Migration Brewing releases Westward Whiskey Barrel-Aged Frankie

Portland and Gresham, Oregon’s Migration Brewing releases their now annual Frankie Imperial Stout aged in single-malt Westward Whiskey barrels and a fresh new label design for the 500ml bottles. This winter warmer has a warm center of luxurious chocolate nibs and a smooth texture that helped win it a silver medal at the 2022 Oregon Beer Awards. For the first time ever, the beer will be available in 500ml bottles at local specialty shops around the Portland metro area starting in late November. The beer will also be available on draft and in bottles at all Migration pubs.

For the creation of this beer Migration Brewing sources very hard to get freshly emptied barrels from Portland’s acclaimed Westward Whiskey (formerly House Spirits.) The spirit ranks among the highest-rated American Single Malts on the market for its robust profile and creamy vanilla and brown sugar notes. Frankie Imperial Stout with chocolate ages in the Westward casks for a full 12 months to pick up the signature flavors.

“This is always one of our favorite collaborations. We’ve had the pleasure to work with Westward over the past 5 years and this is the latest iteration of our partnership,” said Mike Branes, Co-Founder and Head Brewer at Migration Brewing. “We’ve been making Frankie Stout for over 10 years now and it’s developed a cult following at our pubs. This year we decided it’d be fun to have a limited release of the whiskey barrel aged version to some of our favorite local beer shops,” notes Branes.

Frankie Imperial Stout is brewed to be a complex, yet smooth drinking wintertime favorite. The 2022 Frankie has huge flavors of roast, chocolate and dried fruits coming from a unique combination of an expressive English ale yeast and an American yeast used during fermentation. Frankie exhibits deep aromas of dried cherry, fruit and Belgian chocolate, and is deceptively easy to drink. Made with high-end cocoa powder exclusively from Valrhona, a premier French chocolatier, as well as cacao nibs from TCHO, an artisanal chocolate maker in San Francisco, this year’s Frankie is a truly unique offering.

Migration Brewing started in 2010 when four friends came together over a passion for craft beer and a dream of opening a brewpub. With a lot of bootstrapping and a little luck, they have since opened four pub locations within Portland. As an award-winning brewery, the Migration team takes great pride in producing world-class beers that embrace innovation while respecting
classic styles.