[fredthecat]

not the first time ive brewed one like this, but just thought i'd throw it out to see if any of you very experienced guys and gals have key pointers on making a very strong beer last a very long time and still be great. ?

[Skeeter686]

Zymurgy had an article in the March / April 2022 issue that covered barrel aging and very high ABV stouts.  Might be insightful.

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[pete b]

Whenever I make a high gravity beer my main concern is under attenuation. To insure against that I make a portion of my grist a simple sugar in some form such as plain or turbinado sugar, candi syrup, maple syrup, honey, or invert syrup. I pitch extra healthy yeast appropriate to the style, avoiding yeasts known to struggle with attenuation. Then I usually bump up the temperature a few days into fermentation and shake the fermenter a few times during fermentation. Oh, I use yeast nutrient where normally I don’t just as an extra precaution.
Even though I mostly keg I bottle condition high gravity beers and spring for the oxygen scavenging caps although I don’t know for sure that makes a difference. I assume that unless you live in an apartment that being in Canada you have a nice cold and dark area in your cellar to store it. That’s the key I think. I tend to use smallish brown bottles for these beers.

[fredthecat]

thanks guys

re: attenuation, yes that is definitely the number one thing that comes to mind

i guess to add from my own experiences: ive had a modus operandi of using dry yeast and just multiple packs for very big beers because it cuts out the need for pure o2 oxygenation or building up a huge quantity of yeast from a starter beer.

so far Bry97 is the dry-yeast king from my perspective of making consistently great high ABV beers. huge blowoff though.

yes, theres definitely a need for at least some simple sugar. i tend to use dextrose because i feel like i get good results with it and it is nearly the price of table sugar from my LHBS.

the next beer i do though i want to be careful on how much simple sugar and perhaps the mashing, i dont want it to get too low.

[dannyjed]

In my experience, bottle conditioning beers instead of filling from a keg makes a huge difference. I make a Barleywine every year for the past 15 years or so and I always bottle them. One year I decided to fill bottles from a keg and one year I used a beer gun. Both of those beers were basically un-drinkable at the one year mark. I tasted a 6 year old one last weekend that was bottle conditioned and it was delicious. I even had one that was 10 years old that was bottle conditioned and it was drinkable, but a little past it’s prime.


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[fredthecat]

In my experience, bottle conditioning beers instead of filling from a keg makes a huge difference. I make a Barleywine every year for the past 15 years or so and I always bottle them. One year I decided to fill bottles from a keg and one year I used a beer gun. Both of those beers were basically un-drinkable at the one year mark. I tasted a 6 year old one last weekend that was bottle conditioned and it was delicious. I even had one that was 10 years old that was bottle conditioned and it was drinkable, but a little past it’s prime.

yes, i think that was one of the big things i wanted to discuss - oxidation. i just bottle still (lol, but am finally going to get a keg for everyday type beers), but i think i didnt do the greatest job handling/packaging the one very big beer i have right now of 12.5%, its about 8 months old now and to be honest already it has some stale characteristics, the malt seems to have faded somehow.

[duncan]

There was a seminar at Homebrew Con 2022 called "High Gravity: Pro Techniques for Homebrewers." The recording is available to AHA members on HomebrewersAssociation.org.

I copied the seminar description below:

This seminar takes a deep dive into the world of high-gravity brewing, beginning with an explanation of the science, and following through with detailed explorations of technique, recipe design, and equipment choice. Topics include changes in mashing, sparging, and lautering; the use of adjuncts; yeast stress, nutrients, starters, and alcohol tolerance; and more. Acquired in formal brewing education, this information has been filtered through practical application in both professional and homebrewing experiences. Vieewers will leave with a better understanding of the science and process, as well as direct, actionable techniques for creating great high-gravity brews.