Got a Bourbon Barrel!

[benbradford]

I came across this today and picked it up for $60.00

It hasn't been used for anything other than bourbon and has been kept sealed. Nothing came out when I pulled the bung and it wasn't wet.

I plan on filling it with 5-10 gallons of hot water to remoisten the sides and then use it for barrel aging.

I was thinking of a barrel aged sour. I was hoping to use a solera technique and add and remove continuously so that I have a perpetual barrel aged beer on the pipeline.

Any experience with this?

 

[dirkomatic]

No experience, but from what I understand, if you use it for sours, you should always use it for sours. IMO, I would use it for anything else, but I'm not a sour fan.

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[benbradford]

I love sour beers(not all of them). I have read that the bourbon barrel isn't best used for sours but more for porters or stouts. I don't drink much dark beer, so that won't work for me. Maybe I should sell it and get a chardonnay barrel or something?

 

[benbradford]

Another thought is too thoroughly clean the inside of the barrel with boiling water multiple times so that the whiskey notes mellow and it is more of a neutral oak.

 

[TNGabe]

If you want to minimalize the whiskey flavor, it wil take a lot of rinsing to get it anywhere close to neutral. You might do better to take the heads off and scrape the staves to remove some of the char.

I've thought a lot about what sort of sour beer would taste best in a bourbon barrel, since bourbon barrels are so much easier to get here than wine barrels. I've tried several bourbons alongside a several sour beers and haven't really come up with a pairing I like. I also really don't want 50 gallons of imperial stout or anything similar. One option would be asking some other brewers in your club (if you're in one) to each contribute 10 gallons. I'm going to add bourbon soaked oak to a biere de garde I have going now and see if that seems like something I'd be happy with a barrel of.

 

[blizzard]

Crooked Stave has a few beers they aged on bourbon and brandy barrels. You should still be able to find some Nightmare on Brett around Denver or at The Source. Give it a taste and if you like it, I would shoot for something similar for the first beer. Later, when the barrel has a more neutral character, you'll have more options.

 

[TNGabe]

Crooked Stave has a few beers they aged on bourbon and brandy barrels. You should still be able to find some Nightmare on Brett around Denver or at The Source. Give it a taste and if you like it, I would shoot for something similar for the first beer. Later, when the barrel has a more neutral character, you'll have more options.

Do you think those are first use barrels or that they get them after another brewery has aged beer in them? I didn't get any bourbon character from NoB.

 

[blizzard]

Do you think those are first use barrels or that they get them after another brewery has aged beer in them? I didn't get any bourbon character from NoB.

Good point. The regular NoB probably isn't on fresh barrels. The versions that are labeled with the barrel type (bourbon, brandy, leopold bros, etc.) would probably be a better example, though difficult to get your hands on at this point.

Almanac also has a bourbon sour porter; though I haven't tried it. I'm trying to think of a sour beer that has a solid bourbon presence.

I'd like to think you could get one non-sour beer out of this barrel, but since it didn't arrive wet, I'm kind of doubtful.

 

[jrgtr42]

One thing I would think about would be to treat the barrel as stated to re-seal it, use it for stout for one or 2 batches, until the bourbon fades, then maybe do what he wanted, with sours and solera.
Best of both worlds, IMO.

 

[benbradford]

Heres what I am thinking now. I brewed on Thursday and made 15 gallons of blonde ale(among other brews) and it came out a little off. At the end of the boil, I noticed a smoky smell. I realized it was coming from the kettle itself. Upon chilling and transferring to fermenter, I realized that the smell was for the heating elements inside the kettle. I believe that when I added a pound of turbinado sugar to the boil, the sugar settled directly on the elements and eventually caramelized and burned.

I have already ordered some ultra low watt density replacement elements to fix this in future.

For now, I have a smoky beer. I am going to wait a month and see what happens with fermentation and how the beer comes out. It tastes smoky, but not overpoweringly so. I am hoping that it will be subdued. At that point I will taste the beer mixed with some other beers, notably a duchess de Bourgogne and see how it blends...

I am hoping that I can brew another 30 gallons of darker Belgian ale, maybe mix in some cherries, and have ultimately a dark smoky cherry sour beer............

 

[benbradford]

I was actually at the source on Wednesday and tried all of their beers... It was kind of a sign to make sour ales this week. I went to crooked stave, found a barrel for sale nearby, and made a mistake on a beer that may need to be corrected.

I am struggling with tossing the smoky beer and making a nice flanders red to fill barrel or using the smoky beer to try an experiment...

 

[TNGabe]

I was actually at the source on Wednesday and tried all of their beers... It was kind of a sign to make sour ales this week. I went to crooked stave, found a barrel for sale nearby, and made a mistake on a beer that may need to be corrected.

I am struggling with tossing the smoky beer and making a nice flanders red to fill barrel or using the smoky beer to try an experiment...

Bugs and critters won't fix bad beer. Dumping 15 gallons of beer sucks, but it sucks a lot less than dumping 50 gallons of barrel aged beer.

 

[fixittim]

I have a clone recipe for Kentucky Ale Bourbon Barrel if you like. I haven't tried the recipe but sounds right. It is my fAvorite beer and the reason I started home brewing recently. Just still working up to it, building skills.

 

[blizzard]

I am hoping that I can brew another 30 gallons of darker Belgian ale, maybe mix in some cherries, and have ultimately a dark smoky cherry sour beer............

I think a quad would be a good choice. It could stand up to the bourbon, but wouldn't be bad as a sour.

Bugs and critters won't fix bad beer. Dumping 15 gallons of beer sucks, but it sucks a lot less than dumping 50 gallons of barrel aged beer.

This x1000. You are going to be waiting a long time for this. You want to start off on the right foot.

 

[blizzard]

By the way, the price is right at $60. Where'd you pick up the barrel?

 

[benbradford]

At a local liquor store. It was a display they had for a week and ran out of room...

I plan on taste testing this smoky blond first... I am pretty cautious about this flavor because I don't really think it will go away. If I can compliment the flavor however, it would be great.

Dumping the 15 gallons sucks, but it really only is $45 or so of beer. It is more the waste of time and the burp in the pipeline that I am upset about... I brew 35 gallons every 7 weeks and cant keep 5 beers on tap as it is without dumping 15 gallons...

 

[benbradford]

Go broncos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[greyghost]

Go broncos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just can't help myself.
The Donkeys didn't fare to well against My Seahawks.:smack:

 

[benbradford]

You have nothing to say about the thread? I realize my sports talk was out of place, but jumping in late in the conversation after the dog had already been kicked how's very little class....

 

[greyghost]

You have nothing to say about the thread? I realize my sports talk was out of place, but jumping in late in the conversation after the dog had already been kicked how's very little class....

I have been following This thread because I just got a unused 5 gal. barrel. So far I have not had anything to add.Still have more class than a POOR LOSER.

 

[benbradford]

So says the poor winner? I didn't trash talk or make excuses... Simply don't enjoy a tough loss being rubbed in.... Keep it classy Seattle...