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Author Topic: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?  (Read 10845 times)

Offline 1vertical

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When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« on: January 20, 2013, 04:40:33 pm »
I mean I have learned my lesson, the thing keeps making great beer

It is cherrylicious goodness.  I however have learned that it owns me
and not the other way around. I need to keep it full ....or waist my efforts
on oxidized yuk....vinegar?

So i need 2 more empty corny kegs and rack the thing empty and ....sell? scrap? burn?
WTF?? is next?  More bugs? Decisions Decisions....what say the masses?
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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2013, 08:42:33 am »
If your really done with it why not drain it, and make a planter.  it'd be a shame though. that was truely cherrylicious goodness
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Offline redbeerman

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2013, 08:48:45 am »
I would try to sell it.  Or you could (heaven forbid) sanitize it and store it for future use.  Of course then you would be starting over with the bugs and all.  And then there are issues with storage as well.  If you don't keep it moist, the wood may split leaving you with a useless planter. :P
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Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2013, 09:34:48 pm »
Why not hit it with sulphur or one of the other methods to fully sanitize the barrel and start over? Innoculate some new wort with the dregs of some homebrew you made in the barrel before cleaning and hope it develops a similar profile.
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Offline 1vertical

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2013, 11:23:39 pm »
I am needing to see where the beer inside this thing has gotten to....
Retire not because of any other reason than I no longer want the thing to own me.
May list it in the classifieds if I ever get it emptied.  May have to sell vinegar...
at least selling vinegar is legal. :'(
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Offline kylekohlmorgen

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2013, 02:13:21 pm »
Don't look a good barrel in the bung... or something like that...

Brewers cherish their favorite barrels for YEARS. Its given you good beers, so keep rolling the dice. If acetobacter ever takes over, THEN get rid of it.
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Offline 1vertical

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #6 on: June 15, 2013, 12:14:08 am »
Ok F.Y.I. I took it to the next universe.  I added Pediococcus and Brett B, Brett C,
Lactobacillus, and some 1.050 Saccramyces fermented wert....a dash of saison and
topped off with 2 gallons of pils extract....it has returned to activity and bubbling
the S bubbler again.....smells like caramel or perhaps pineapple.... :-[ airlock sniffer.

It has been approaching 3 yrs Kyle....
« Last Edit: June 15, 2013, 12:17:53 am by 1vertical »
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Offline jeffy

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #7 on: June 15, 2013, 07:47:17 am »
One of the last competitions I entered I got comments about soy sauce in my solara-based project.  I don't find it myself, but it may be a signal to start fresh.
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Offline AmandaK

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Re: Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #8 on: June 15, 2013, 11:41:08 am »
One of the last competitions I entered I got comments about soy sauce in my solara-based project.  I don't find it myself, but it may be a signal to start fresh.

Where does soy sauce come from? I had that in a recent comp on a Flanders Red. I would have loved to been able to give better feedback on that.
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Offline kramerog

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #9 on: June 15, 2013, 01:29:54 pm »
I think the soy sauce is from autolysis of yeast.

Offline jeffy

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Re: Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #10 on: June 15, 2013, 01:31:28 pm »
One of the last competitions I entered I got comments about soy sauce in my solara-based project.  I don't find it myself, but it may be a signal to start fresh.

Where does soy sauce come from? I had that in a recent comp on a Flanders Red. I would have loved to been able to give better feedback on that.

I think it is mostly from stressed yeast, but it seems to be more common in darker, stronger, roastier beers.  Sometimes it is part of the autolysis flavor, which would make sense in a solara projects since in my carboy there is a 3/4" thick layer of yeast at the bottom and it's about three years old.
Jeff Gladish, Tampa (989.3, 175.1 Apparent Rennarian)
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Offline 1vertical

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #11 on: June 15, 2013, 01:58:29 pm »
I bough a vintage 1950 bottle of burgundy wine for my parent's 50th anniversary.
I am not certain that autolysis of yeast is all that bad of a thing.
This wine had a ring of yeast on the bottom of the punt and I am
pertty sure that it had gone the path of autolysis as the thing was 50 yrs. old.
 It rendered a wonderful Citrus / Lemonny flavor. You would not have known
that the original ferment was from grape must. 

Beer yeast may be different but I am not convinced.
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Offline jeffy

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #12 on: June 15, 2013, 02:11:39 pm »
I bough a vintage 1950 bottle of burgundy wine for my parent's 50th anniversary.
I am not certain that autolysis of yeast is all that bad of a thing.
This wine had a ring of yeast on the bottom of the punt and I am
pertty sure that it had gone the path of autolysis as the thing was 50 yrs. old.
 It rendered a wonderful Citrus / Lemonny flavor. You would not have known
that the original ferment was from grape must. 

Beer yeast may be different but I am not convinced.

Of course a lot of that sediment is just trub that settled out over 50 years and not necessarily dead yeast cells.
Jeff Gladish, Tampa (989.3, 175.1 Apparent Rennarian)
Homebrewing since 1990
AHA member since 1991, now a lifetime member
BJCP judge since 1995

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #13 on: June 15, 2013, 07:18:54 pm »
Isn't soy sauce fermented soy beans, grain, and salt? I wonder if too much salt addition combined with the other malty flavors in beer tricks the palate into soy sauce?

Offline bunderbunder

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Re: When do you RETIRE a barrel or solera?
« Reply #14 on: June 15, 2013, 09:27:19 pm »
There's also Vegemite and Marmite, which are basically just autolysed brewer's yeast and salt.  I think soy sauce is fermented with a mold and not yeast.

Not that it makes much difference; they just taste like a richer soy sauce.