eyebrau
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- Jan 6, 2013
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I brewed up a 3 gallon batch of an RIS on 4/29. Did 3 gallons because its all the grain I could afford at the time, and wanted to do an RIS because, well, I like them. Now's the time to make one for winter. At any rate, I didn't do a great job of planning ahead.
I had planned to bottle (no keg setup) after 3-4 weeks, whenever fermentation was complete. Had an OG of 1.101, measured gravity again earlier this week and got 1.022, which is just under my target finish. I plan on checking again Saturday to confirm it's finished. When I pulled the sample to measure gravity on Monday (I think it was Monday), I tasted it to get a feel for where it is. It's a bit rougher around the edges than I thought it would be. Granted, I've made plenty of big beers, I know aging goes a long way and knew I had months before this would be drinkable. But I had some temperature control issues that resulted in more esters than I'd like, and it also turned out a bit more bitter than I expected (for only 69 IBUs...). It needs some mellowing.
But here's where my request for opinions/advice comes into play. I had planned on bottle conditioning for a number of months, but now I'm thinking this could probably use some batch aging as well. Actually I REALLY feel like it needs batch aging to help let it smooth out before bottling.
Problem is, I don't have the right containers to do 3 gallons... the beer was in primary in a 6gal bucket, of which I have 2 more. I also have a 6 gallon glass carboy, a 5 gallon glass carboy, a 1 gallon glass carboy (used to have 3, but SWMBO knocked over a shelf in the garage last summer...), and a 5 gallon better bottle. The 1 gallon carboy obviously won't hold it, and any of the others would leave way too much exposed surface area to oxygen. I do not have the equipment or ability to flush with CO2.
I'm sure I could let it sit on the yeast cake for probably another week or so without detriment, but what should I do beyond that? Should I just bottle and let them condition that way and give up on the batch aging? Could it sit on the yeast cake for more than another week or so? Should I take my chances on a secondary in glass that will leave a lot of headspace? Or maybe should I suck it up, find the cash, and go buy a couple more 1 gallon glass car boys...? I'd rather not if I can avoid it...
Thanks in advance.
I had planned to bottle (no keg setup) after 3-4 weeks, whenever fermentation was complete. Had an OG of 1.101, measured gravity again earlier this week and got 1.022, which is just under my target finish. I plan on checking again Saturday to confirm it's finished. When I pulled the sample to measure gravity on Monday (I think it was Monday), I tasted it to get a feel for where it is. It's a bit rougher around the edges than I thought it would be. Granted, I've made plenty of big beers, I know aging goes a long way and knew I had months before this would be drinkable. But I had some temperature control issues that resulted in more esters than I'd like, and it also turned out a bit more bitter than I expected (for only 69 IBUs...). It needs some mellowing.
But here's where my request for opinions/advice comes into play. I had planned on bottle conditioning for a number of months, but now I'm thinking this could probably use some batch aging as well. Actually I REALLY feel like it needs batch aging to help let it smooth out before bottling.
Problem is, I don't have the right containers to do 3 gallons... the beer was in primary in a 6gal bucket, of which I have 2 more. I also have a 6 gallon glass carboy, a 5 gallon glass carboy, a 1 gallon glass carboy (used to have 3, but SWMBO knocked over a shelf in the garage last summer...), and a 5 gallon better bottle. The 1 gallon carboy obviously won't hold it, and any of the others would leave way too much exposed surface area to oxygen. I do not have the equipment or ability to flush with CO2.
I'm sure I could let it sit on the yeast cake for probably another week or so without detriment, but what should I do beyond that? Should I just bottle and let them condition that way and give up on the batch aging? Could it sit on the yeast cake for more than another week or so? Should I take my chances on a secondary in glass that will leave a lot of headspace? Or maybe should I suck it up, find the cash, and go buy a couple more 1 gallon glass car boys...? I'd rather not if I can avoid it...
Thanks in advance.
