Barleywine - Will it last 20 years?

[Snotpoodle]

Hi,

I was toying with the idea of brewing up a 10 - 11% ABV Barleywine, and conditioning it for 20 years, to drink on 10 July 2031 on my sons 21st birthday.

If i pick one of the high end barleywine recipes here, primary and secondary for about 3 or 4 months, does anyone think there would be any flavour left over if i bottled and kept 2 cases in a cellar for 20 years?

the idea is that this would still be 1) Drinkable and 2) have some taste after all that time.

Is this possible with a barleywine, has anyone tried it, is there perhaps something else I could brew up instead?

Thanks!

 

[Cold Country Brewery]

No clue, but congrats on the little one!

 

[JoeyChopps]

If it works I would kill for one of them in 20 years to see what its like

 

[jeepinjeepin]

I would aim for 15% and more hops than normal.

 

[runningweird]

I agree with jeepin. a higher abv would be the best thing to do as I understand it will extend lifespan of the brew. Higher hops would be best as well because they will be nonexistent within a few years anyway so you might as well get the flavor you can. I have read many people say that after a few years their 100 IBU barleywine was nowhere near hoppy enough and got way too sweet as the beer aged. you could in theory consider "jacking" it by freezing it to concentrate it and bottling it, although since this site is US based you cannot distill anything here. where you are though you could freeze distill it all you want.

whatever you do keep us posted, i would love to make a barleywine and age it for that long.

 

[runningweird]

also you could try a mead, which if made correctly could be amazing in twenty years.

 

[Snotpoodle]

Thank you, good ideas all round.

Maybe a super beefed up version of DFH's 120IPA would work, something with crazy amounts of hops (good tip thanks).

I'll look into distilling it, another great idea.

I am sure I will have to find a way around oxidation....noone wants to wait 20years to drink cardboard.

 

[_JP_]

Mosher describes a "Doble-Doble" where the first runnings of a mash are heated to strike temp, then used as the liquor for a second mash of additional grain.

"During the 18th and 19th centuries, strong brews were produced in private house breweries to to celebrate special events. A double beer might be brewed at the birth of a son, then saved and savored when he reached his majority". (Radical Brewing, pg 135). I remembered that from the book when I read your post.

His "Ignoble Doble-Doble" calls for 20lb Maris Otter and 2 lb biscuit with 11oz Goldings. OG 1.120, ABV 9-10.5%.

No mention if it'll last 20 years though.

 

[lastsecondapex]

I'd get a very distictive resiny hop that will leave a lot of oils. Amarillo, Simcoe, and Warrior would probably be a good mix of candidates. I can only imagine that flushing the bottles with CO2, right before bottling, could only help.

I have a couple Old Stock ales that I purchased that were bottled in 1996, I cracked one a few weeks ago and it was still nicely carbed, just oxidized like crazy (Sherry, not cardboard).

 

[Revvy]

I would aim for 15% and more hops than normal.

I agree.

I did an og 1.150 barleywine with 150 ibu's last summer, with 50 year old honey, for my 45 birthday to lay up for five years til my fiftieth. It's still in tertiary, I'm going to over dry hop for a few weeks before I actullay bottle it.

 

[bassbone]

Very good advice you are getting.

I certainly have not had one sit around for twenty years, but i did an Imperial Stout that was about 9% abv that sat around for about 18 months. Even in that time, the hops almost vanished and it was like 85 IBU.

I would actually aim for this to be something that is so high ABV and IBU that it seems undrinkable for a year or two and by the 20 year mark it might mellow into an incredible beer.

 

[Snotpoodle]

Agreed, some great insight.

That's pretty much what i was thinkign bassbone, make something 10% plus and with so much hops you wouldnt think of drinking it for a few years...this might get me closer to 5 or 10, but i reckon 20 will be one hell of a stretch.

I'll find that Radical Brewing book, I liked that idea, thanks. Excellent tips on the choices of hops as well!

I'll post a recipe (i want to do about 13gallons) when i find a decent one, with enough hops.

 

[bassbone]

Yeah, no doubt 20 years will be a stretch.

Should be a fun project, though!

 

[Rivenin]

you know, this same idea had popped into my head periodically... as i do not have any children, it gives me planning time! great idea though if you're doing a 13 gallon batch, it'd be good to see if you can pop one every year or so to see where its going. or hell, do 2 different. like barely wine and a stout?

 

[soundsandsuds]

Yeah, no doubt 20 years will be a stretch.

Should be a fun project, though!

High alcohol and hops are both preservative. Should work well. Aim for 12%+ and 100+IBU.
I'm planning on doing the same thing. My son's just about 1 year old and I tried a 0.120 barleywine shortly after he was born. Unfortunately I bottled too soon and ended up with spouters. I had to dump them. I'm going to try again the week before his birthday.

Since the legal drinking age is 19 here, here's my 0.119 OG and 119 IBU recipe:

http://hopville.com/recipe/732104/american-barleywine-recipes/bs-barleywine

 

[Snotpoodle]

Super awesome, thanks for the recipe...that looks great. Good idea on the yeast as well, I was pondering on what to use to get to that high abv.

