Barrel aging qustions

I have an Imperial Stout that is ready to go into a rum barrel. Expected FG was 1.030 and it's been sitting at 1.034 for the last two weeks and appears to be done. I'm questioning my next step to get this into the barrel. Should I cold crash it for a few days and then rack to the barrel or should I just rack to the barrel? I could also filter and run into the barrel. If I cold crash or filter, will I have to add some champagne yeast at bottling for carbonation?

Hmmm......

When I added my strong sour belgian brown into my bourbon barrel, I cold crashed it for 2 weeks as I was hoping to get all the original yeast out of suspension to try and keep just the bugs present in the barrel. I am also leaving this beer in the barrel for about 2 years (1 year down about 8 more months to go) so I was already planning on using a yeast at bottling as I figured there wouldnt be any yeast present from the long ferment time. If I were you I would re-pitch as well. I was planning on using just an ale yeast at bottling, but I have been enjoying the type of carbonation that champagne yeast give you.

Hope that helps some
Chromadoa

Personally I would cold crash the beer and get it extremely clear...Then I would make a fresh starter of champagne yeast and pitch on some fermentable fruit...Anything you can pick for free or cheap. Of course honey would be ideal...15 LBS of honey

It serves no purpose to barrel age a beer if the potential for bacterial spoilage is going to be increased...I am of course applying that to your style...Imperial stout ought to be dry not tart and funky.

Six months of secondary fermentation and then bottling will do wonders. It's possible the barrel could overtake the malt character you had aspired to in your mash. Contemporary modern breweries seem to concentrate on getting the flavor of the barrel instead of the malt.

That is my personal non professional opinion. I simply suggest racking to the barrel as clear as possible then add additional fermentables. Good honey is natural and neutral in character as it ferments...Any residual character will be subtle rather than overpowering sweet.

At bottling you can add a small amount of sugars and carbonate nicely. Imperial barrel aged stouts often taste too much like single malt distilled spirits. If you want the ideal reference beer of what barrel aged beer "ought to be" I'd suggest JW Lees Harvest Ale.

We all have different opinions of style and taste...Good luck...Have fun. Adding additional sugars for the barrel as well as champagne yeast should benefit. Then bottling simple add a small amount of sugar to get the CO2 in the bottles.

I see no benefit in cold crashing or filtering before putting the beer into the barrel. Yeast help protect the beer in the long-haul; removing the few millions left in suspension can only leave the beer exposed to contamination.

Obviously I don't know what your plan for the beer is, but based on the limited information you provided, I see no benefit, but see possible issues with trying to remove the yeast.

Adding new yeast at bottling is only necessary if you barrel age for a long time (6+ months), otherwise there will probably be plenty of yeast in suspension to carbonate the beer.