Barrel Aging 101

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Stormin Norman
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Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 1:35 pm
Location: Allen
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Barrel Aging 101

Post by Stormin Norman »

Hey folks,

I recently picked up some 5 gallon barrels from Balcones Distillery in Waco. They use the barrels 2x then get rid of them. They only put whisky in the ones I have. I thought it might be a good project to barrel age some beer. I have never done this and am just starting my research. I think I’d like to put the beer in after fermentation is complete just to pick up some of the whisky barrel flavor. I may start with something like a blonde and do something darker later. I’m really undecided about anything at this point.

I was hoping a few of you have experience I can benefit from.
--What style(s) should I zero in on for whisky barrels?
--What are some of the pitfalls/gotchas I should watch out for? I haven’t found a great article on this yet. Just bits & pieces here and there.
--How many times can I use these barrels? I was wondering if the oaked flavor will live on after the whiskey is depleted.

Thanks guys
- Chris Norman
- www.StorminNorman.me
mtodd
Posts: 73
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 10:29 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Barrel Aging 101

Post by mtodd »

We did a group buy last year as a club here in Houston and purchased about 36 barrels from Balcones. We had a mix of blue corn whiskey barrels and bourbon whiskey barrels. You can use it 2 or 3 times as long as you practice good sanitation techniques. Keep in mind since it is a smaller barrel that it doesnt take much time for the beer to pick up the whiskey and oak flavors. If you put a blonde in there you might only leave it in for 2 weeks or so. Your heavier styles will benefit more from the barrel aging. We have had several different member of the CIA age Wee Heavy, Stout, Porter....stuff like that comes out awesome. I believe there is even a couple of barleywines currently aging. Most of our guys plan on using the barrel up to 3 times and then converting it to a sour beer aging vessel. Once you rack the beer out of the barrel you can rinse it with some cheap whiskey to keep the flavor alive for the next beer.
Stormin Norman
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Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 1:35 pm
Location: Allen
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Re: Barrel Aging 101

Post by Stormin Norman »

Thanks for the response.
I wanted to respond to let you know this was helpful. I'm still undecided what to start with but I have a 3 Floyds - Robert the Bruce recipe I’m leaning towards.
Did you guys do anything special to prep them for use? I've heard someone mention acid washing but I have no idea what that is. My only prep for this so far would be to fill the barrel with 180 degree water 24 hours before using. But I think that's more for swelling and sealing the barrel. I don't know if it actually kills any bacteria.
- Chris Norman
- www.StorminNorman.me
mtodd
Posts: 73
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 10:29 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Barrel Aging 101

Post by mtodd »

Our barrels were pretty fresh when we got them. Some of them still had a wee bit of whiskey left in them in fact. A quick rinse with sanitizer is all most of us did before filling the barrel.
Stormin Norman
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Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 1:35 pm
Location: Allen
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Re: Barrel Aging 101

Post by Stormin Norman »

I was caught completely off guard when someone (Barrett was that you?) asked me how my barrel project was going this weekend at the Labor of Love event. So I thought I would update my thread as it seems people actually read it. :D

This is what I did.

The beer I choose was an Imperial Stout (Old Rasputin clone I pieced together)

1) 24 hours before I was to transfer from secondary I filled the barrel up with warm water and let it sit outside overnight. I understand this will swell the barrel up a bit and prevent leaks. I do however question that it may actually wash out some of the flavor. The water smelled lovely when I poured it out.
2) I put about a quart of starsan mixture in and shook it around for a bit and drained that off.
3) Then I transferred from my secondary into the barrel
Image
4) I started tasting it on day 3 and pulled it out on day 5. I got a lot of warnings about 5gal barrels and I panicked and pulled it out too soon. Regardless the beer had a great Oak taste so it wasn't a loss at all. I just didn't get any bourbon.
5) I rinsed the barrel out with water and put some cheap bourbon into the barrel to hopefully kill anything that might be in there.
6) I left the bourbon in there and I rotate the keg from time to time.

I put the beer into Belgium champagne bottles and packed them away until it gets cold outside. I've tried 2 at different stages to check the carbonation and flavor. It tastes great! I want to make another batch and leave it in the barrel a little longer to see if I can pick up a little bourbon. Also next time I think I'll skip the warm water soaking. I think that may be a large part of the reason I didn't get any bourbon.

Image

Let me know if you see anything I should do differently.
- Chris Norman
- www.StorminNorman.me
TheMacheteMasher
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Re: Barrel Aging 101

Post by TheMacheteMasher »

.
Chris, great to see this project in pictorial view.

The process listed has yielded greats results. Its okay. I would caution against starsan with wood and go with a fill with metabisulfite & wash of metabisulfite mixed with acid. I believe the starsan label cautions about contact with wood.

Good chatting with you at LOL3. I'd like to try this beer.

.
Slicing up the mash -since 2011
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