[watai0102]

Pizza in a wood-fired oven, hardwood floors, wood –aged beer: Let’s face it, everything is better when wood is involved. Wood-aged beer, in particular, is a term that has been thrown around a lot lately in advertising. While it is surely not a new concept, it does appear to be experiencing a resurgence. For years, measures have been taken to protect the wood from the barrel from influencing the flavor of the beer, but now more and more brewers are actually trying to get that wood flavor into their brew.

[James K]

Pizza in a wood-fired oven, hardwood floors, wood –aged beer: Let’s face it, everything is better when wood is involved. Wood-aged beer, in particular, is a term that has been thrown around a lot lately in advertising. While it is surely not a new concept, it does appear to be experiencing a resurgence. For years, measures have been taken to protect the wood from the barrel from influencing the flavor of the beer, but now more and more brewers are actually trying to get that wood flavor into their brew.

Isn’t wood aged beer, beer that has been sitting in wood for a prolonged time? The way I see it, if you are going to age your beer in wood, it could age in different varieties of wood (oak, pine, juniper, birch, etc). If it were me I’d let the beer clarify in the barrel for secondary.

I’ve never used a barrel, but I feel like when Ive soaked some oak chips and threw then in a keg, I didn’t get wood aged beer.

[The Professor]

...For years, measures have been taken to protect the wood from the barrel from influencing the flavor of the beer, but now more and more brewers are actually trying to get that wood flavor into their brew.

That's true...brewrsused to go to great pains to keep wood flavors OUT of their beer...it was generally seen as a taint. 
Frankly, I still view it as such in most cases.   
Like many aspects of 'modern' brewing, it is often over-done by the 'craft' brewers, resulting in something that can only be described as "insipid".   But I guess the public's tastes have obviously changed....

I still prefer a much subtler expression of the wood in the beer.

[hopfenundmalz]

...For years, measures have been taken to protect the wood from the barrel from influencing the flavor of the beer, but now more and more brewers are actually trying to get that wood flavor into their brew.

That's true...brewrsused to go to great pains to keep wood flavors OUT of their beer...it was generally seen as a taint. 
Frankly, I still view it as such in most cases.   
Like many aspects of 'modern' brewing, it is often over-done by the 'craft' brewers, resulting in something that can only be described as "insipid".   But I guess the public's tastes have obviously changed....

I still prefer a much subtler expression of the wood in the beer.

I agree.

[klickitat jim]

Once upon a time I would seek out "wood aged" beers. Not anymore. Occasionally I will buy a big dark beer from a trusted brewery, which just so happens to be "wood aged". For me, that fad has passed. Too many ok beers ruined by wood and over hyped and over priced.

Edit, having judged wood aged beers at a pro comp, I feel I've tried a wide range of them. Enough to base my personal opinion

[Robert]

There is one classic marriage of dark beer and wood-aged flavor that stands the test of time:   Pint of Guinness in one hand, glass of Paddy in the other.  Some things are just best kept deconstructed.  (Sort of like beer and oysters good, beer brewed with oysters....)