Triumvirate (BBA Wee Heavy)

"Triumvirate". This beer was inspired from the very first BBA Wee heavy I ever had from Voodoo Brewing CO. from Meadville Pa. (Tenacious Wee eagle rare barrel aged). This recipe was brewed on 3 different systems, 5 gallons each, to fill our 15 gallon Dads Hat Rye Whiskey Barrel. ( I split this barrel with 2 friends). After an email to voodoo the only advice they would release was that they boil for 5 hours. We decided to go with a 3 hour vigorous boil instead because we're lazy. Here's the specifics.

Target OG- 1.112
Target FG- 1.026
76% AA
~11.5% ABV
Wyeast Scottish ale yeast starter per Mr. Malty.
Ferment at 64 for a couple days then gradually raise temp up a degree a day until 70 degrees is reached. Keep there until a stable FG is reached. (10-12 days is plenty).

MALT
98% Marris Otter
2% Roasted Barley

HOPS
38IBU's of EKG at 60 minutes.


After primary fermentation was completed (~10 days). The beers were racked into the Barrel. In a fresh 15 gallon barrel the beer tastes incredibly good at 1 month old. After 1.5 months the beer was taken out. Probably could have went further but lots of nice vanillin/spice pulled from the wood. This beer has totally made me a believer of barrels. No way to get that complex burnt sugar/vanilla/coconut/cinnamon notes without a barrel. So happy with my experience with this barrel me and my buddies are gonna order another. I've had homebrew'd beers with oak cubes soaked with 23 year old pappy van winkle. Trust me the bourbon brand doesn't matter. You will not get barrel character from cubes. Barrels cannot be duplicated with cubes ( I can't speak to spirals tho). Go to keystone homebrew and get you one of these bad boys!!