Best way to age Barley Wine in kegs?

[pdbreen]

I'll be kicking off a barley wine on Mon/Tues that I want to age until next winter. Since I keg, it seems like there are a few options for aging:

1) put in keg after fermentation and leave at 60-70 until next year, then carb
2) add priming sugar, put in keg and leave at 60-70 until next year
3) add priming sugar after 6 months, leave another 6 months
4) force carb and then bottle
5) skip the keg altogether, always bottle barley wines

I'd rather not bottle, so I'm hoping one of the first 3 options (or other keg based option) will work. Any advice on what works best?

Thanks!

 

[mmb]

I force carbed the 999 and then stashed it away to bulk age. I bottled some off the keg but will keep most in the keg until spring sometime and then bottle the rest.

I chose to force carb mostly because it sat in secondary for a few months and I didn't want to depend on the already stressed yeast (12.5% ABV) to carb after all that time. With force carbing, I knew that it would get to the volume level I desired and I wouldn't loose any appreciable amount of barleywine to trub during carbing.

I wouldn't prime my keg based on the same reasoning.

 

[kunstler]

From my experience with barley wines (not brewing, but more having someone else's) is that you rarely every drink alot of it in one setting (though you may want it to be your session beer for all I know) and that it is something that you try over a long period of time. I have sampled 3 bottles of barley wine from the same recipe - 6months, 1 year, 1.5 years old and boy did it evolve (granted different brewings, but it was the same techniques and recipe)

By having it on a keg, yeah its easy, but at the same time your tying up a keg for the entire batch - if you have oodles of extra kegs, they yeah, why not have a dedicated keg/line that is just this barley wine for who knows how many months/year(s) after you start consuming. I don't have that space luxury so I would bottle so I can have 1 at a time and watch it evolve over time.

I guess, if you got it, use it, if you don't bottle - I see no problem bulk aging in the keg as a secondary and then bottleing later down the line.

 

[kunstler]

what about if he re-pitched some yeast just for bottleing? same strain or a very nuetral strain would help the bottleing issue no?

 

[mmb]

what about if he re-pitched some yeast just for bottleing? same strain or a very nuetral strain would help the bottleing issue no?

To get the yeast to ferment sugars in that high of ABV, you need to pitch it at high krausen. Even then, it is hit or miss if the yeast can stand the high alcohol content.

Why bother when another option is available? Keg, force carb and then bottle off the keg. One doesn't need to keep the beer in the keg past the time it is carbed, but if the option exists for further bulk aging, why not?

I bought a pallet of 20 kegs @ $15 a piece to bring my total up to 28. Plenty of capacity to keep beer kegged for a while.

 

[Bobby_M]

I would leave it at room temp on 40psi for 2 weeks. Then tuck it away for at least 6 months warm.

 

[pdbreen]

I also wasn't sure if it was better to carb before aging or after aging. Sounds like before aging is recommended.

And since I've got plenty of kegs, sounds like my best plan is to keg it, carb it and then let it sit.

 

[mmb]

Well, to insure that the beer won't oxidize and the keg will stay sealed, you'll want it to be carbed.

Don't rely on the lid of a corny to stay closed just by the pressure of the closure. It won't. Most need CO2 pressure to seal the lid to the oring.