Ever seen someone cauterize a bunghole?

We give Rogue Ales and Spirits complete credit for that headline. The Newport, Oregon-based craft brewer has really gotten into distilling, barrel aging and (apparently) bungholing lately. We toured these impressive barrel-making facilities in September, and we met with Master Cooper Nate Lindquist, who is shown in the video above. Lindquist is a suitably Rogue character. He’s worked just about every job at Rogue. His head is crowned in wild, multi-colored hair. When I met him, he was wearing what I think was a kilt. And, according to this video, he has access to a flamethrower. This big blowtorch is used (we assume among other things) to heat up a plunger that is jabbed into barrel bungholes, creating a water tight seal in Rogue’s handmade Rolling Thunder Barrels. Yep, Rogue makes its own barrels. Oh, and they grow their own ingredients at Rogue Farms. Soon, they’ll be blowing their own glass and rolling aluminum.