An update of my barrel project. The second beer in the barrel was an imperial Porter just racked out of the barrel after a month. I continuously topped it up with the barley wine. The barley wine is maturing in the keg nicely. I recharge the keg after I push some of it into the barrel. It’s starting to take on a cask like carbonation. I’ll just let it sit now and steal a taste now and again untill I bottle some. I just put a strong doppelbock in the barrel which will stay in there awhile until my triple is ready to transfer. The BW and IP will also be split and blended. A little will be used to dose my solera project also.
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This project sounds amazing…
Time for an update. Since it’s winter warmer time I have to rejuvenate the barrel. I left it over the summer with some bourbon in it. Kept rotating it end to end and poured water on the heads to keep it sealed. Today I rinsed it with boiling water. The bourbon evaporated but it still had a strong bourbon smell so I think it’s alright. Added some more bourbon to get it ready. The last of the barleywine got blended into a ESB that I’ll tap shortly I did bottle some straight up. The last o the trip is pouring now needed aging. I befriended a local roaster and may do a collaboration coffee Porter
When you add bourbon to the barrel, don’t forget to add bourbon to the brewer as well.
Bought a bottle of Evan Williams 1783 for the barrel and a bottle of bulleit for myself. Couldn’t resist the Tattoo edition bottle
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You know after washing the keg the brewery smells like fresh oak. Awesome
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At one point I was ready to give up on the barrel but have since decided to give it another go. I’ll run another series through it. The triple has finally aged into a nice beer. What originally tasted like a astringency has actually turned into a tart sweetness that is nice the alcohol has mellowed also. A couple takeaways. I’ll only leave it in the barrel 4 or 5 days and not going to brew such strong beer
So, the infusion flavors takes some time to come of age? Sneezles61
Yes it does
