Innis & Gunn Launches Its Oak-Aged Beer

In 2003, Scottish brewer Dougal Gunn Sharp launched Innis & Gunn Original, an oak-matured golden beer whose development began with an unusual whisky project. William Grant & Sons had asked Sharp to brew a beer that could season oak casks before they were used for whisky. After the beer had spent time in the wood, workers discovered that the supposedly disposable liquid had developed distinctive vanilla, toffee, and oak flavors. The resulting beer became the foundation of Innis & Gunn. Its regular commercial release helped bring oak-matured beer to a broad British and international audience at a time when wood aging remained unusual outside a limited number of traditional and specialist beers. Innis & Gunn subsequently built much of its identity around cask maturation and helped make the influence of whisky and rum barrels a recognizable part of modern beer culture.