We brewed a barleywine last year and rested it on oak staves too long at it's too woody to drink. I didn't want to toss it all so I was thinking I'd blend it with a fresh batch of beer. But which style should I go with? I could do a fresh BW or a stout, but I was thinking of other styles that might work that can sit for a while since I won't be aiming to drink through it quickly. Old Ale and Ryewine were my first ideas. The Ryewine I could brew sweet and it should cover up the woody bitterness of the BW. The old ale I'm not sure how it would work. Any other styles or suggestions?
Just a thought…… What about picking up some singles of high ABV styles that you're partial to? You could blend samples with your BW in a glass and see if any of the results subdue the ‘woody’ taste enough to make it worth drinking. Then brew a batch of that style and blend the two.
I like the blending at the time of consumption too, but let me ask this: Were the staves straight oak, or were they exposed to spirits or wine when they were part of a barrel and have some residual flavor?
Do you feel that the bourbon flavor is part of the over-powering taste that you need to neutralize? I had that issue once and it was essentially a crappy bourbon flavor that I was never able to overcome. You might have some luck if it's just the wood that you need to blend out, but overcoming the bourbon might be a challenge. Let us know about your success.
Interesting. It's kind of an astringent bitterness so I assumed it was the wood. Will def report back
Is it still waiting to be packaged? If so, transfer off the oak into a a vessel that's been purged with CO2, and pitch some active Brett C, and let it sit another year. Tannins should smooth out, and it will be "vibrant and racy", as the well aged beers of yesteryear were described.
Blending is a good call. I would lean toward a fresh barleywine or a sweeter ryewine since they’ll handle the oak bitterness best and can age well. Old ale could work if you brew it big and malty, but lighter versions might get overwhelmed. Definitely test small blends first before committing a full batch.
So I ended up doing a blending session this weekend with some fresh beer. It's so friggin okay it would have been needed a ratio of 6:1 fresh beer vs the BW. I used a recent homebrew stout to blend it with. I'm sure if it was sweeter maybe the ratio would be better, but at this point I'm thinking it's not worth it. Maybe I'll brew another BW and blend it in, but otherwise I think I just gotta cook with this or toss it.
