Barley Wine: Secondary vs Bottling

[MikeSteele]

I brewed my first extract Barley Wine (kit from B3) and it has been sitting in secondary for nearly a month. From what I've read, it's generally recommended to remain for 6 months. I would like to bottle now to free up a carboy so I can do more brewing.

If I let the barley wine sit in bottles for six months as opposed to the carboy, what difference will that make?

Thanks for your help.

 

[mbird]

Hi MikeSteele,
In my opinion you could have gone to bottles from the primary unless you're dry hopping in the secondary. The beer will age just as well in the bottles and has the added benefit of being in a sealed container protected with co2. I haven't used a secondary in years and haven't experienced any difference in the clarity or quality of the beer.
mark
www.backyardbrewer.blogspot.com

 

[pwndabear]

im gonna disagree wih you here bird: if you have a barleywine that is meant to age for such a long time, i would keep it in the secondary so as it can all age together.

yes, there are debates and whatnot about whether secondarying is necessary but i dont think this is one of those thread. in this instance, i would keep the barleywine in the secondary and put it off to the side until its ready to be bottled. in the mean time, brew stuff that does not require dry hopping or fruiting or anything and only use your primary fermenter for now.

patience is a virtue in the world of brewing. you might as well strap yourself in for the ride and take off your watch.

 

[mbird]

Hi pwndabear,
My question I guess would be. Why? Are there changes that occur in 5gals. that don't in 12oz.? Could be, but has anyone quantified this difference? I guess the real answer comes when a brewer goes through both of these processes and then compares the beers but there are other factors that may contribute a difference that may be difficult to identify. Now, if I were to age the beer in a wood cask then secondary is the way to go but the assumption here is that lagering a larger volume of beer is more beneficial and I don't know that is has been proven with data other then anecdotal evidence. Just my 2cents.
mark
www.backyardbrewer.blogspot.com

 

[pwndabear]

i dont think he is lagering anything here.

the information between bulk aging and bottling is really hard to tell as there isnt much hard evidence. i suggest bulk aging because its easier to let everything sit together, not disturb the beer for a long time, and to allow the whole of the brew to do its thing than to do it individually; less intrusive and less labor intensive (for now).

im thinking of it like a metaphor: this beer has GOT to age out. Each full 12oz volume of beer is kinda like a person. if he has 5 gallons worth of barleywine, he has roughly 48 people, if you will, that all have a job to do of finishing the product. I feel that it will be done faster and and better as a groupd than if each person is split up having to do the same amount of work individually.

when you split it up, it takes longer for the beer to finish up.

 

[CTownBrewer]

I've heard that it ages faster, for lack of a better word, if you bulk age as opposed to aging in bottles. So it may take you a year of aging in bottles to get it to have the same characteristics as you'd get bulk aging for 6-8 months. It was in another thread on here that I read a few months ago. I'm not sure if it's true or if there's any evidence behind it, but it's been mentioned by a few people.

I've had my barleywine in secondary for a little over 2 months now...shooting for about 6 months with it before dry hopping & bottling with some more yeast.

 

[MikeSteele]

Thanks for the responses. It sounds like it would just be worth keeping it in secondary for an additional 5 months.

 

[CTownBrewer]

Also, I just bought another carboy since I knew I'd need another to keep brewing during that 6 month time period...not too expensive.

 

[terrapinj]

from what i read, you may have to add more yeast before bottling if you bulk age for a long time

bulk aging will allow you do do additions; oak, hops etc closer to when you would be drinking the beer

 

[rico567]

The beer will age in the bottles. The best reason I've heard for bulk aging is that you age one batch in a carboy, but 50 batches in 12 oz. bottles......and each can end up different.
I've only made one batch of barleywine, and I aged it for four months in a carboy.