The 2nd, 4th & 5th Edition of Wolf of the Willows Imperial Porter Collaboration with Lark Distillery
Barrel Aged Imperial Smoked Porter Trio Set
Every year, empty Lark whisky casks are selected by the team at Wolf of the Willows Brewery and sent on a journey across the Bass Strait. They are filled with the Wolf’s Imperial Johnny Smoke Porter and left to season, the casks work their magic on the beer before being decanted and returned to Lark to finish the Wolf release single malt whisky.
Wolf of the Willows Imperial Johnny Smoke Porter #5 12.4% ABV 440ml
The Barrel Exchange Project 2022 is the fifth year in which Lark whisky barrels were individually hand selected based on their unique sensory characteristics, emptied of the whisky, filled with an Imperial version of the Johnny Smoke Porter (JSP) and left to age.
The result is an Imperial Smoke Porter rich with whisky barrel aged flavours of dark chocolate, espresso, truffle, vanilla, molasses and underlying smoke. The casks were emptied and then returned back to Lark Distillery where they were filled with a hand selected single malt whisky to create The Wolf Release V - a unique whisky that reflects the characteristics of both the barrels and the beer.
440ml | 12.4% ABV | Mordialloc, Victoria
Wolf of the Willows Imperial Johnny Smoke Porter #4 11.8% ABV 440ml
Mark IV of the Barrel Exchange Project with Lark Distillery see’s the release of the 2021 version of the Lark Barrel Aged Imperial Johnny Smoke Porter (JSP). This Imperial Smoke Porter was aged in 100L Lark barrels for around nine months and weighs in at 11.8% ABV.
'Johnny' is a dark and broody Imperial Smoked Porter, thick, velvety and rich with whisky barrel-aged flavours of vanilla, oak, peat, dark chocolate, molasses, truffles and espresso, resulting in the 4th Edition Wolf Imperial JSP Release: a unique beer that reflects a collaborative journey.
440ml | 11.8% ABV | Mordialloc, Victoria
Wolf of the Willows Imperial Johnny Smoke Porter #2 13.9% ABV 440ml
In 2018, Wolf of the Willows teamed up with Tasmania’s Lark Distillery to create a barrel-aged beer with a difference. The Cheltenham-based brewers headed to Tasmania, chose some barrels, had them shipped over as soon as they were emptied, then filled those barrels with an imperial version of their JSP (Johnny Smoked Porter). Once the whisky and oak had done their thing, the barrels were emptied, sent back to Lark and filled with a whisky to finish off the spirit. To find out more about the process, head here.
The 2019 version is a big boozy brew and has been released in 440ml cans. What remains is the rather elegant pipe-smoking wolf on the front and many of the characteristics fans of last year’s release would have enjoyed. The impact of the peat does appear to be bigger than last year while lying beneath is a mix of vanilla, molasses, espresso and chocolate fudge; in other words, another decadent, whisky- and oak-infused dark beer.
440ml | 13.9% ABV | Mordialloc, Victoria