Barrel Aging Advice

[myndflyte]

So I was thinking about pulling the trigger on a used 15 gallon barrel and wanted people's thoughts on my plan.

So my plan was to brew and ferment 15 gallons of something big (porter, stout, barleywine) and then transfer it to the barrel to age. What I would like to do is every fall, pull off and keg 5 gallons and then brew the same recipe to replace the 5 gallons. This means the first pulled keg would have aged for about 9 months with subsequent ones being about a year.

What are people's thought on this plan? I know homebrew clubs do something like this but that's usually with 50+ gallons. Do you think the small keg will impart oak flavor too quickly that I would have to age less than 9 months? Or should I just stick with a 5 gallon barrel and fill and empty it each time?

 

[briancoxbrews]

So I was thinking about pulling the trigger on a used 15 gallon barrel and wanted people's thoughts on my plan.

So my plan was to brew and ferment 15 gallons of something big (porter, stout, barleywine) and then transfer it to the barrel to age. What I would like to do is every fall, pull off and keg 5 gallons and then brew the same recipe to replace the 5 gallons. This means the first pulled keg would have aged for about 9 months with subsequent ones being about a year.

What are people's thought on this plan? I know homebrew clubs do something like this but that's usually with 50+ gallons. Do you think the small keg will impart oak flavor too quickly that I would have to age less than 9 months? Or should I just stick with a 5 gallon barrel and fill and empty it each time?

Hi, I'm new on HBT, but I think that's a great idea. I'm actually looking to buy an oak barrel myself. Been brewing for a year and I just finished up a 10gal batch of an Irish stout that I thought might age nice in a barrel. Where are you purchasing yours from??

 

[TallDan]

The term you're looking for is a "solera".

I'd like to do something like this myself, but with a sour beer. I'm not sure how well it would work with a "clean" beer such as a stout or barleywine. That may be too much time in the barrel for those styles. The barrel aged stouts and barleywines I've done (all group brews with a homebrew club) have spent 3-9 months in a barrel. I was part of one sour barrel project, it spent a few years in the barrel.

 

[myndflyte]

Where are you purchasing yours from??

I was looking at Midwest Barrel Co. Check out their small barrel section for the 15 gallon ones.

That may be too much time in the barrel for those styles.

That's what I was sort of worried about. Maybe if it was something upwards for 12% - 15% ABV, maybe the long aging and higher ABV would get it tasting more like a bourbon. It seems like soleras are usually sours.

 

[mrdauber64]

I started something like this in August. I was able to purchase a 10 gallon Whiskey barrel from a distillery in Montana. I brewed an 2 - 5 gallon batches of 11% RIS and have it aging. My plan is to pull 5 gallons off in 5 months and put 5 gallons of fresh beer(post fermentation). I'm hoping every 9 or 10 months after that I can pull 5 gallons out and either keg it directly or move it to a carboy to add "something else" to it(cherries, vanilla......). The distiller I bought it from said that the barrel character will eventually go away and that I will need to add some oak spirals and more whiskey to the barrel.

I look forward to seeing how these beers change and blend overtime. Good luck!

 

[TallDan]

I was looking at Midwest Barrel Co. Check out their small barrel section for the 15 gallon ones.



That's what I was sort of worried about. Maybe if it was something upwards for 12% - 15% ABV, maybe the long aging and higher ABV would get it tasting more like a bourbon. It seems like soleras are usually sours.

Check with some distilleries that are within driving distance for you. My homebrew clubs have been able to get barrels from a local distillery for less than the prices listed on midwest barrel co, and with no shipping.

Also look into waxing the barrels. That reduces the amount of air exchange through the wood, which makes a small barrel age beer more similarly to the way a large (50G) barrel does.

 

[cactusgarrett]

Also look into waxing the barrels

This. I've only paid attention tot he number for a 10gal barrel, as that's what i have, but waxing 75% of the staves (excluding the heads) for that has been calculated to be equivalent to a 60gal barrel with regards to oxygen intake. It's my understanding it won't change the aging profile with respect to how much oak character it picks up, since the surface area:volume ratio is still higher, but waxing will knock down the oxygen exposure.

One thing you could do, if you're interested in pursuing the solera approach, is to simply reduce the aging time - maybe to 5-6 months. You should still be able to pick up oak character (depending on the char) while preventing over-oaking and minimizing oxygen exposure.

 

[ITV]

Keep in mind that the smaller the barrel the less time it takes to oak (more surface area).

I have a 15 gallon barrel that I barrel aged (completely filled and dumped, not solera) since I was doing several styles of beer. The first fill was in the barrel for 4 months, the second fill was done in 6 months, and the third fill will be done next month for a total of 8 months.