About two years ago we had the fortune of getting Travis Camacho to takeover our barrel program. Since, Travis has been experimenting with coconuts, viognier grapes, cherimoyas, Buddha’s hands, and playing with every type of barrel he can get his hands on. Drake’s Barrel House, in San Leandro, has been offering these unique and rare treasures on draft much to the delight of patrons and employees alike. Now, Drake’s Barrel House is offering the rarest of Travis’ treasures in bottles. Here is what is available at the DBH for on-sight enjoyment:
Barrel-Aged Jolly Rodger, 10% abv
Our special barrel-aged Jolly Rodger combines intense chocolate and coffee notes with a deep roastiness. Taste of smooth vanilla and bourbon come from the aging in High West bourbon and rye barrels. Aged for just over 8 months and blended with a touch of fresh Jolly Rodger gives this beer the perfect blend of coffee and vanilla.
Four Candle American Sour Ale, 5.3% abv
This beer is a blend of two very special sours, our Brette Davis base and a sour Hefe aged in Framboise barrels. This beer features a pronounced sourness from our Drakes house lacto, pedio, and brett. Four Candle drinks with a slight vinous quality from the barrels and extra fruity cherry pie and citrus brett aromas.
Headzo American Strong Ale, 18% abv
Headzo drinks more like a brandy than a beer, with notes of fruit and honey in the nose. The flavor brings notes of vanilla and oak, with the Wild Turkey barrels creeping in a bit on the finish. Consume wisely – this one’s a sipper.
Papa Roy’s Pêche’, 6.6% abv
This beer started life as a Belgian pale and was aged for a total of 8 months in stainless steel, the last 3 months of which were with 100lbs of fresh peaches. The beer is named after co-owner Roy Kirkorian who sourced the peaches from a friend’s orchard in Fresno. Papa Roy’s Pêche’ drinks light and refreshing with tons of peach aroma, a very mild tartness, and slight brett aromas of tropical fruit and brett funk.
Pungent Pumpkin Sour, 4.9% abv
Aged in Cabernet barrels with our house sour culture for one year, this beer drinks dry and fairly tart with the sour notes playing off of the slight malty flavors. The aroma showcases spicy floral and citrus notes with a hint of pumpkin.
Santa’s Brass American Barleywine, 13.8% abv
This slightly sweet beer drinks exactly like a big barleywine should. The malty sweetness is balanced by the nearly 14% abv all while showcasing a complex flavor profile of vanilla, caramel, dark fruit, with hints of Bourbon and oak spice.
Stay tuned because as Travis bottles more of his barrel aged magic, we’ll be adding to the list of delights.
About Travis Camacho
Travis Camacho was a “crazy homebrewer” down in San Diego working as a graphic designer. When his wife’s company offered her a position in the bay, they relocated, and he decided he wanted to work at Drake’s. After volunteering on the bottling line, he was eventually offered a job in cellaring and filtration. Once onboard he still didn’t give up on his affinity for working for free, and began to volunteer in the barrel program. As luck would have it the barrel program manager position opened up, and Travis was given the job. Two years later, he’s revamped the barrel program into a resounding success, and still continues to surprise and excite us all with his delicious blends and brews.
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