Aging beer for long periods

[RNBEERGUY]

hey guys first of all I want to thank everyone for support as a new brewer all of you been helpful me and friends from military and college started this new hobby together and it’s brought us a lot closer so I want to ask a question we want to brew a barleywine and I heard it benefits from aging for 6 months if I age in a bottle will it be too long and can’t bottle explode if I age in secondary do I need an airlock ? Please let me know

 

[deks77]

bottles wont explode unless you over prime, get infected or it's not done fermenting.. 6 weeks kills me let alone 6 months lol

 

[RM-MN]

hey guys first of all I want to thank everyone for support as a new brewer all of you been helpful me and friends from military and college started this new hobby together and it’s brought us a lot closer so I want to ask a question we want to brew a barleywine and I heard it benefits from aging for 6 months if I age in a bottle will it be too long and can’t bottle explode if I age in secondary do I need an airlock ? Please let me know

6 months would be a good start for aging a barleywine, a year would be better, 2 years better yet. They will keep changing and smoothing out for a long time. Provided you leave your barleywine in the fermenter until it has completed fermenting (may take 2 or 3 weeks, use your hydrometer to verify it is completed) before you bottle and that you weigh the priming sugar and avoid infecting the beer, your yeast will consume the sugar to provide the proper carbonation and run out of fuel. Then they go dormant.

Your beer will contain dissolved CO2 that will be coming out of solution for some time after the fermentation is complete. You would need to use an airlock if you secondary this beer. I would recommend that you just leave it in the primary until it is ready to bottle and I wouldn't be in a hurry for that. 3 to 6 weeks in the fermenter won't be a problem.

 

[TurnipGreen]

You can also bulk age. Meaning leave it in a carboy for six months to a year. Most people recommend racking the beer off the yeast to do this. I’ve had good success leaving beers in a primary for three months and I forgot a braggot in my closet for a full year with no off flavors.

If you plan to dry hop, I recommend you bulk age, cause the dry hop will fade pretty quick. If you do bulk age for six months plus you’ll also need to add some fresh yeast and try to keep your headspace to a minimum if you’re racking.

All that said if you’re brewing and drinking this with friends, barley wines are fun to sample as they age, cracking a bottle every month or two and watching how they change. It’s a good way to learn about what time does to a recipe.

 

[RNBEERGUY]

You can also bulk age. Meaning leave it in a carboy for six months to a year. Most people recommend racking the beer off the yeast to do this. I’ve had good success leaving beers in a primary for three months and I forgot a braggot in my closet for a full year with no off flavors.

If you plan to dry hop, I recommend you bulk age, cause the dry hop will fade pretty quick. If you do bulk age for six months plus you’ll also need to add some fresh yeast and try to keep your headspace to a minimum if you’re racking.

All that said if you’re brewing and drinking this with friends, barley wines are fun to sample as they age, cracking a bottle every month or two and watching how they change. It’s a good way to learn about what time does to a recipe.

What temp should I age them at

 

[bleme]

My club did a barrel project a few years ago. 11 of us each brewed 5 gallons of the same recipe barleywine and filled a 55 gallon bourbon barrel. That was kept at about 60F for 10 months. Then they split it back up to everyone in kegs. Mine went in my kegerator and I would sample about once a month. At 2 years it was great!

 

[NGD]

My club did a barrel project a few years ago. 11 of us each brewed 5 gallons of the same recipe barleywine and filled a 55 gallon bourbon barrel. That was kept at about 60F for 10 months. Then they split it back up to everyone in kegs. Mine went in my kegerator and I would sample about once a month. At 2 years it was great!

So right about the time the keg kicked?

@rnbeerguy: Perfect timing on this question. I have a strong saison I’m getting ready to brew and age. Thanks for asking it!​

 

[AzOr]

Wtf? All this talk about barley wines and sampling. Yet nobody cares to share a recipe? Fail.

 

[whiskeyjack]

If you do bulkage I would recommend to age it in something close to final volume to leave little headspace. Also check airlock periodically to keep it from drying out and allowing O2 in

 

[RM-MN]

What temp should I age them at

I age my big beers at the temperature that is easiest to hold. For me that is room temp, ~68-74F. There is no strict requirement on this as the main flavor is set when the beer is still in the fermenter.

 

[TurnipGreen]

I just leave it in my basement, so mid sixties with good results. I don’t think temperature is too big of a deal so long as it doesn’t get hot, like in the eighties where yeast starts acting strange.