Beer

Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by combining water, a starch source such as malted barley, and a brewer's yeast to produce a fermentation which is then flavoured, usually with hops. The earliest historical records of beer production are believed to date as far back as the 5th century BC, and today it is produced in over 160 different countries across the world.

Relatives of each other, whisky is of course distilled from a beer base of a single or multiple grain mash, water and yeast. While all whiskies must then be cask-aged, the practice is not required and is less common therefore in the brewing industry, usually reserved for its stronger varieties such as stouts, porters and ales.

With the majority of beer produced without the influence of wood, the use of ex-beer casks in whisky is a modern trend that owes much to the craft beer boom of the 21st century. The movement popularised exactly the styles of brewing that benefitting from the influence of oak and provided distillers with new and increasing options for experimentation in cask-ageing their whiskies. Early adopters included Glenfiddich, Jameson and Chichibu.