Help me choose two recipes that can age 21 years

[jkendrick]

My wife and I are expecting twin boys in September. I want to brew two beers, one for each of them, that I can share with them on their 21st birthday. I'm a new brewer and I just today bottled my third batch. So I know I may be biting off more than I can chew but my hand is somewhat forced. I would like to brew beers that represent our heritage: one an Irish beer (probably a stout) and the other either English/Scottish or maybe something Colonial American as that side of the family played a somewhat important role in the American Revolutionary War. But really I need recipes that are not too complicated and could comfortably age that long. If you think I'm kidding myself, feel free to say that too and I may end up just buying a couple of good bombers to save. I know this isn't a completely original idea, but as a newbie, I'd appreciate any advice.

 

[philrose]

big reach... the biggest challenge if you go with beer will be cold storing it through an unknown number of moves, remodels, job transfers and the like.

 

[jkendrick]

big reach... the biggest challenge if you go with beer will be cold storing it through an unknown number of moves, remodels, job transfers and the like.

Well we just purchased a house that we plan to be in at least until they go to college. I realize anything can happen but we have family here, my wife was born here, I have lived here for 23 years, and we both have stable jobs that all make us unlikely to move. If that's the biggest concern, I'm willing to risk it.

 

[smashed4]

Any strong, dark beers will last...

Russian imperial stout, Belgian quad, Barley wine comes to mind.

I did a quad for my 1st son...Not surr yet what ill do for our soon to be second son..

Congratulations on the twins.. whatever you decide brewing do it now while u have time

 

[neosapien]

just think, in about 5-10 years you'll have 4 more hands to haul water...stir mash...screw up your sanitisation...

 

[philrose]

Sour is also an option...

 

[ErnDollas]

I know it's not beer but you could also look at possibly doing a mead instead.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

21 yrs, I think I'd go with a high ABV mead, or a wine; those were really intended to be aged a long time. BUT, if you're set on beer, I'd think a good barleywine might be in order, or maybe a belgian quad. If you can find a clone recipe for it, you might try this:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/285/776
At 14% ABV, I'd think it would age pretty well. I had one this past weekend, WOW! Talk about a malt bomb! I tucked a few away to age a few more years, I might open one in 2015, maybe.
Congrats & good luck!
GF.

 

[stompbox]

My twins are 4 weeks old as of today. I made a copy of SN Bigfoot, but cranked it up to 11%.

I certainly have no plans to keep it 21 years, I plan on 5 or so. Just for us to celebrate special occasions (their birthdays, holidays, etc), not for the kids.

 

[Dev110]

Too bad you can't figure out a way to barrel a nice whisky.

 

[jkendrick]

Thanks for the advice, folks. I may see if I can do a RIS and a barleywine. I kind of want to try a big beer anyway. If it works out, great! If not, I may just buy some nice bombers and set them aside. I also just want to have two beers that are named after the boys. As a beginner, these won't be original recipes at first, but I hope I can evolve the recipes over time into something unique.

 

[sweed]

I am doing a RIS for my 2ND right now. Just make big yeast starters. Why wait until 21, why not like 16 or something. It's not illegal for family to drink with you in your home. 21 does sound like a long time. GL

 

[HawksBrewer]

My wife and I are expecting twin boys in September.

Haha, my wife and I are expecting twins in September as well. One boy and one girl here. I would recommend a nice strong bourbon stout. Aged w/ some oak maybe. I have one that has been aging for two years that is so smooth it is ridiculous. If it was still viable after 21 years, I can't imagine how smooth it would be.

Cheers to twins!

 

[jkendrick]

Haha, my wife and I are expecting twins in September as well. One boy and one girl here. I would recommend a nice strong bourbon stout. Aged w/ some oak maybe. I have one that has been aging for two years that is so smooth it is ridiculous. If it was still viable after 21 years, I can't imagine how smooth it would be.

Cheers to twins!

Congrats to you as well! Is your due date in September? Ours is actually October 3 but we expect them in September.

I may not keep them for the full 21 years, though it would be fun to see what happens to the beer. I'm sure I'll enlist the boys to help with my brewing and I certainly will not make beer taboo, so we'll see. Maybe I'll save a few of each and try them at different intervals over the years. I guess I'm just excited. We also have a friend who is an arborist that will be planting two saplings for us in the yard. I'm a sucker for such things.

 

[HawksBrewer]

Our true due date is September 26, but they are both breach so we will have a scheduled c-section on September 12, God willing that they don't come sooner. Trying to brew as much as possible this summer before the inevitable slow down!(for a good reason of course).

 

[HawksBrewer]

If you increased the grain bill on this recipe it might stand up to longer aging:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/vanilla-oak-chocolate-bourbon-stout-308656/

 

[jkendrick]

Our true due date is September 26, but they are both breach so we will have a scheduled c-section on September 12, God willing that they don't come sooner. Trying to brew as much as possible this summer before the inevitable slow down!(for a good reason of course).

I thought they could change positions right up until about week 34? Is there still a chance they could right themselves? Sounds like you're just about a week ahead of us. We hit six months yesterday. My wife is a petit 5'2" and she is already huge so I'm thinking we'll be lucky to get to mid-September.

 

[HawksBrewer]

Haha my wife was 5'3" 120 lbs soaking wet before we got pregnant. Our MDs said with the way they are sitting that any shifting at this point is unlikely, but there is always the possibility I guess. I always joke that it looks like someone stuck a basketball pump into her stomach and hasn't stopped pumping...

 

[frazier]

Good luck to both of you with your twins. Births are always an adventure, but somehow the wimminfolk seem to manage it!

My advice, which is worth every penny, would be to brew their 21st birthday beers on their 16th b'days. 21 years is a verrry long time.

 

[frazier]

Good luck to both of you with your twins. Births are always an adventure, but somehow the wimminfolk seem to manage it!

My advice, which is worth every penny, would be to brew their 21st birthday beers on their 16th b'days. 21 years is a verrry long time.

 

[jkendrick]

Good luck to both of you with your twins. Births are always an adventure, but somehow the wimminfolk seem to manage it!

My advice, which is worth every penny, would be to brew their 21st birthday beers on their 16th b'days. 21 years is a verrry long time.

Yeah I plan to adapt and modify whatever recipes I do over time. They will be named for each of them, but I'm sure whatever I brew when they are sixteen will bear little resemblance to what I brew this summer. But why not try to save at least one? If it ends up being a drain pour well at least it was a nice idea/experiment.