60 gallons of Dark Strong + Jack Daniels Barrel = ...

[PseudoChef]

Barrel Brew 2008.

Brewed a Belgian Dark Strong back in June - fermented with a mixture of WLP500/WY3787. After primary fermentation we racked to a used Jack Daniels barrel where fermentation began again. Aged 4 months in the oak. Racked out this weekend to a final gravity of 1.010.

Taste is quite Barleywine-ish. Whiskey character definitely prevalent, but not overpowering. Dry finish really complements the sweetness of the beer. Subtle dark fruit, but mostly covered up as tasted side by side with an "unbarreled" sample (also because the barrel version dropped 15 more points from 1.025 to 1.010). Despite the large drop in gravity/secondary fermentation - no sourness. Notes of vanilla from the oak add a nice roundness.

Along with 4 other homebrewers, I have my share of 9 gallons. I'll bottle some in 12 ozers (it is almost 14%) with wax capping and then hopefully I'll be able to cage and cork the rest. Hopefully will age for around 6 more months before sampling. Will add champagne yeast at bottling, although not expecting much carbonation. Doesn't need it, however.

Dare I sour a couple of gallons? Perhaps :rockin:

 

[PseudoChef]

(4 other kegs not pictured).

 

[Revvy]

I'll be right over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Yooper]

That is beautiful right there~ it brings a tear to my eye.

Why do you think you got so much attenuation in the barrel? I'm trying to think of why it might be.

 

[jcdillin]

hmm, i'll be in Chattanooga next week so i'll stop by and help you taste test some

Possible that just the agitation from transferring woke the yeast back up?

 

[farmbrewernw]

That's sweet, sounds like a fine brew.

 

[PseudoChef]

Yeah, I think it was just the transfer putting yeast back into suspension.

 

[IrregularPulse]

anything done to the barrel before adding to it? sanitize or..?? I've never even thought of barreling a beer. Mostly cause I've no barrel nor the capabilities to brew to fill one.

 

[k1v1116]

about the attenuation in the barrel, if this is an old whiskey barrel maybe the wood was saturated with whiskey and the extra alcohol messed up the hydro reading?

 

[eschatz]

That my friend is freaking gorgeous. I'm in amazement. This is the kind of thing that makes me want to start a brew club. You rock. :rockin:

 

[IrregularPulse]

That my friend is freaking gorgeous. I'm in amazement. This is the kind of thing that makes me want to start a brew club. You rock. :rockin:

QFT.. Too big a project to start on my own, but would be awesome for several people..

 

[The Pol]

about the attenuation in the barrel, if this is an old whiskey barrel maybe the wood was saturated with whiskey and the extra alcohol messed up the hydro reading?

Id have to think that any extra alcohol left in the oak would have pretty much evaporated prior to filling the barrel with the beer. And, if not, that the quantity of it compared to the volume of the barrel, would have made an insignificant change in SG. Anyone?

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

That is awesome.... If I only had the room to store a barrel.....

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Lookin good, Chef!

 

[lordbeermestrength]

how do you plan on keeping your bottles from getting oxidized after cellaring?

 

[Fingers]

Id have to think that any extra alcohol left in the oak would have pretty much evaporated prior to filling the barrel with the beer. And, if not, that the quantity of it compared to the volume of the barrel, would have made an insignificant change in SG. Anyone?

I used to live near a Seagram's distillery and some people would get barrels to make 'swish'. You pour boiling water in the barrel and over the course of several months you move the barrel around. In the end you wind up with a fair bit of very potent whiskey.

Of course the distillery caught on to this eventually and had to take steps to keep this from happening too much. They started selling in bulk only and steam pressure washing the insides to extract as much residual product as possible before selling them.

 

[nyer]

I may have a chance to buy a used whiskey barrel. Could you put only 10 gallons of beer in a fullsize barrel to age it? There's no way I'm brewing enough to fill the barrel.

 

[Revvy]

anything done to the barrel before adding to it? sanitize or..?? I've never even thought of barreling a beer. Mostly cause I've no barrel nor the capabilities to brew to fill one.

There's a great deal of info on treating oak barrels and aging with oak on this old basic brewing podcast.

May 10, 2007 - Aging with Oak
Dan Carey, Brewmaster of New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, Wisconsin, shares his tips on aging beer on oak chips and in oak barrels.

Clicky to Listen.

 

[Chriso]

I am in awe. This is a super-sweet project, and it sounds as if you have been amply rewarded with the resultant beer!!!! I am quite jealous sir!!!!!!!!

 

[FireBrewer]

Looks great!

 

[Bobby_M]

Homebrew clubs are where its at. My club has no less than six barrels full and we're working on a 7th. We have:

Raspberry Cider
Laird's Applejack barrel cider
New England Cider
2 x Basswood meads
Flanders Red Sour - soon to be 2 x Cherry Lambic (Kriek).

MMmmmm 400 gallons of barrel product.

 

[explosivebeer]

Nice work PseudoChef. I've got a Jack Daniels barrel myself and have been tweaking imperial stout recipes to find the right one to put in it. I like the Belgian Dark Strong idea too. What base recipe did you guys use? And would you be interested in working out a trade? I'm very curious how that turns out.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I swear I've seen that room before. Was it in one of the Saw movies?

 

[edgewoodbrewery]

That's Awesome!!! Nice work chef! How many more times will you be able to use that barrel? Maybe look to see if next time there is a spike in the gravity after a second use? Either way you're gonna have to make MORE beer! Cheers!

 

[TerapinChef]

Cannot begin to express my jealousy...I would love to get this going with a few of my friends. Same base beer too...Belgian Dark Strong. Of course, if I had a second barrel, I would fill it with Orfy's Hobgoblin Clone. And if I had a third one, I would fill it with the 888 RIS...Man I need a brew room. And some whiskey barrels. And more friends.

 

[Chriso]

Same base beer too...Belgian Dark Strong. Of course, if I had a second barrel, I would fill it with Orfy's Hobgoblin Clone. And if I had a third one, I would fill it with the 888 RIS...

You and I have astonishingly similar tastes.

 

[winzerz]

roll out the barrel

roll out the barrel of fun

good german drinking song

 

[chillHayze]

Very cool. That sounds like a great project to do with friends. Are you planning on using the barrell again or is it "done"?

I will comment on the hydrometer reading. In barrels you can't get an accurate reading via hydrometer because the barrel adds an undetermined amount of alcohol which was *not* sugar in the wort of your beer. At least that's what the brewmaster at Lexington Brewing Co. told us whan I asked this specific question. They age in Bourbon barrels using each one once, and the ABV usually goes from 5% before aging to 7% after. Of course you need a refractometer to test this.

Odds are the exact amount is not important to homebrewers anyway.

 

[CrazyBrew]

Nice job friend.

 

[parnell8]

hey was wondering how did u get hold of the jim beam barrel