There’s no better way to celebrate a special occasion than with a beer. But what about a very special occasion, like a 35th anniversary (which we happen to be celebrating all throughout 2023)? That calls for a very special beer – specifically, a barrel-aged beer. That’s where our 35th Anniversary Barrel Aged Imperial Amber Lager comes in. To mark this momentous occasion and this momentous beer, we sat down with GLBC Operations Manager and barrel program director Justin Michalovic to talk beer, barrels, bourbon, and more. 

What is your role at GLBC, and how did you get there?

I’m the Operations Manager for our production brewery in Ohio City. It’s my job to ensure our team releases the highest quality product possible for our customers, and that it gets to them when they want it! I started at GLBC over 11 years ago on the bottling line and have been learning as much about our processes since, leading to my role today. Being able to grow into a position you’re passionate about is one of my favorite things about working at a small company like GLBC.

How did you become involved in our barrel aging program?

One of my biggest goals in the brewery is process improvement, and that’s how I got involved in our barrel aging program eight years ago. Barrel aging is a complex endeavor! It doesn’t hurt that I’m also an avid bourbon drinker and collector. I’m very grateful that I get paid to work with two of my favorite things: beer and bourbon.  

Barrel program director Justin Michalovic (left) and Cellar Tech David Gerding (right) transferring beer out of bourbon barrels.

Why does aging beer in bourbon barrels work so well? Are there beer styles that work best for bourbon barrel aging?

At its best, barrel aging adds yet another level of nuance and refinement to some already complex beers. The beers that tend to age best are high ABV robust styles that can hold up with a little bit of oxidation.  That natural process diminishes hop flavors and makes malt flavors become more honey- or sherry-like. 

Because the wooden barrels we use are ever-so-slightly porous, the beer will transfer in and out of the wood over time, which allows the beer to pick up flavors of the spirit previously aged in the barrel. During this process, the beer will also pick up a little bit of oxygen, so beers that are high in alcohol (a preservative) and have darker malts (which have antioxidant properties) work best. 

While we take every step we can to avoid oxidation in styles like IPA, for styles like Imperial Stout, Barleywine, and so on, these flavors can become very interesting or even preferable, depending on the drinker. I’m always experimenting with aging different styles of beer, as well as using different spirits barrels, length of aging, and temperature of the aging environment.

Speaking of big, complex beers, tell me all about the 35th Anniversary Barrel Aged Imperial Amber Lager.

It’s a doozy! We decided to go back to our roots for our special 35th anniversary release with a beer inspired by Eliot Ness Amber Lager, one of our first two recipes alongside Dortmunder Gold Lager. It’s the same malt-forward grain bill as its untouchably smooth forbearer, but with the much higher alcohol content of 12.1%! That big ABV and big malt flavor are a perfect pair for the Bulleit bourbon barrels in which the beer rested for six months. The final product picked up tons of vanilla and charred wood notes from those barrels, a perfect complement to the caramelly, dried fruit character of the base beer.

How do you go about selecting bourbon barrels? 

Since I’m a big fan of bourbon, I try to pick barrels from bourbons that I enjoy drinking. Another factor is the amount of time between the barrels being emptied at the distillery to the time we can put beer into them. For the most part, I like to put beer into barrels within two weeks of them being emptied.  The “wetter” the barrels, the more likely that they are free from flavor-altering bacteria thanks to the high level of alcohol that still resides in the barrel staves.

Tell me about the quality control processes you employ in barrel aging.

We store different beer styles at different temperatures to allow each beer to soak in as much spirit flavor as possible.  I’ve found that big beers, like the 35th Anniversary Barrel Aged Imperial Amber Lager and Barrel Aged Blackout Stout, tend to fare better aging at a higher temperature than some more standard ABV beers like Christmas Ale. We also taste samples from each aging beer monthly to ensure that we are picking up the correct amount of spirit and barrel flavor throughout the process. With hundreds of barrels in the cellar, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it!

What are your favorite GLBC BA beers?

My favorite has to be Barrel Aged Alberta Clipper. It has a special place in my heart as it was GLBC’s first barrel aged beer that was my idea! The 2017 vintage of Barrel Aged Tripel Dog Dare is another standout, and ended up winning an award at the prestigious Festival of Barrel Aged Beers. And I love how Barrel Aged Christmas Ale just keeps getting better and better as we’ve continuously improved our barrel aging methods year after year.

Standout memories from leading the GLBC BA program? 

It’s the overall excitement from our employee-owners when they see a truckload of fresh bourbon barrels get delivered to the warehouse. While they know there will be some work to do (those things are heavy), everyone is excited to help fill and empty these barrels with palpable anticipation for how those beers will turn out.

Experimental small batch barrel aging in the GLBC Cellar Pub.

Any fun barrel aging projects you’ve been working on?

Always! I’m really excited about a few specialty barrels that Pub Brewer Steve Forman has aging now.  Those are small batches that will be available in the brewpub only this year (stay tuned to Much Abrew and our social channels for when they’re tapped!) but could someday turn into a full production run.  That’s the beauty and fun of barrel aging. We love getting to experiment creating interesting flavor combinations with different beers and barrels, and our fans love trying them! 

Words by Justin Michalovic and Michael Williams