Category Archives: Barrel Aged

Posts on barrel aging

Attempting a Lambic-style brew

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Filled the barrel with boiling water to prepare the barrel for aging

I’ve been working on sour beers for nearly a year and I’ve only now decided to attempt a Lambic-style beer. I always wanted to use a barrel for aging lambic-style beer but the size that’s available to a homebrewer isn’t practical for long term aging due to high oxygen to volume ratio; something that can spoil this multi-year process. Over this past year I’ve read a number of attempts and various processes employed by crafty homebrewers to minimize oxygen permeability. Plus, my largest barrel (11 gallons) has finally given up the whiskey ghost, so it’s time to make it the home of some sour bugs. A few more things forced my hand. In December, I was able to pick up the coveted ECY 20, Bug Country blend of yeast and bacteria. The list of microbes included is simply stunning.

  • Brettanomyces lambicus
  • Brettanomyces bruxellensis
  • Brettanomyces anomulus
  • Brettanomyces clausenii
  • Brettanomyces custersianus
  • Brettanomyces nanus
  • Brettanomyces naardenensis
  • Various Lactobacilli and Pediococci
  • ECY01 BugFarm
  • ECY02 Flemish Ale
  • ECY03 Farmhouse Brett
  • ECY04 Brett Blend #1
  • ECY05 Brett Blend #9

You can read more about the strains included at East Coast Yeast.
With such a great yeast blend, I needed to brew a beer that would handle such a blend. Empty barrel, great yeast. Lambic-style? Yeah!

Keeping a beer around a long time is challenging. Most of my aged sours are in PET or glass carboys; a few in a stainless corny keg. I agree that lambic-style beers need contact with wood to obtain a good flavor profile, but smaller barrels are going to introduce too much oxygen over a year or more. Over at the Funk Factory, a post about using paraffin wax to seal the barrel caught my eye. In addition to the waxing, a home-made steam wand was also something I needed to make so I could ensure that the bugs in ECY20 take over the barrel, not something else that might be in there.

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Hot water cleaning a freshly dumped barrel

I’ll be following up this post with a few more on both barrel steaming and barrel waxing.

For the recipe, I’m following the traditional 60% barley (pils) and 40% wheat. I’m not performing a turbid mash so I’m attempting to come close to emulating the result which is to have a wort with lots of unconverted starch. The unconverted starches become food for the various microbes over the long haul. Sacchromyces yeast won’t eat those starches, but both Brett and the bacteria (Lacto, Pedio) will. I’m using torrified wheat so I don’t have to do a cereal mash to soften them up. And just to ensure we have some starch, I’m also throwing in some wheat flour. Various homebrewers have had success, but no rule of thumb on the amount, so this is just a guess. We’ll see how well it works.

Another important aspect to lambic-style beer is locality of ingredients. I had planned on getting some wheat and pilsner from our new local micro malster, Blackland Malting up in Ceder Park, but their release in December was picked up by the local scene and they’re completely sold out of what they had. Pils and Wheat won’t make it out again till this summer. Look for v2 of Woxbic to include these malts. Normally I use Reverse Osmosis water to pull all of the elements and nasties out of the water and build a new profile with salts. Instead, I’ll use my local water. This has it’s own challenges since the city water is heavily bicarbonate as well as having lots of chloromines. To combat this, I’m employing a whole-house carbon filter, campden tabs, and lots of phosphoric acid so I can have a low residual alkalinity for mashing with light grains. I’ll follow up with a post on the water process used as well.

Here’s the recipe for Woxbic, the first lambic-style beer I’m attempting.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
12 gal 90 min 8.9 IBUs 3.8 SRM 1.051 1.012 5.0 %
Actuals 1.046 1.01 4.7 %

Style Details

Name Cat. OG Range FG Range IBU SRM Carb ABV
Straight (Unblended) Lambic 17 D 1.04 - 1.054 1.001 - 1.01 0 - 10 3 - 7 1.8 - 2.6 5 - 6.5 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pilsner (2 Row) Bel 16 lbs 61.54
Wheat, Torrified 9 lbs 34.62
Acidulated (Weyermann) 1 lbs 3.85

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Crystal 1.5 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 3

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Wheat Flour 3.00 oz 5 min Boil Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Bug Country (20) East Coast Yeast 70% 63°F - 75°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Acid Rest 93°F 15 min
Protein Rest 113°F 15 min
Saccharification 1 131°F 15 min
Saccharification 2 149°F 15 min
Mash Out 168°F 10 min

Notes

After mash-out, drain all liquid into boil kettle, raise temp to 190, pump back to mash for second rinse through grain bed.