 

[Snotpoodle]

What's everyone's feeling on some whiskey soaked oak cubes going in as well...

 

[jeepinjeepin]

What's everyone's feeling on some whiskey soaked oak cubes going in as well...

During secondary, but not in the bottles.

 

[Wakadaka]

My guess is that flavor would condition out. A lot of other threads have been brought up about it, so you might find somebody with experience who can really let you know what works and what doesn't.

+1 to making it undrinkable at first. The temptation to just "sample" one would be too great. But if you taste one and it still tastes green, then your good to go.

 

[soundsandsuds]

I don't think the oak would condition out. It doesn't in a whiskey, so it shouldn't in a barleywine. I think that wood flavours are far less volatile than hop flavours.

 

[beaksnbeer]

+1 on the mead after 20 years won't be much hop left. I had a bottle left at parents house 5 years not hoppy at all just malty 7.6%...........

 

[bryanjints]

I had a 10 year old in the bottle Barleywine made by someone else. Like previously state the hops had faded. It was great though. You could always bulk age it for a few years then dry hop it with a bunch of high AA hops then bottle it.

I would also lead towards a mead. I have one in secondary right now for my daughter.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

All excellent suggestions here. But I'm going to throw in my $0.02 as to how the process should go down:

- Use Belgian bottles, i.e., the wine-like bottles you can cork and cage/cap. It looks really nice and is better for long-term storage.

- Do you have a cave? Leave them in a crate in there. If you don't and are willing to do so, dig out a hole about as big as a 55-gallon trash can but deeper. Put them in crates and put it in the can and bury that mofo. That will prevent you from wanting to check and bother them and will also keep them at cellar temperatures without any effort from you after the digging.


Hope that helps!

 

[SaccharoVices]

I have one bottle left of a homebrew tripel that will be 10 years old in november, maybe I'll crack it open (was going to wait till it's birthday) - that batch was good enough 9years ago to get me a gig at a brewery (only lasted 3 years) - what could be left of it? apprx 10.5% ABV, may just open it to contribute tasting notes to this thread. used oxy absorbing caps, wonder if they actually do anything. will echo other posts that high ABV and IBU's are the way to go, just be careful in the OG of your ferment, maybe start at .100 and add concentrated wort in increments throughout the ferment to keep from taxing the yeast too terribly. stuck ferms are a pain.

 

[old_tx_kbb]

I'd take Revvy's idea forward a little bit more. Make a big Barleywine....bigger than 12%

If you keg the batch after primary and set the keg aside, you could add some whole hops in a mesh bag for awhile at anytime to dry hop it.....be it 1...2 ...5...10...or twenty years....for a nice hop aroma.

Then, if you have a carbonator that would fit on a 1 or 2 liter PET bottle, you could age your brew for as long as you want...and take a sample every now and then after dry hopping ...using the carbonator to carbonate whatever amount of a sample that you'd want.

That would be sweet!

I currently have a 20% Barleywine that I'm doing that with....but I doubt that it will last for 20 more years....I wonder if I will either....lol...

Good on ya....good luck!

Oh yeah...I oaked it as well....

 

[Reno_eNVy]

I have one bottle left of a homebrew tripel that will be 10 years old in november, maybe I'll crack it open (was going to wait till it's birthday) - that batch was good enough 9years ago to get me a gig at a brewery (only lasted 3 years) - what could be left of it? apprx 10.5% ABV, may just open it to contribute tasting notes to this thread. used oxy absorbing caps, wonder if they actually do anything. will echo other posts that high ABV and IBU's are the way to go, just be careful in the OG of your ferment, maybe start at .100 and add concentrated wort in increments throughout the ferment to keep from taxing the yeast too terribly. stuck ferms are a pain.

Pleeeeeeeeeaaaase post here when you open it!!! It's severely piqued my interest!!!

 

[Sparky]

I have a Chimay Bleu clone from 2001 that I dug out of the cave, which was a surprise. It is now in the wine fridge and I will post pictures of when I open it next week.

FYI, I like post #23: use Belgium bottles and pickle-those-pups away. Time flies, believe me....

 

[Snotpoodle]

Wow, fantastic advice so far..thank you!

Apart from brewing a barleywine, I'll now apparently also be digging a hole!

My thoughts on the oak + whiskey was that the flavours seem to last in whiskey at 10, 15, 20 years, hence why i thought i might get some to stick around in the barleywine.

Removing O2 another excellent idea, as is the belgian bottles + corks + Cages, where would i get my hands on these?

I'll definately putge C02, and more than likely try the oxy tabs, can't hurt can it.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Removing O2 another excellent idea, as is the belgian bottles + corks + Cages, where would i get my hands on these

LHBS or an online homebrew store. This Rebel Brewer page was the first thing to pop up when I searched "homebrew belgian bottles."

 

[joeldp144]

I have heard the country song "Dust on the Bottle", but 20 years from now, there might be.....a little dust IN THE BOTTLE. I love this idea.

Maybe you could sample one each year on his birthday just to see how things are going through the years. If you bottle 5 gallons, then you should still have plenty left over for his 21st b-day.