Florida Brewery to Release Beer Barrel-aged Under Water

Barrel-aging has become a common treatment of beer at many breweries across the country. But, most breweries put the filled barrel in a cool, dark place to age, Not the folks at Marker 48 Brewing Company in Weeki Wachee, Fla. For the second time, the folks at Marker 48 have filled a Four Roses Bourbon barrel with their Double IPA and submerged it 48 feet below the surface of a freshwater spring.

Get all the details in the official press release below:

WEEKI WACHEE, Florida (April 25, 2017) — Myriad wonders exist in Florida’s freshwater springs that bubble to the surface along the state’s Nature Coast.

Shark’s teeth and other fossils from eons ago, when the state was mostly submerged under a saltwater sea. The slow, gentle and endangered West Indian manatees, who seek the warmth of the consistently 72-degree waters in the spring during the colder winter months.

And live mermaids, of course, who perform every day in the underwater theater at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in the tiny town of the same name, about an hour north of the Tampa Bay area.

Add one more wonder to that list: Beer.

For the second year in a row, Weeki Wachee’s own Marker 48 Brewing will sell to the public bottles of its Spring Release Double IPA that was transferred to Four Roses bourbon barrels and aged for about three weeks 48 feet deep in one of those freshwater springs, located on private property not far from the brewery.

In 2016, after a similar process, the Marker 48 staff transferred the inaugural Spring Release into bomber bottles for sale to the public. The bottles sold out quickly and were well-received by the craft beer community.

This year, about 400 bottles of the 10.9% ABV (alcohol by volume) 2017 Spring Release will go on sale at the brewery, 12147 Cortez Blvd., Weeki Wachee, on Thursday, April 27, at noon.

There is a limit of two of the 750ml bottles per person, per day, while supplies last, and the cost is $20 per bottle. In addition, one sixtel keg of the beer will be tapped that day at noon for those who want to try the brew while it’s as fresh as possible.

For more information on the release, check the Marker 48 Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram or call (352) 606-2509.