2 replies to this topic

[CaptRon]

What I am thinking of doing is brewing up some beers to age for a while. I'm thinking a RIS, a Barleywine, maybe try to get my hands on a wine barrel around here and do a barrel aged Belgian or something.Couple of questions about this:1) Bottle vs. Keg. It is easier to keg for sure, but for long term ageing should I just plan on bottling them? I'm thinking at least a year.2) Is there anything I should plan to do during the brewing knowing that they are going to be aged for extended periods of time, like increase the hop schedule to account for the aroma and bitterness dissipating over time?

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

What I am thinking of doing is brewing up some beers to age for a while. I'm thinking a RIS, a Barleywine, maybe try to get my hands on a wine barrel around here and do a barrel aged Belgian or something.Couple of questions about this:1) Bottle vs. Keg. It is easier to keg for sure, but for long term ageing should I just plan on bottling them? I'm thinking at least a year.2) Is there anything I should plan to do during the brewing knowing that they are going to be aged for extended periods of time, like increase the hop schedule to account for the aroma and bitterness dissipating over time?

I tend to bottle condition beers I intend to age but that's simply b/c I don't want to tie up my kegs. I don't know if there is some other reason to bottle instead of keg though.

[gnef]

I would personally just recommend to purchase extra kegs. This way you still have the normal number of kegs at your disposal for regular duty, and when you are finished with these beers in a couple years, you have more kegs to use.Plus I personally dislike dealing with a multitude of bottles.I would definitely add more bitterness than what you would want to drink if it were 'fresh', maybe upwards of 10-15%, possibly up to 20%, depending on how long you expect to age it for. This will require you to age it long term though, as the samples less than a year will not be balanced. I've been aging a number of beers for over a year, and the bitterness has definitely dropped. I wouldn't even worry about aroma or flavor that much as I don't expect too much in those regards from aged beer.Do you plan on going more than a year?You can also use oak cubes in place of the barrel.