The oaken barrels are the soul of Rodenbach. The Rodenbach Grand Cru is the easiest story. After an average of 20 months the beers from the oaken barrels are tasted by our tasting panel. The times of tasting can be earlier or later. It all depends on the size and wall thickness of the barrel.
Smaller barrels have relatively more surface compared to the contents.
So the ageing goes faster, the 100 Hl barrels are tasted after 16 months. Until now, these smaller vessels were not chosen for Rodenbach Grand Cru or Alexander Rodenbach. A faster aging, by thinner wood or smaller vessels doesn't seem to be appreciated by our tasting panel. The thicker the wood, the slower the oxygen diffusion happens, so the slower the ageing. The thickness of the wood can be up to 7-8 cm.