In Secondary Fermentation for YEARS

[SeanMcEntee]

where did he go?

I expect we'll hear from him again in about eight years.

 

[brianmef]

How did you forget about that for 8.5 years?

 

[brianmef]

Be weary of bottle bombs when u crack those bottles, especially if u recently added yeast or sugar.1030 is really high for a finishing gravity!

I've sadly experienced beer geysers when i bottled a beer at 1020

If a beer has a high enough starting gravity, it can end at 1.030 and be fine. Depends on the beer you made.

 

[pashusa]

Maybe he passed out.

 

[Enemygod]

I have a Tart of Darkness clone sitting in secondary going on 4 years now. No water left in the air lock of course. Probably be decent salad dressing at this point.

 

[pdxal]

If a beer has a high enough starting gravity, it can end at 1.030 and be fine. Depends on the beer you made.

I doubt a beer in secondary for 8+ years has any fermentables left (whether due to original yeast or any infection organisms that got in through a dry airlock), gushers would only be possible from an infection and bottling above FG.

 

[zymurgeek]

CO2 is heavier, but gasses will mix (diffuse) with time.

Thanks for the correction. It's been many years since chemistry class. However, this information does not support my current beliefs and is inconvenient to my purposes, so I'll be writing my congressman to have those pesky ideal gas laws repealed.

 

[biggmatt]

oxidation taste like stale cardboard.

 

[tmbrewer]

You guys are killing me! ha

You know it took me 8.5 years to bottle it - it'll probably take me another month to down a bottle of it :> Seriously, though, I guess I'll finally try more than a "sip" this evening! Thanks for the info with respect to identifying heavily oxidized beer -- I will be watch for it.

I'm not going to mess with the carbonation -- but thanks for all your replies.

I've never had barleywine so I'm at a bit of a disadvantage with respect to knowing how it compares to "good". Though you've got me curious now about trying to find a decent commercial example to compare. I imagine we all know "bad" when we taste it ha

Cheers-

 

[Brewbuzzard]

How did you forget about that for 8.5 years?

I forgot about a 3 gal carboy of Mead in a back closet for three years. Out of site out of mind. It was sealed though and tastes great, what a find. Also, bad beer won't kill you or hurt you. It can leave a bad taste in your mouth and as a worst case maybe an upset stomach. But I'm not a biologist. Just drink it man.

 

[taylornate]

I doubt a beer in secondary for 8+ years has any fermentables left (whether due to original yeast or any infection organisms that got in through a dry airlock), gushers would only be possible from an infection and bottling above FG.

Organisms cannot get through a dry airlock. Pasteur proved that with his swan neck flask experiment: http://www.pasteurbrewing.com/pasteur-swan-neck-flask-experiment/

 

[brianmef]

I've had barley wine from the store, but it was crap in comparison to home brewed. So far, in my experience in home brewing, all store bought beer is crap, and every single beer I have ever brewed is much better. (?)

 

[Bosh]

I've had barley wine from the store, but it was crap in comparison to home brewed. So far, in my experience in home brewing, all store bought beer is crap, and every single beer I have ever brewed is much better. (?)

I have the exact same experience. Living in Korea does wonders for the relative quality of my beer.

 

[SpoonerandForker]

I forgot about a 3 gal carboy of Mead in a back closet for three years. Out of site out of mind. It was sealed though and tastes great, what a find,,, Just drink it man.

Sounds superb, it is hard to beat a well aged Mead!!!!

(Somehow my Mead bottles tend to get empty before they get old,)

 

[ADDLED]

I speak from experience; dont touch it!
My friend died from drinking aged barley wine. He drank 12 pints a day and cirrhosis killed him.
You have been warned...

 

[Mobstar76]

I'm guessing it will taste horrible.
It would have been fine if the airlock hadn't dried out. Now it will be heavily oxidized, all the hop aromas are pretty much gone and generally beer doesn't age very well. If you're lucky, you might be able to use it on your French fries lol.

 

[ADDLED]

I'm guessing it will taste horrible..... generally beer doesn't age very well. If you're lucky, you might be able to use it on your French fries lol.

Strong beer ages beautifully. Ive a couple of crates of Rochefort 10 that have aged aged for 8 years - date on them is 25 Dec 2008. We open a couple every Christmas and compare them with fresh ones and the aged are superb. At 5 years they were amazing; port wine, dried fruit, delicate spice, and they keep getting better.

 

[Mobstar76]

Strong beer ages beautifully. Ive a couple of crates of Rochefort 10 that have aged aged for 8 years - date on them is 25 Dec 2008. We open a couple every Christmas and compare them with fresh ones and the aged are superb. At 5 years they were amazing; port wine, dried fruit, delicate spice, and they keep getting better.

