Oak Barrel - 20L

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Deofol

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Last year I did a winter warmer with my wife. As it turned out, it was an amazing brew! Having such a riveting effect across my friends and family she decided to take ownership of the recipe and all the praise that went with it. But we know who the REAL brewer is don't we. :cross:

Anyway, it’s getting season to start your winter brews and let them get some good age on them for the coming fall season. That being said, this year we are going to brew a double batch of her "Birthday Brew" as we call it (her birthday is Dec 26th). One batch will be the same recipe as last year, and the second batch will get a little special treatment with the addition of a new festive ingredient and a little time in an oak barrel.

Like most of you, when you get the green light from the SWAMBO on an equipment purchase, your probably already on the run to the computer and halfway putting payment information in before she's finished saying "Yes". Not one to break tradition, I started my research to find the perfect oak barrel for homebrew.

I started with my normal channels, LHBS, online HBS, Google, etc and I ran across “The Barrel Source” from a Google search. I got a 20L oak barrel (which is just over 5 gallons). Man this thing is cool looking. Barrel, stand, bung and brass hoops was like $150 shipped free. Very happy so far.

I plan on christening it with a brown ale I brewed last weekend for a test run, and then dedicate it to heavier barley wines, brown ales, etc. Mostly low hop dark beers.

I've included a few pics from last night. I rinsed it with hot water and filled it to cure. No leaks or anything. All looks good. I plan to rack the brown ale this weekend into it and see what kind of time it takes to get some oaky flavor.

Sorry pic quality is low, phone camera quality. lol

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i honestly dont know much about oak barrel aging, but that is just sweet! so it just takes the place of secondary fem, and you bottle/keg after it. i assume you'd want to do bigger beers like you are doing and age a while.

looks sweet!
 
That's an extremely good price for a small barrel. French or American? Red oak or white?
 
that's pretty awsome. i hear some types of Oak are really pungent and not good for brewing. is it french or american that is not the best? i dont remember. Rad Brews has some info on that.
 
The web site says American white oak that is charred (toasted) to a "Medium +". Perfect for the aging of wine, spirits or beer.

I guess we'll see.

But yea, the prices blew me away. Much cheaper than any other barrel supplier.
 
Update: 7/23 - The Brown ale has been in the barrel now since July 12th (about 12 days). I tried it last night, and it smells wonderful. Very heavy dark chocolate and caramel with remnants of a bourbon whiskey. Flavor was smokey, but not over-powering.

Going to keg 1/2 in my 2.5 gallon and bottle the rest.

So far so good! I'm very impressed! I would love to try a nice barley wine though this.
 
I'm reading Wild Brews by Jeff Sparrow.

Three different times he specifically says that new oak will be overpowering to beer.

Keep an eye on it. Watching with interest.
 
Yea, I've been checking it along the way, at lease an ounce every other day (That spiggot rocks!). It's not extremely stong now, but a tad stonger than I would prefer. From reading others they say to go a hair beyond what you are comfortable with since it will often mellow with age.

Kind of side topic, but I added an ounce of it to a glass of Pilsner Urquell last night for giggles. Man it was good! Kind of ballanced the oakiness with the mild saaz hops in the urquell. :D
 
Sounds awesome. I want a barrel sometime. Found a whiskey barrel on CL for $40, but it was 59 gallons, so I probably will pass it up.
 
Awesome. How many aging cycles do you think you'll get out of it?

In case anyone else is wondering, the one barrel manufacturer claims they have a 8 to 10 year lifespan. I know our local winery only uses a couple aging cycles before disposing of them but I'm sure it's different with beer... and I'm sure it also depends on what you specific beer(s) you age in it.
 
Doesn't the barrel oxidize the beer some?

Ironically that is part of the idea. Oxidation Is actually desired in cask ales, to an extent. A lot of the real ale guys prefer a day old cask over a brand new cask due to the slight oxidation caracteristics when the cask is used up (ie the air space isn't replaced with CO2).

Whether this beer turns out good or not, I can't say. I know it smells wonderful. :p So I can only hope.

Last night I primed it with 1/2 cup of clover honey, bottled 16 pints, and kegged the rest. I'm excited to see what it turns out like. For now I just have to wait it out for a couple of weeks. :(

MMMm.. Honey Oak Brown Ale... Has a good sound to it. :ban:
 
I've got a 20L French oak barrel. I'm looking to do a Brown Ale and age for awhile in the oak. What is the process ? Do you ferment in the carboy first, then transfer to oak ? How long should it stay in the oak, 2 weeks or so? Also do you totally cap it, or use an airlock ?

Thanks in advance.
Rogue
 
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