of 2020, undisturbed. We released the beer after 12 months.
Then the same barrels took on our 15th anniversary Barleywine — five years in wood, released for our 20th birthday last December.
The remaining Barleywine has now been racked off into kegs, where it'll continue to age quietly. We'll release it slowly, in limited quantities, at special tastings and events over the coming years. If you want to be in the room when that happens, stay close.
These barrels have earned their place on that racking. Now they've got one more beer to carry.
Watch for the chalk.
