Barrel aging at roomtemperature?

[JohnGans]

Barrel aging at room temperature (mid 70's), 53 gal bourbon barrel.

Beer suggestions?

Time aging suggestions?

 

[madscientist451]

How fresh is the barrel? Has it been used for anything since it was used for bourbon?
What kind of beer depends on what you are looking for. Go out and sample some commercial examples and find a similar recipe. Brown Porter?
Imperial Stout?
Time of barrel aging depends on many factors, I'd pull a sample every 2-3 weeks and see how it tastes.
Here's a HBT thread about brewing a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel ale:

 

[JohnGans]

The barrel was used for aging beer already, but it clearly still smells of bourbon. I've dumped some more bourbon in there and slowly rotate the barrel every few days to let the wood soak some in/ kill any germs.
There's no hint of souring in the barrel at all.

I'm thinking a higher proof Belgian triple might do well?

I am not a tradition/ style purest, and happy to experiment with any style that may do well in the barrel.

Pulling and tasting every few weeks is a great idea!

Thank you

 

[NTexBrewer]

I have a small barrel and started with a porter, then a quad and finally a wee heavy. They all are tasty but I like the wee heavy the best.

 

[microbusbrewery]

As for style recommendations, Imperial Stout, Imperial Porter, Barleywine, Wee Heavy, Adambier all should stand up well to a bourbon barrel. Question, are you doing this all yourself, or are you doing it as a club/group project? The reason I ask is 50+ gallons of any of those beers is probably going to be around for quite a while.

Re the barrel itself, try to find out how many fills it's had. For example, did it go directly from the initial bourbon fill to being used for beer, and how many times was it used for beer? Sometimes they'll go from bourbon to some other spirit like rum before they hand them off for beer aging and the number of fills has a huge impact on flavor extraction. Long story short, the more fills the closer you are to a neutral barrel. Larger barrels also extract flavor slower because of the greater volume to surface area ratio. We have a club whiskey barrel that had gone through three fills before we got it (whiskey, then two imperial stout runs). Our first fill (4th overall) was a Tart of Darkness clone that spent a year in the barrel. Oak and whiskey character were there but very mellow. So you could probably let it ride for a few months before I'd even worry about pulling a sample.

 

[woo_pig]

As for style recommendations, Imperial Stout, Imperial Porter, Barleywine, Wee Heavy, Adambier all should stand up well to a bourbon barrel. Question, are you doing this all yourself, or are you doing it as a club/group project? The reason I ask is 50+ gallons of any of those beers is probably going to be around for quite a while.

Re the barrel itself, try to find out how many fills it's had. For example, did it go directly from the initial bourbon fill to being used for beer, and how many times was it used for beer? Sometimes they'll go from bourbon to some other spirit like rum before they hand them off for beer aging and the number of fills has a huge impact on flavor extraction. Long story short, the more fills the closer you are to a neutral barrel. Larger barrels also extract flavor slower because of the greater volume to surface area ratio. We have a club whiskey barrel that had gone through three fills before we got it (whiskey, then two imperial stout runs). Our first fill (4th overall) was a Tart of Darkness clone that spent a year in the barrel. Oak and whiskey character were there but very mellow. So you could probably let it ride for a few months before I'd even worry about pulling a sample.

I belive that for a burbon to be a burbon you can only use the barrle once. I might be wrong. It happens.

 

[microbusbrewery]

I belive that for a burbon to be a burbon you can only use the barrle once. I might be wrong. It happens.

That's correct, but like I said, after the first fill with Bourbon, some distilleries will fill them with another spirit like rum...one that isn't required to go into a new barrel.

 

[JohnGans]

This has been more info than I expected! Very helpful, much appreciated