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Hi all,
I have three 5 gallon bourbon barrels that held maple syrup in them for a year, and were freshly emptied yesterday. There is still a bit of maple syrup in each of the barrels and still has the aroma of bourbon and maple syrup.
I'm looking for brew recipe ideas. My thought is to do a stout similar to Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout. One of the 5 gallons I'm thinking of adding vanilla beans at secondary, while the other two I could experiment with coffee types. Thinking of Chico yeast, WLP007, or Nottingham. Any other yeast recommendations are welcome.
Any other ideas for recipes that may work well with these barrels to add some additional flavors for the first round of use?
A few questions on the barrels:
1. Since I haven't brewed yet (most likely this weekend), should I keep rolling the barrels counting on the leftover maple syrup to keep the barrel hydrated so it doesn't dry out and leak? Or fill with water and either KMS or citric acid to store until filling at secondary? I know it's always a good idea to at least leak test a barrel once received but the person I bought them from said they did not leak at all with the maple syrup. Could I just soak the outside of the barrel?
2. Do I need to sanitize with hot water prior to filling them? They have only been empty for a day so far, so could I fill with CO2 temporarily until I fill? I'm worried that adding water to the barrel will get rid of a lot of the maple syrup that's currently in the barrel and impact the barrel's flavor to the finished beer. I know that a lot of the flavor is absorbed in the wood but it would be nice to keep the maple that's in there. I guess I could empty as much maple out of them now and add it back in at the time of filling as long as it's sanitary. It will be at a minimum a few weeks until I'm able to fill the barrel after primary.
3. What would be the recommended aging time in these barrels for a high abv (>10%) Canadian Breakfast Stout beer? Since they are smaller barrels would that speed up the flavor extraction time? I was originally thinking of using them as a secondary for 8 months or so.
4. Gordon Strong advises to be careful with wood aging since there is a lot of dark malt and that the wood can add astringency. Is this a concern with longer aging? Founders has a lot of success with their barrel aging.
I appreciate any help in advance since I'm going to be brewing this soon. Thanks!
I have three 5 gallon bourbon barrels that held maple syrup in them for a year, and were freshly emptied yesterday. There is still a bit of maple syrup in each of the barrels and still has the aroma of bourbon and maple syrup.
I'm looking for brew recipe ideas. My thought is to do a stout similar to Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout. One of the 5 gallons I'm thinking of adding vanilla beans at secondary, while the other two I could experiment with coffee types. Thinking of Chico yeast, WLP007, or Nottingham. Any other yeast recommendations are welcome.
Any other ideas for recipes that may work well with these barrels to add some additional flavors for the first round of use?
A few questions on the barrels:
1. Since I haven't brewed yet (most likely this weekend), should I keep rolling the barrels counting on the leftover maple syrup to keep the barrel hydrated so it doesn't dry out and leak? Or fill with water and either KMS or citric acid to store until filling at secondary? I know it's always a good idea to at least leak test a barrel once received but the person I bought them from said they did not leak at all with the maple syrup. Could I just soak the outside of the barrel?
2. Do I need to sanitize with hot water prior to filling them? They have only been empty for a day so far, so could I fill with CO2 temporarily until I fill? I'm worried that adding water to the barrel will get rid of a lot of the maple syrup that's currently in the barrel and impact the barrel's flavor to the finished beer. I know that a lot of the flavor is absorbed in the wood but it would be nice to keep the maple that's in there. I guess I could empty as much maple out of them now and add it back in at the time of filling as long as it's sanitary. It will be at a minimum a few weeks until I'm able to fill the barrel after primary.
3. What would be the recommended aging time in these barrels for a high abv (>10%) Canadian Breakfast Stout beer? Since they are smaller barrels would that speed up the flavor extraction time? I was originally thinking of using them as a secondary for 8 months or so.
4. Gordon Strong advises to be careful with wood aging since there is a lot of dark malt and that the wood can add astringency. Is this a concern with longer aging? Founders has a lot of success with their barrel aging.
I appreciate any help in advance since I'm going to be brewing this soon. Thanks!
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