Pitching ECY20 Bugcountry in 11G barrel.

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The third time’s the charm

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I’ve now had two beers go through my 10 Gallon whiskey barrel. The general consensus on used barrels is about three beers and then it’s lost most of the character. I’m looking forward to getting to a neutral barrel so I can start aging sour beers in the 10 gallon barrel. My first beer in the barrel was an outstanding success, a huge Russian Imperial Stout, aged for 2 months in primary and then 3 months in the fresh-dumped whiskey barrel. The finished beer had an hugely mellow oak and whiskey aroma and pulled a ton of vanilla into the rich, dark and creamy RIS. I submitted this beer and received a 44/50 in a competition, also went to the mini BOS round. Not bad for my first whiskey barrel beer. The result is so good that I’ll be repeating this beer again. In fact, I just picked up another 5 gallon whiskey barrel and the first beer in this one will be the RIS again.

The second beer into the barrel was a Strong Scotch Ale, ala, Old Chub. This beer didn’t take nearly as long to get the right whiskey level; I’m assuming since it’s a lighter beer that the whiskey comes through faster. This beer is pretty good, but not nearly as good as the RIS. Having 10 gallons of the beer though let me produce some experiments. Half of the batch was bottled. Six bottles were innoculated with Brett. B. Trois, and another 6 were filled with Jester King Funk Metal Sour Stout dregs, and the remaining were bottled with normal sacchromyces. In another month or so, I’ll start testing and tasting these experiments.

For the third beer, I wanted to return to something darker. I’ve not yet brewed any porters, so I figured now was a good time. This recipe is based on the BYO style column for Robust American Porter. I’ll have a little extra to keep in a keg to compare with and without the whiskey aging.

Here’s the recipe.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
11 gal 90 min 43.3 IBUs 41.5 SRM 1.081 1.016 8.6 %
Actuals 1.046 1.01 4.7 %

Style Details

Name Cat. OG Range FG Range IBU SRM Carb ABV
Robust Porter 12 B 1.048 - 1.065 1.012 - 1.016 25 - 50 22 - 35 1.8 - 2.5 4.8 - 6.5 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Brewer's Malt, 2-Row, Premium (Great Western) 27.208 lbs 73.93
Munich Malt 3.938 lbs 10.7
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L 2.148 lbs 5.84
Chocolate Malt (Thomas Fawcett) 1.432 lbs 3.89
Black (Patent) Malt 1.074 lbs 2.92
Brown Sugar, Light 1 lbs 2.72

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Fuggles - FHBS - 20130401 3.38 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 5.7
Fuggles - FHBS - 20130401 1.42 oz 15 min Boil Pellet 5.7
Goldings, East Kent (2011 Crop - Purchase FHBW 20130220) 1.36 oz 0 min Boil Pellet 5.6

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Calcium Chloride 8.60 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 4.60 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Pickling Lime 1.70 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Epsom Salt (MgSO4) 0.60 g 60 min Mash Water Agent

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
American Ale (1056) Wyeast Labs 75% 60°F - 72°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 152°F 60 min

Notes

Hold Chocolate and Black malt out from mash, mix in during mashout.

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Whiskey Barrel Round 2, Update

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Mmm, bubbles

Secondary fermentation after racking Whiskey Chub into the barrel

About a month ago I added my second beer to the Whiskey barrel, a Strong Scotch Ale.  I initially figured that this second beer would take twice as long to pick up the whiskey character.  My first surprise was the amount of whiskey flavor in the holding solution, vodka.

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A whole bottle of vodka went in clear, half a bottle came out smelling and looking like whiskey.

I took my first sample at two weeks and the whiskey component was quite evident.  Before I decided to empty the barrel though I wanted a second and third opinion.  Last weeks brew night I pulled another sample and passed that around.

Everyone could pick up the whiskey immediately.  After that it was a mixed response.  One commented that there wasn’t much of the Scotch Ale maltiness present.  Another asked for more whiskey.  That may just mean that it’s just right.

As with the last batch, I’ll keg half of the beer and bottle the other.  This time, even though there is likely enough live yeast since we’re only a month in, I’m going to pitch some more yeast along with priming sugar to ensure proper carbonation.  My last batch of the Whiskey Russian Imperial Stout has been in bottles almost 3 months now and has very low carbonation.

 

Have barrel, will fill

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Mmm, whiskey...

