Balcones Barrell, strong whiskey taste, little oak

[JayDubWill]

I picked up a 5 gallon barrell from Balcones distillery recently when they were up for sale, i'm hoping some others have as well and can give me some advice.

I've had a WootStout clone (which turned out delicious) in it for 2 weeks and I just tried a sample. There is little in the way of oak flavor but a very deep whiskey flavor is present. It's not overwhelming (yet), and i'm afraid if I keep it in the barrel much longer it may be. Or maybe all the whiskey flavor is the first to be imparted and the oak flavor will follow with more contact time? My gut is saying take it out of the barrel and just toss some oak cubes at it in a bottling bucket, but would like to here some opinions of anyone who has whiskey/bourbon barrel aged a beer before. One other thing, I plan on aging this at least a year before drinking so mabe it can stand up to some more contact time?

 

[Double_D]

I bought two of those a couple years ago. I aged a brown for a couple weeks and got the good whiskey flavor you're talking about. The oak came across to me more like a vanilla character that was added to the beer.

The thing with new barrels is the whiskey flavor is the first to come out of the oak. The next beer you age in there will have less whiskey flavor and you'll be able to leave it in there longer to pick up more oak. Make sure you keep the barrel full in between batches.

If it was my beer, I'd take it out of the barrel and add some oak cubes.

 

[JayDubWill]

I bought two of those a couple years ago. I aged a brown for a couple weeks and got the good whiskey flavor you're talking about. The oak came across to me more like a vanilla character that was added to the beer.

The thing with new barrels is the whiskey flavor is the first to come out of the oak. The next beer you age in there will have less whiskey flavor and you'll be able to leave it in there longer to pick up more oak. Make sure you keep the barrel full in between batches.

If it was my beer, I'd take it out of the barrel and add some oak cubes.

Thanks that's what I think i'll do. Love the barrel and look forward to my next beer with it, a barleywine. I figure if you're using a barrel, go big.

 

[Double_D]

Thanks that's what I think i'll do. Love the barrel and look forward to my next beer with it, a barleywine. I figure if you're using a barrel, go big.

No doubt about going big with those barrels.

It's a good whisky if you can find it too by the way. Don't know where you are, I haven't been able to get any here for a couple years and I hear they're on a waiting list in the area around the distillery. Mom used to being me bottles but lives here now : (.

Campden tablets in water to maintain the barrel in between batches. Just in case... I wish I had known.