LOL,
I did say generally.. Rochefort is a premium Belgian beer which is properly stored with live yeast. Belgian beers tend to age well but only for a certain amount of time. I tried a 20 year old corked bottled of Belgian trippel and it was flat and tasted like bile. This was a properly stored bottle. Now imagine this guy's fully exposed barley wine.. eek!

 

[ADDLED]

LOL,
I did say generally.. Rochefort is a premium Belgian beer which is properly stored with live yeast. Belgian beers tend to age well but only for a certain amount of time. I tried a 20 year old corked bottled of Belgian trippel and it was flat and tasted like bile. This was a properly stored bottle. Now imagine this guy's fully exposed barley wine.. eek!

Ha. Mebbe we'll kill them off at 10 years and keep a couple just to see what theyll be like at 15 and 20

 

[tmbrewer]

Its a bit of a stretch to say "fully exposed" as it was in a glass carboy with stopper & airlock (though dry much of the time) in an undisturbed, cool but controlled part of the house. This wasn't a Belgian open fermentation experiment :>

I did drink a bottle of it the other night and could still sense no off-flavors. I have tasted beers with astringent / metallic off-flavors before. Its very malty but dry, alcoholic, and I can clearly taste the dark toasted grains I steeped when it was made. As someone mentioned, however, there is no contribution to aroma from hops, which I would have expected on a "normal" brew. It is quite drinkable.

I also uncovered a few cases of old ale (much more recent than the barleywine, however) -- a sweet stout and a nut brown. The former didn't taste great and I dumped it - the latter had a metallic taste and I dumped it.. I mention this because I would dump the barleywine if I thought I should..

That said, perhaps this thread will be useful to other brewers in the future who have left a brew sitting too long.. Their experience may differ from mine or maybe they will get something out of this thread..

Thanks for all your feedback
Respectfully-
T

 

[ADDLED]

Its a bit of a stretch to say "fully exposed" as it was in a glass carboy with stopper & airlock (though dry much of the time)

A dry airlock is pretty much fully exposed. A moot point though since the beer is ok.

 

[tolkheleknar]

Its a bit of a stretch to say "fully exposed" as it was in a glass carboy with stopper & airlock (though dry much of the time) in an undisturbed, cool but controlled part of the house. This wasn't a Belgian open fermentation experiment :>

I did drink a bottle of it the other night and could still sense no off-flavors. I have tasted beers with astringent / metallic off-flavors before. Its very malty but dry, alcoholic, and I can clearly taste the dark toasted grains I steeped when it was made. As someone mentioned, however, there is no contribution to aroma from hops, which I would have expected on a "normal" brew. It is quite drinkable.

This got me wondering:
After 8 years I would imagine a significant fraction of the ethanol may have evaporated away due to the fact that its vapor pressure is significantly higher than that of water. How detectable would you say the alcohol is in the finished product, if at all?

 

[ADDLED]

This got me wondering:
After 8 years I would imagine a significant fraction of the ethanol may have evaporated away due to the fact that its vapor pressure is significantly higher than that of water. How detectable would you say the alcohol is in the finished product, if at all?

Significant fraction = oxymoron. Im not being rude or obtuse, it made me smile. Jumbo shrimp is one of my favourites.

 

[rusty_tlc]

This thread makes me wonder what stale cardboard taste like? For that matter what does fresh cardboard taste like? I've never tried fresh or stale cardboard. I have the means to taste fresh cardboard, but how does one determine if cardboard has gone stale?

 

[ADDLED]

For those that don't have access to the elusive substances that are cardboard, water and time... Leave a wet, muddy pair of football boots and kit in your bag in a warm place for a few days.

It smells like the kid at school who never washed his rugby kit.

 

[jojacques]

Significant fraction = oxymoron. Im not being rude or obtuse, it made me smile. Jumbo shrimp is one of my favourites.

You're not? Because all your replies here make me think the opposite

 

[sweetcell]

Significant fraction = oxymoron.

no it isn't.

1/10,000,000 might be insignificant, while 1/5 is significant. losing one ten-millionth of the alcohol would not be significant while losing 20% of the alcohol would be significant, noticeable, etc.

or are you stating that only wholes/integers are important? "until all the alcohol is gone, none is gone"?

 

[ADDLED]

no it isn't.

1/10,000,000 might be insignificant, while 1/5 is significant. losing one ten-millionth of the alcohol would not be significant while losing 20% of the alcohol would be significant, noticeable, etc.

or are you stating that only wholes/integers are important? "until all the alcohol is gone, none is gone"?

Jeez people, it was only a joke. Lighten up!

 

[TexasWine]

Edit: finished reading thread and saw other folks had chimed in.

 

[didinho]

I'm guessing it will taste horrible.
It would have been fine if the airlock hadn't dried out. Now it will be heavily oxidized, all the hop aromas are pretty much gone and generally beer doesn't age very well. If you're lucky, you might be able to use it on your French fries lol.

hop aromas are not really required in barleywines, and proper oxidation gives sherry/port tastes that are really good in strong beers.