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Author Topic: Ageing times  (Read 1351 times)

Offline jaftak22

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Ageing times
« on: August 04, 2015, 08:02:14 pm »
When brewing bigger beers such as a wee heavy ( planning to brew ) what is the general rule of thumb for leaving in a fermentor? I don't have much experience with bigger beers such as this or barley wines.

Is it better to leave this sitting in a carboy for three or four weeks? Or do I wanna just bottle after fermentation is over? Curious about this for other big beer styles as well such as an imperial IPA

Offline santoch

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Re: Ageing times
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2015, 08:39:42 pm »
I wouldn't even consider taking a big beer like wee heavy or barleywine out of the primary in less than 3 weeks.  Even then, I'd age it in either a bright tank or a keg for at least another month before (re)kegging and carbonating and setting aside to mellow out.

Folks are always in a huge hurry but in my experience, keeping patient always improves my beers greatly. 

my .02-
Steve
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BJCP GM3/Mead Judge

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Ageing times
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2015, 08:51:55 pm »
I agree.  I don't even touch a beer like that for four weeks.  Then check gravity.  Then give it a week and check again.

Age it in the keg for as long as you can.  Taste it occasionally, or regularly.

I'm just now polishing off some old ale that's maybe from 2013 or so.  I wasn't so happy with it back then, or even back at Christmas.  But it's damn tasty now as the keg is running out.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline jaftak22

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Re: Ageing times
« Reply #3 on: August 04, 2015, 09:08:44 pm »
I would love to keg at some point in my life. But for now I take the time to bottle. It is a pain sometimes but hey its one less thing to worry about.  So bottle conditioning is where I'm at.

How long does it take for the yeast to eat all of those sugars? I thought that the fermentation might last only a couple more days than a regular ale. I am not planning to go over 1.099 as of yet.  I just thought that the 2-3 weeks after fermentation was for maturing

Offline hobbitfu

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Re: Ageing times
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2015, 05:32:13 am »
The part that can be difficult to judge with strong beers is whether the yeast can still even process the priming sugar. I made a 10% imperial stout that carbed fine (WLP007) and a 10.5% Belgian Tripel that never did carb much (Fermentis Abbaye yeast). If the yeast flocs out really well it may be necessary to use a small amount of fresh yeast at bottling.

In both of those cases I bottled after 3 to 4 (probably closer to 4) weeks.

Offline majorvices

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Re: Ageing times
« Reply #5 on: August 05, 2015, 05:48:08 am »
yeah, 3 - 4 weeks after fermentation is over usually does the trick. They often tend to get better as they age as well. I brew small batches of barley wines just for me that I ferment in 5 gallon buckets then age for a year in corny keg before bottling.

Offline jaftak22

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Re: Ageing times
« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2015, 02:55:46 pm »
Another question with this beer. So with bigger beers is it better to start at lower temps and then bring up a few degrees to make sure it finishes

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Ageing times
« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2015, 03:08:54 pm »
Yeah, it's good to start fermentation on most big beers at a low temp. This is because the heat generated by a big beer is several degrees more than the heat generated by a 1.050 beer. I pitch most big beers at 60F and hold 62F for a week, then maybe ramp up a degree or two/day up to the low 70s  and hold until FG is reached. I usually leave a big beer in primary for a month before even opening to check. It'll be at FG by then if you do these things. And use lots of yeast per Mr Malty or similar and a LOT of aeration.
Jon H.