Perpetual Blending

[FL_ABG_brewer77]

So my idea is that i'll brew a beer (probably either a stout or a barely wine) and I'll let it age for a year. Approx 2 weeks before batch #1 is a year old, i'll brew batch #2. And I'll repeat this cycle year after year. Each time I'll pull an equal amount of each vintage and blend them together. So basically after 5 years, I'll have a beer that's a blend of beers that are ages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5). Has anyone thought about doing something like this or has anyone attempted this and if so what issues did you run into, besides lacking patience to not touch the beers til they are ready.

 

[Sammy86]

This is a great idea! Never done it myself but it does sound like an interesting project!

I personally wouldn't have the patience or time(got twins and a son all under 4) but definitely sounds cool.

This would be a great place to document the project as well!

 

[day_trippr]

A solera. With a long interval

Cheers!

 

[VikeMan]

As @day_trippr said, this is basically a solera.

The soleras I've seen have been barrel projects incorporating bacteria and brett.

Here's an article with a bit of information on beer specific "soleras."
http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Solera

 

[FL_ABG_brewer77]

@day_trippr - my understanding is a solera is done in barrels and for sour styles of beer and the beer actual ferments from yeasts picked up in the barrel. If i do any barrel aging i'll probably just use wood chips soaked in my favorite whiskey, bourbon, or rum.

 

[mashpaddled]

@day_trippr - my understanding is a solera is done in barrels and for sour styles of beer and the beer actual ferments from yeasts picked up in the barrel. If i do any barrel aging i'll probably just use wood chips soaked in my favorite whiskey, bourbon, or rum.

They can and are done for non-sour beer. The Bruery, for example, uses a solera process with their annual beers which are a clean strong ale. They do use barrels but the beer isn't sour.

The big challenge for you will be controlling oxidation. As you rack beer/wort in and out of the vessel you either need to move liquid under CO2 or trigger a new fermentation in the vessel as you rack in to take up the oxygen brought in by racking between vessels. Adding a small amount of priming sugar will be sufficient to do the trick.