(Boonville, CA) – Anderson Valley Brewing Company brewmaster, Fal Allen, appeared on the Aleheads podcast in late August right after the company’s announcement regarding its barrel program partnership with Wild Turkey Distillery.

A few highlights from the 40-minute interview below…

On Barrel-Aging:

– They’ve received 250 barrels so far and expect to double that in a couple months (limited more by production constraints than by the supplier).

– They’ve only put the Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout in Wild Turkey 101 barrels but will be experimenting with other beers and barrels. They plan to try barreling the Winter Solstice Christmas Ale (winter warmer) and hope to get some rye whiskey barrels as well.

– Some of the barrels will be used in the brewery’s sour program after they are used 2-3 times. Some sours will eventually be bottled on a limited basis.

– A new bottling line arrived recently that will enable the brewery to package beer in ‘high-end’ formats. They don’t have a corker so they’ll start with cap and foil.

– Bourbon Barrel-aged Barney Flats will be draft-only this year but they will likely bottle it in spring/early summer 2013 (tentative)

On other stuff:

– At one point, Allen says that they are producing 45,000 barrels. They produced 36,000 barrels last year, according to the Brewers Association, so that would be a rate of 25% growth.

– When asked about glass vs. cans (the brewery uses both), Allen says “glass is no better than cans.”

– They bought a new 10-barrel brewery from the Czech Republic – new kettle and some new fermenters.

– Look for more variety in the future. They have 19 of their beers on tap but would like to get that up into the low 20s. They use four yeast strains: two English ale, lager and Belgian ale.

– Expect more lagers. One, El Steinber, will be packaged next year.