Brother Justus Single Malt, Cold Peated Whiskey Barrel

Minnesota’s Boreal Forest contains vast peat bogs formed by melting glaciers. Brother Justus Whiskey Co. invented the “Aitkin Country Process” to capture the pure essence of Minnesota’s ancient peat. Traditional whiskeys burn peat, destroying its delicate botanicals and creating bike tire-like flavors. Their  “Cold-Peated” American Single Malt is the first—and only—whiskey in the world to capture the pure flavor of natural peat, millennia in the making. Earthy, herbaceous, bottomless.

These barrels are extremely rare, utterly unique, and in exceptionally limited quantity. Be sure to get yours before they’re gone. 

About the Cold Peated Barrel

Unlike peat-smoked malt or many peated whiskeys, the cold peated process results in an earthy herbaceously delicious beverage that is not smokey. The peat is in the form of water-soluble granules, if you are familiar with the distilling process it may look similar to activated carbon. To maintain the maximum amount of peat character use the recommended amount of water to swell, and then gently bump the barrel trying not to agitate the peat while dumping. If you would like to tone down the peat character use a bit more water to swell the barrel and then agitate while dumping to help loosen and remove the peat. 

Once you have the barrel character you like and it is time to transfer out of the barrel we recommend moving the barrel a day or two ahead of time to allow the peat to settle. This should help prevent any from being sucked up in the transfer. For clarity, it may help to do one last transfer after coming out of the barrel. Cold crashing or the use of fining agents can help reduce the wait time!

About Brother Justus Whiskey Co.

Brother Justus Whiskey Company does it right, creating small-batch, high-quality whiskey using Minnesota grown ingredients. Named after Brother Justus, a Benedictine monk from a Central Minnesotan Monastery, who believed that if you’re going to do something, do it right the first time. That’s something we can all get behind. 

Superior Spirit, For Strong Souls

“At Brother Justus Whiskey Co., we handcraft micro batches of single malt whiskeys, distilled from premium Minnesota malted barley, entirely on-premises in our underground distillery in NE Minneapolis. No shortcuts. No outsourcing. Because that is how we believe great Minnesota whiskey is made. The reward for doing it right is a whiskey experience like no other.”

Note: Barrel does not include a barrel cradle.

Barrel Care:

These 5-gallon barrels are produced by The Barrel Mill, a father and son cooperage located in Avon, MN. They are made out of Northern-Grown white oak and have a #3 char. A wooden bung seals the barrel tightly to keep the oak hydrated. They have only been used once by Brother Justus for their premium single malt cold peated whiskey. 

Every barrel is wrapped with cellophane to keep it hydrated (prevent dehydration). We do recommend adding about 2 quarts of water to check for any potential leaks. Add water, rotate for about 5 minutes to resoak all staves, then let sit for 24 hours. This will quickly reseal the barrel.  The barrel staves are soaked with whiskey and are effectively a sanitizer, meaning you won’t need to add any additional sanitizer to the barrel. The whiskey in the staves is known as The Devil’s Cut.

Once unwrapped a barrel needs to be filled within 72 hours. If not, there is potential for the staves to dry out over time. Northern Brewer does not recommend using these barrels for primary fermentation.

Due to the nature of this used barrel, we cannot accept returns. There is a possibility of minor cosmetic flaws, however, those would in no way affect the function of the barrel.