Idea for a "one year" beer?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Providence, Jan 27, 2015.

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  1. sergeantstogie

    sergeantstogie Initiate (0) Nov 16, 2010 Washington

    FWIW, In the email I got from Tom Allen, Exec VP of North Coast, Old Stock is ONLY Maris Otter and Fuggles and a long boil. Approximately 3 hours.
     
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  2. hopfenunmaltz

    hopfenunmaltz Pooh-Bah (2,635) Jun 8, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah

    11 lbs is not too far off for a big English BW. Some recipes call for 25 Lbs for a 5 gallon batch, I did a 10 gallon batch this summer with 50 Lbs of malt.
     
  3. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    +1. My highest scoring beer to date was a spiced Old Ale that I aged for over a year, and it was ~6% ABV.
     
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  4. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    “Some recipes call for 25 Lbs for a 5 gallon batch…”

    I suppose it depends on the conversion efficiency an individual achieves. For 75% a total of 25 lbs. for a 5 gallon batch comes out to 1.030 which is beyond the BJCP defined range for an English Barleywine (1,080 – 1.120).

    If I were to homebrew an Englsh Barleywine I would personally shoot for something like 1.100.

    Cheers!
     
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  5. hopfenunmaltz

    hopfenunmaltz Pooh-Bah (2,635) Jun 8, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah

    The target was 1.120, as that was Thaomas Hardy's Ale starting gravity. I got to 1.115, as after 3 hours of boiling I was tired. With that much grain the efficiency is low, and I finally made a decent Small Beer using the second runnings as enough sugar was left behind.
     
  6. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    "With that much grain the efficiency is low..."

    I suspected as much.

    Cheers!
     
  7. hopfenunmaltz

    hopfenunmaltz Pooh-Bah (2,635) Jun 8, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah

    It comes down to how much sugar are you rinsing out. For a big beer you want the high gravity first running so you hit the target without boiling forever. So sugars are left behind, hence the second small beer from the second runnings.
     
  8. Providence

    Providence Pooh-Bah (2,652) Feb 24, 2010 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Hey all, I brewed my one year beer. I ended up going with a variation of what @wspscott outlined.

    This is for a three gallon batch that I did with the "brew in a bag" method

    9 lbs of Marris Otter
    1/2 lbs. of C60
    1/8 lbs. of Chocolate Malt

    1 oz. of EKG @ 120 minutes
    1/2 oz. of EKG @ 60 minutes
    1/2 oz. of Fuggles @ 30 minutes
    1/2 oz. of EKG @ 20 minutes
    1/2 oz. of Fuggles @ 10 minutes

    I made a 1 litre starter with WLP 007

    OG was 1.091

    I'm curious as to how people suggest that I age this beer. Seems like 007 will be done in about five days. I was going to transfer to a secondary after that. If I am indeed going to keep this beer under wraps for a full year, should I do the majority of the aging of this beer in the secondary (like keep it in there until like November or something)? Or should I put it in the secondary for like a month or two, then bottle and leave it bottles for like 9 months?
     
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  9. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Jesse, it is totally OK to bottle your batch once primary fermentation is complete (i.e., you have reached final gravity and there are no perceptible off-flavors of aldehydes, VDKs, fusel oils, etc.) and age within the bottle.

    If you would prefer to keep the beer in a secondary for an extended time that is OK too.

    Basically it is your choice.

    Cheers!
     
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  10. Providence

    Providence Pooh-Bah (2,652) Feb 24, 2010 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks for the quick response!
     
  11. Providence

    Providence Pooh-Bah (2,652) Feb 24, 2010 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks for the feedback again. Seems like my beer is going to fall in the 6.5% abv area too. Any advice for tips/best practices when aging a beer like that for that long?
     
  12. wspscott

    wspscott Pooh-Bah (1,958) May 25, 2006 Kentucky
    Pooh-Bah

    I would not do a secondary, just let it finish in the primary then age in bottles. You might want to try putting half on oak, I have really enjoyed the ones that I did on oak chips once the oak "settled down" (I left it on chips for way too long).

    I don't think you need to do anything special to age a beer like this, just leave them in your closet or basement and come back in a year.
     
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  13. Providence

    Providence Pooh-Bah (2,652) Feb 24, 2010 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks for the response. I'm going to pass on the oak, stuff that's been "oaked" or barrel aged, while interesting isn't as appealing to me as it once was (save for Jack's Abby's BBA Maibock, which was kick ass!).

    Thanks again.
     
  14. OddNotion

    OddNotion Pooh-Bah (1,915) Nov 1, 2009 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    With and OG of 1.091 and using WLP007 I think you are looking at significantly higher than 6.5% abv. I was thinking around 9% depending on certain variables. Regardless, I really like the look of that recipe. Might have to give something like that a shot soon.
     
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  15. Scumbag81

    Scumbag81 Initiate (0) Sep 10, 2014 California
    Trader

    This is pretty evident based upon drinking JW Lees/Thomas Hardy's, but I for some reason, couldn't believe it until I brewed the same type of beer at home. After doing a 100% Halcyon malt barley wine with a 5 hour boil, I was shocked at the malt complexity I picked up from just a single malt, hop and yeast strain.
     
  16. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I would expect that with a 5 hour boil there would be increased Maillard reactions with the resulting formation of melanoidins yielding ‘interesting’ flavors like nutty, toffee, caramel, etc.

    I listened to a podcast with Charlie Bamforth where is he stated that boil lengths greater than 90 minutes can be foam negative. How was your head for your 5 hour boil beer?

    Cheers!
     
  17. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Patience would be my main piece of advice. And maybe minimize (but don't try to eliminate) O2 exposure pre-packaging. I say maybe, because some O2 is needed for some of the reactions happening during aging. So I wouldn't necessarily recommend a closed CO2 transfer, for example, for this beer.
     
  18. Scumbag81

    Scumbag81 Initiate (0) Sep 10, 2014 California
    Trader

    Near zero head; some little bits around the sides of the glass and a bit of lacing on the glass when drinking the non-barrel aged version. The barrel aged one has zero head.

    The imperial stout I made with a 6 hour boil (all base malt mash 6 hour boil, second mash with specialty, roast and crystal malts had a 60 min boil), has much better head retention, but it also has a good deal of crystal malt and a much higher final gravity (~25 pts higher).
     
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  19. Providence

    Providence Pooh-Bah (2,652) Feb 24, 2010 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks, I appreciate it. Just out of curiosity...are beers sealed with wax completely closed off to O2 exposure? Is it even possible to completely close a beer of to O2 exposure? What reactions might happen in a non-waxed bottled that wouldn't in a waxed bottle (or vice versa)?
     
  20. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Any material you put between the atmosphere and the beer will at least slow down (if not eliminate) O2 diffusion across that space. That said, I'm fairly sure wax isn't totally impermeable. But since it would reduce the diffusion of O2, oxidation reactions would be reduced/take longer.
     
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