Aging High Gravity Brew

[tarcrarc]

I have two brews (RIS and English Barley Wine) brewed 5 and 6 months ago. The RIS finished at 14% and the EBW @ 12%. I have them aging at 50 degrees. While the alcohol heat has mellowed (a little ways to go on the RIS) I'm not fully impressed with what I have here taste wise. It is hard to put a finger on what it is--no specific off-flavor I can mention. Drinkable, just not all that desirable. I believe my recipes were sound. These are the biggest brews I've made so: Just trying to get a feel as to if these will continue to really change over more time that much. Have others made big beers like these that took like a year or so before they became something you want to reach for. Or do the changes that take place the next 6 months become more of a subtle change for those with only fine palates would pick up.

Thanks!

 

[specharka]

Yes, they will mellow in time, and 50F is a great cellaring temperature. What I’ve found is that the flavors tend to get a bit “rounder” over time — the roasted notes blend with the alcohol and malt complexity better. The bitterness will recede as well, making the malty notes pop. But I wouldn’t expect massive changes to occur.

It’s extremely difficult to make 10%+ ABV beers taste good, because you really need some residual sugars to balance the alcohol without tasting cloying. Not only that, but any off flavors from fermentation that might inadvertently occur (fusels, esters, etc) will get amplified by the high starting gravity.

Bring some beer to a homebrew club meeting, competition or similar and see what feedback you get. Chances are someone else will be able to pick up on that flavor you can’t put your finger on and put a name to it.

Cheers!

 

[kh54s10]

Haven't yet done a Barley Wine. But my RIS took 6 months to mellow, to get rid of harsh notes whatever they really were. The flavor got better until a year and stayed level until I finished the last one at almost 2 years.

 

[ong]

I’m still drinking a ~14% barleywine I brewed in 2012. It got way better around the 2-3 year mark. Same with my stouts around that ABV. There really is some magic alchemy that happens, at least with bottle conditioned beers. A barrel-cured RIS from late 2015 just won best in category at a fruit beer competition this spring (I had blended with a raspberry wine I made a year or two earlier.)

 

[RM-MN]

50 degrees is a great cellaring temp for those beers. So is 72 degrees and the changes happen a little faster at warmer temperatures. I suspect your beers will continue to improve for the next 1 1/2 years at least. My RIS was decent at 6 months, much better at a year, and continued to improve until the last bottle was gone at 2 years.

 

[Sadu]

Agree with the above. There is some magic that happens with these beers, and it's not predictable when it will happen. Just put them away in storage, keep brewing, try one every so often.

These beers are such a treat when they are ready. I try to do a couple of big beers each year for long-term storage.

 

[myndflyte]

Also agree with above. My 11% barleywine was finally drinkable by 1 year. It hit it's prime by year 2. Just hide them somewhere so you forget about them.

 

[anotherbeerplease]

I brewed an 11% RIS that was mediocre last year but now it's one of the best beers I've ever had and it continues to get better. Also the 13% barley wine I did 6 months ago was initially extremely bitter and generally awful tasting. Now it is just starting to come into its own and I expect 1-2yrs from now it will be tasting truly amazing So if your can hold out, your high grav beer is only going to get better.