Howdy homebrewers! This my first post to the forum.... stoked to finally take the plunge!
Anyway, I've been aging a beer for six months in a blue corn whiskey barrel and have tasted it using the "Vinnie Nail" trick and it is ready to go. The base was a saison, single hopped with Belma (<30 IBUs), and primary fermentation with a blend of Belgian/ French Saison Strains. Halfway through Primary, I added an apple, ginger, honey syrup to add food for critters and hopefully complexity.
Racked it to the 5 gal Oak whiskey barrel, through in some bugs (wyeast lambic blend & additional Lactobacillus delbruekii). 5 months in, added Fresh Bing Cherries, and it is delicious. Mild strong tropical ethyl butyrate presence, dry, oaky, mild whiskey presence, mildly sour (too high IBUS?) with a "funky' undertone.
My question is, how the hell do I bottle it? Do I bottle Pellicle and all? Its my understanding that I leave the pellicle and bottle from the bottom. There is no spigot, just a nail hole i've used for sampling. Should I just use some tubing through the nail hole and have it take hours? Can I insert a spigot? Any help would be great, cheers!
Anyway, I've been aging a beer for six months in a blue corn whiskey barrel and have tasted it using the "Vinnie Nail" trick and it is ready to go. The base was a saison, single hopped with Belma (<30 IBUs), and primary fermentation with a blend of Belgian/ French Saison Strains. Halfway through Primary, I added an apple, ginger, honey syrup to add food for critters and hopefully complexity.
Racked it to the 5 gal Oak whiskey barrel, through in some bugs (wyeast lambic blend & additional Lactobacillus delbruekii). 5 months in, added Fresh Bing Cherries, and it is delicious. Mild strong tropical ethyl butyrate presence, dry, oaky, mild whiskey presence, mildly sour (too high IBUS?) with a "funky' undertone.
My question is, how the hell do I bottle it? Do I bottle Pellicle and all? Its my understanding that I leave the pellicle and bottle from the bottom. There is no spigot, just a nail hole i've used for sampling. Should I just use some tubing through the nail hole and have it take hours? Can I insert a spigot? Any help would be great, cheers!