Barrel Aged Belgian Stout

[joenads]

Alright, looking for opinions here, that's why we all come here right? My buddy picked up a 15 Gal Dad's Hat Rye Whiskey barrel and came to me and another buddy with the idea of each of us brewing 5 gal of something to fit in this thing. I've always wanted to do a belgian stout and thought that might be a good idea to age in a barrel. My main concerns are that I tend to get lower attenuation with big beers and this much roast/crystal. Hopefully the yeast selection will off set that, and maybe a mash temp at 148-150? I've recently gotten an O2 setup to help. I am also unsure about the hop schedule/varieties, but I pull some ideas from the northern brewer belgian stout recipe and guessed on what else sounded good. Most ingredients can be found at our local homebrew shop, so that was also an influence.

So on to the recipe. I calculate my recipes at 85% for 6 gal and this should give an OG of near 1.093 and 64 IBUs. Mash ratio of 1.3qt/lb too.

2-Row Brewer's Malt---------14 lbs, 8 oz lbs oz
Flaked Oats-----------------1 lbs, 0 oz lbs oz
Pale Chocolate Malt---------0 lbs, 10 oz lbs oz
Special B-------------------0 lbs, 10 oz lbs oz
De-Husked Carafa II--------0 lbs, 10 oz lbs oz
Roasted Barley-------------0 lbs, 10 oz lbs oz

Summit Pellets--------------2 oz @ 60 mins
Kent Goldings, UK Pellets----1 oz @ 10 mins
Spalt, German Pellets-------1 oz @ 10 mins

White Labs Belgian Strong Ale Yeast WLP545

 

[jmp781]

I put this through my software with a 6 gallon batch and came up with 1.082 OG but only calculate for 75% efficiency and I'm sure we are both using different software. But using 85% I'm also getting 1.094 OG as you are.

 

[joenads]

Yeah, I can usually hit my numbers calculated at 85% within a point or two. You can adjust to match or brew as is, it's all getting blended in the end anyways.

 

[chutracheese]

Hey Joenads: Was wondering what you thought about the barrel. I was thinking about pulling the trigger on one and wondered if you liked it?

 

[sweetcell]

efficiency tends to go down as you make bigger beers, so you might not hit your usual 85%.

i like the recipe. you could consider using pils instead of (or some of) the 2-row, that would make it more "belgian".

great choice on the 545 (ardennes). pitch a big yeast starter, maybe even a tad more than what mrmalty suggests. i recently made the 09.09.09 clone, an imperial belgian porter and got some really fresh 3522 which is wyeast's version. stuff chewed through a 1.093 wort like it was butter. the beer is still aging but tastes great.

 

[joenads]

Hey Joenads: Was wondering what you thought about the barrel. I was thinking about pulling the trigger on one and wondered if you liked it?

We haven't used it yet, but jmp781 actually has it. He may be able to fill you in on what is physically like.

efficiency tends to go down as you make bigger beers, so you might not hit your usual 85%.

i like the recipe. you could consider using pils instead of (or some of) the 2-row, that would make it more "belgian".

great choice on the 545 (ardennes). pitch a big yeast starter, maybe even a tad more than what mrmalty suggests. i recently made the 09.09.09 clone, an imperial belgian porter and got some really fresh 3522 which is wyeast's version. stuff chewed through a 1.093 wort like it was butter. the beer is still aging but tastes great.

Ive made some big beers, Ill hit the 85%, my problem comes in the attenuation. glad to see that yeast strain will do me well though. The pils sounds like a good idea, I already have most of a 55 pound sac of 2-row so thats why i went with that, but its easy enough to allocate that to other beers. I have adjusted the recipe, but dont have it on me right now. Took some of the 2 row away for some munich and some rye since its a rye whiskey barrel. Thanks for the response!

jmp781, what do you think of using pils instead of 2-row?

 

[joenads]

Delete

 

[sweetcell]

We haven't used it yet, but jmp781 actually has
jmp781, what do you think of using pils instead of 2-row?

you could also split between the two.

 

[jmp781]

I am actually impressed the the barrel. The end cap is labeled with the "Dad's Hat" Logo and the barrel has 2-3 shots of whiskey left inside. It was pressurized and came with a rubber bung. I'm definitely excited to use it.

Joenads: I'd be fine with the pilsner malt or splitting the 2 row and pilsner. I've made a Czech Pilsner and Urquell using pilsner and was impressed with both.

We haven't used it yet, but jmp781 actually has it. He may be able to fill you in on what is physically like.



Ive made some big beers, Ill hit the 85%, my problem comes in the attenuation. glad to see that yeast strain will do me well though. The pils sounds like a good idea, I already have most of a 55 pound sac of 2-row so thats why i went with that, but its easy enough to allocate that to other beers. I have adjusted the recipe, but dont have it on me right now. Took some of the 2 row away for some munich and some rye since its a rye whiskey barrel. Thanks for the response!

jmp781, what do you think of using pils instead of 2-row?