Used Whiskey Barrel from Farmhouse Brewing Supply

What to do when you have an empty whiskey barrel?  Recently I emptied my whiskey barrel that had a favorite Russian Imperial Stout recipe, Black Metal Stout, from my favorite local brewery, Jester King.   With the RIS out of the barrel I knew that I needed another beer to occupy the space fairly soon, lest my barrel turn sour or worse, start leaking.

To temporarily keep the barrel clean and leak-free, I’ve kept some vodka inside and rotate the barrel every few days.  But the real solution is to brew another beer.  In this case, I eventually decided that I should pursue another take on one of my favorite Strong Scotch Ales, Old Chub from Oscar Blues brewery.

Previously I had soaked oak spirals in Isle of Islay single malt scotch whiskey.  To continue that concept I decided that we’d age some Old Chub in the whiskey barrel.  This Friday I’ll be brewing up Old Chub, 11 gallons of it, and pitching a 4 Liter starter of White Labs Cali Ale (001) and then in about two weeks I’ll rack everything that fits into the whiskey barrel.

The first beer in the barrel stayed about three months and pulled a significant amount of whiskey flavor and aroma.  I decided that I wanted enough flavor and aroma to stick around for a while since I bottled half of the batch in 750ml containers for long term storage and natural carbonation.  It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get a nice whiskey aroma and flavor in the Old Chub; I’m guessing roughly the same time since Old Chub is less roasty than a RIS.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
11 gal 90 min 46.9 IBUs 23.1 SRM 1.079 1.017 8.2 %
Actuals 1.046 1.01 4.7 %

Style Details

Name Cat. OG Range FG Range IBU SRM Carb ABV
Strong Scotch Ale 9 E 1.07 - 1.13 1.018 - 1.03 17 - 35 14 - 25 1.6 - 2.4 6.5 - 10 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Brewer's Malt, 2-Row, Premium (Great Western) 28.224 lbs 83.11
Crystal Dark - 77L (Crisp) 2.344 lbs 6.9
Munich Malt 1.554 lbs 4.58
Special B Malt 12.73 oz 2.34
Smoked Malt (Weyermann) 9.28 oz 1.71
Chocolate Malt (Thomas Fawcett) 7.37 oz 1.36

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Nugget 1.8 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 13

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
American Ale (1056) Wyeast Labs 75% 60°F - 72°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 152°F 60 min

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Saving a bad beer

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IMAG1071

A while back I brewed 10 gallons of an English Mild.  The initial plan was to split the batch into two 5 gallons portions.  For the first half, pitch the wort onto the yeast from my first Flanders Red sour and for the second, use regular brewer’s yeast for a non-sour English Mild.  Along the way the non-sour portion ended up in my 5 gallon oak barrel to start the process of working the oak flavor out of the new barrel to eventually be used to hold more sour beers.

It was going to be a rough two weeks.  Hours after racking Fancy Lad into the new oak barrel, I realized that I hadn’t really worked hard enough to seal the barrel.  It was leaking beer pretty steadily.  After a few old cloth diapers and the use of a heavy fan, I had slowed the leak.  In a few days though I noticed that the outside of the keg was growing some mold or something.  I immediately wiped this off and wondered what was going to happen.

The second mistake with Fancy Lad in the barrel was leaving it in way too long.  Though with tasting, it was hard to tell since I used a beer that I’ve never tasted before.  I couldn’t quite tell where the beer ended and the oak began.  I also picked up a soap-like flavor.  Is that young beer, an infection, or too much oak?

IMAG1070

After reading around, the best advice I found was the 3-3-3 rule for new oak barrels.  The first beer gets 3 days in the barrel, that’s it.  Then 3 weeks for the second beer and then 3 months for the third.  After that, most or all of the oak flavors are gone and the barrel either needs to be re-charred, or used for long term aging.

Fancy lad spent two weeks in the barrel, not 3 days.  When I racked and carbed, the flavor didn’t improve at all.  Inspecting the barrel revealed a bunch of white floating spots.  I posted the photos to a few boards, but no one knew for sure what it was.  After a few weeks in the keg carbing, it was clearly turning more and more sour.

My initial thought was to drain-pour this terrible result.  But, the more I thought about it, the more interested I was in seeing if the beer can be rescued.  I decided that it should get *more* sour, not less.

I added sour beer bottle dregs, from Jester King’s Funk Metal and Logsdon Farmhouse Ales’ Seizoen Bretta.  I’ve pulled the keg from the chest freezer and I’ll condition this beer in the keg for months, adding additional sour dregs as I drink the bottles.  I’ll also mix in some malto-dextrins to beef up the mouthfeel.

Here’s hoping for a post in 6 months about how great Funky Lad has become.