Whiskey Beer

My buddy picked up a used once Keg, that was used to make whiskey. He let the beer set in that for a month. Then in the keg it went. That is some good ****. He's made 2 batches with it and seems he can get more yet.

Anyone done this ?

If you search the forum, you will find that a lot pf people on here do the same thing.

I just bought a 5 gal barrel to try to duplicate an awesome barrel aged IIPA I had at my local brewery.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/21154/62491

I just picked up an eight gallon barrel from Woodinville Whiskey and I threw a big barleywine in it last week. Plan on aging it in the barrel for a few weeks then bottling it and putting it away for a while. Working on a Russian Imperial Stout to go into the barrel next.

Not pooping an anyone's parade, but HATE bourbon or whiskey beer. BLECH!!

Tombraider2 said:

My buddy picked up a used once Keg, that was used to make whiskey. He let the beer set in that for a month. Then in the keg it went. That is some good ****. He's made 2 batches with it and seems he can get more yet.

Anyone done this ?

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Yes, it's quite common, actually. You can oak anything, really. But most folks who do so usually do a Stout, a Barleywine, a RIIS, a DIPA. Big things like that. But have you ever tried any of Innis and Gunn? They're lighter body beers that are aged in barrels.

Here's mine.



There's quite a few threads on this.

I oak my cider. I rather use cubes since you don't have to oak as long. Barrels take a long time to get the same effect of cubes (based on surface area).

unionrdr said:

Oak chips work even faster. More surface area.

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But a barrel is much cooler.

cheezydemon3 said:

Not pooping an anyone's parade, but HATE bourbon or whiskey beer. BLECH!!

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Have you tried any of Firestone Walker's? Their XV, Parabola and Sucaba are all delicious.

unionrdr said:

Oak chips work even faster. More surface area.

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Isn't the idea of the used whiskey barrel to extract the whiskey from the barrel and into the beer, more so than just getting the oak flavor?

Sure, but you can just soak the oak chips/cubes in whiskey for a few weeks to get the same effect. I agree though, it does not compare to the barrels cool factor!

jhhicks said:

Isn't the idea of the used whiskey barrel to extract the whiskey from the barrel and into the beer, more so than just getting the oak flavor?

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You can soak oak chips/cubes in whisky to get the same effect.

Oh okay, I just took it for face value and didn't think about soaking them. DOH!

But who wants an oak cube Barleywine? Bourbon Barrel Barleywine sounds better with the alliteration.

tennesseean_87 said:

But who wants an oak cube Barleywine? Bourbon Barrel Barleywine sounds better with the alliteration.

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Well, if the cubes are made from a bourbon barrel, you could still call it that. I'd be inclined to call it barreled anyway, since the effect is the same.

unionrdr said:

Oak chips work even faster. More surface area.

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The problem with chips is that they are too narrow. You want the alcohol to go in and out of the wood as temperatures change and it expands and contracts. It's great for flavor. I do a lot of oaking and either use cubes or barrels.

Went to his place to bottle up 10 gallons yesterday, all his kegs are full. Had an Ale then a Wiskey beer. HOLLY crap, strong. I said that batch is stronger than the last. First was a 2 week soak, this one was a month. Guess for us 2 weeks is IT.

I have not used a barrel, but I have used some oak soaked in bourbon. I also like to add a capful or two of bourbon to any beer to see what it tastes like.

And I definitely enjoy that Innis and Gunn stuff.

Tombraider2 said:

Went to his place to bottle up 10 gallons yesterday, all his kegs are full. Had an Ale then a Wiskey beer. HOLLY crap, strong. I said that batch is stronger than the last. First was a 2 week soak, this one was a month. Guess for us 2 weeks is IT.

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I can't imagine how there is enough actual alcohol left in the pores of that barrel to up the ABV by more than 1-2%.

It was the taste, a bit over powering, was like just Whiskey.

I had a friend get the Innis and Gunn as a gift when he came up for a visit. The first time I tried it was after a long weekend of drinking with friends from college, and I hated it. However, after a few more days and a way more relaxed drinking schedule, I tried another one and I like it a lot. I'm not a big fan of Innis and Gunn

Homercidal said:

I can't imagine how there is enough actual alcohol left in the pores of that barrel to up the ABV by more than 1-2%.

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I have seen some full barrels at the local microbrewery that had quite a bit of whiskey still in them actually. Like a gallon or so.

ktraver97ss said:

I have seen some full barrels at the local microbrewery that had quite a bit of whiskey still in them actually. Like a gallon or so.

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Dang! Someone at the distillery was a little lax in their duties!

I'm thinking about doing another bourbon stout, but this time I'll add MORE bourbon. The last time it was pretty mild. Almost couldn't pick it out IMO.

hedbutter said:

I had a friend get the Innis and Gunn as a gift when he came up for a visit. The first time I tried it was after a long weekend of drinking with friends from college, and I hated it. However, after a few more days and a way more relaxed drinking schedule, I tried another one and I like it a lot. I'm not a big fan of Innis and Gunn

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I&G now has several different beers- usually based on storing them in different barrels. Some are better than others.

Yesterday I picked up two of them in a mixed sixer- the July 2012 batch and the Spiced Rum Barrel beers, and neither of them stood out. The spiced was more interesting than the other, but didn't knock my socks off.

rgarry said:

I oak my cider. I rather use cubes since you don't have to oak as long. Barrels take a long time to get the same effect of cubes (based on surface area).

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How long do you oak your cider with the cubes? And what's the oak/cider ratio? I have a batch of cider fermenting right now, I want to try oaking it down the road. I have 3 ounces of medium toast Hungarian cubes and 6 gallons of cider.