Brewing a HUGE Barrel-Aged Pastry Stout in a 5 Gallon Barrel | Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

[@jonthebeau4653]

Sounds like a couple great beers that were a lot if work. I love taking on these types of brewing projects they're expensive but worth it.

[@brosodabrewing]

Sick B-roll. Especially loved the rotating light over the barrel in the dark lol the vanilla variant sounds like itd be right up my alley

[@secretlevel5951]

That shot was definitely a good idea, but once YT was done rendering it's all dark and pixelated... I think I gotta brighten those up. B-rolls are so fun, but I think I gotta incorporate more footage into the talking points so I'm not just rambling for 12 minutes straight 😂

[@rivrivrivera2916]

Man you do great videos , very intelligently done .

[@secretlevel5951]

Thank you, friend!

[@ulissessanchez6832]

Maybe you should make a video on how to rehydrate and sanitize the barrel and after barrel aging are you transferring to a fermenter to add adjuncts?

[@secretlevel5951]

I do my best to get freshly dumped barrels so I don't need to rehydrate (and have a beer ready when one comes out), but most breweries will add adjuncts to the brite tank (stainless tank), so I just use a fermenter in my case. I'm not sure what the impacts are of aging beer on adjuncts for an extended period of time...

[@ulissessanchez6832]

@@secretlevel5951 where do you get your barrels from. I’ve been interested in barrel aging stouts for quite a while know but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

[@secretlevel5951]

@@ulissessanchez6832 usually Midwest Barrel Co or BarrelsDirect, whoever seems to have good inventory of fresher 5-10 gal barrels.

[@haydenhollenbaugh302]

🤘🤘🤘 sounds amazing. I have a 10 gallon barrel prepped and ready for a 13% stout next week. 🤞

[@secretlevel5951]

Nice! Perfect size to do 5 gal split batches!

[@emmetleahy]

Those look really fantastic. Nothing better than a good stout in my opinion.

[@mikofbm]

Personally, I soak my cut vanillas in Bourbon and oak chips for several months and add them in secondary. Within a few weeks the taste is there.

[@TheVindalloo]

Those beers look fantastic. I'm having such problems brewing a stout that meets my expectations. Wish I could taste those especially the vanilla as I'm not a big coconut fan

[@dudestewbrews]

Some dark hard hitters there my friend. Little... did I say a little, I mean waaaay darker than I usually like to go, but I have mad respect for the process and the patience. As for the missing head, did the beer seem like it had carbonation still? Wonder if maybe that had a role in the missing head?

[@secretlevel5951]

Oh yeah, definitely carbed to a healthy 2.6ish volumes. There's a little head that shows when poured, and then poof! It may have oxidized a little in the transfer process...

[@OriginalFallofMind]

Ive scorched a weizenbock and caramelize about every beer. Just did a brut ipa that was crystal almost white through mash and boil( 1.056 preboil ) It was beautiful. After transferring it to the fermenter, it was brown with ridiculous globs of protein. 😂 I use whirflock, whirlpool and usually strain but this fermenters mouth was not big enough and i didn't want to screw with the hop oils. About to go back to gas. Electrics kettles are not convenient.

[@secretlevel5951]

Dang, ok, good and bad eh! I think a caramelized barleywine would be awesome, or maybe a beer that needs a decoction like Helles or Czech beers. The good thing about most systems is you can turn down the power to reduce the scorch/caramelization levels. But there's definitely pros and cons.

[@christopherulrey3832]

Can you add the weight of grains and hop schedule? I'm thinking about giving this a go

[@secretlevel5951]

It really depends on your system's efficiency and if it can even fit 40+ pounds of grain, but here's the recipe. Hops is just one bittering addition at 60 min. share.brewfather.app/UkTMaRnSC45Ds5

[@piojito818]

By any chance you have the lbs instead of the % for this recipe? Or how can I convert the % into lbs?

[@secretlevel5951]

Hey bud, you usually want to add these recipes into your recipe building software like Brewfather or Brewers Friend, they're both free. They'll also help you figure out your efficiency and IBUs.

[@piojito818]

@secretlevel5951 cool thanks, I guess im going with brewfather since it's easier to used, trying to make a nice stout so I can split it and try different things.

[@secretlevel5951]

@@piojito818 I love Brewfather too, no app needed, you can access recipes on computer and phone. Split batches are awesome, too!

[@GavM]

Hey. You got me! Have ordered the ingredients and am going to brew this. doing a small 10L batch. I couldn't get honey malt here in the UK so went for Melanoidin as a substitute. Have an R.O system so can match your water profile too :-). I can't barrel age sadly but that's fine. Will add cacao nibs and vanilla pods. Any suggestions / tweaks you'd suggest? I'll keep you posted. Thanks!!

[@GavM]

Gotta admit... I'm a little concerned about the colour. 211.8 EBC! Is it overly roasty in any way?

[@secretlevel5951]

​@@GavM haha yep, EBC sounds about right. The roast level is great for ~1.058 FG and 4-5 months conditioning/barrel time. If you think you may not hit those levels, I'd reduce the roast a little. With that, I really liked how this beer came out, I honestly wouldn't change a thing other than maybe trying some different adjuncts for fun next time. If you beer finishes drier than this, you can always dissolve some lactose before bottling or in keg. PS. If you bottle this, you may need extra bottling yeast because you'll max out the original yeast at 11-12%.

[@GavM]

@@secretlevel5951 thanks for the reply. Should be fine hitting the numbers. I’ll go for it! :-)

[@GavM]

Well. Life got in the way but I finally brewed this today. Did an overnight mash. Sparged like hell today. Got 15L @ 1.145. Soooooo thick. Mashed at 74c / 165f in the hope of the ferment kicking out at around 1.070. I'm after a sweet and chewy mouthfeel. WIll keep you posted. Thanks again for the inspiration!

[@secretlevel5951]

@@GavM Hell yes! Nicely done on hitting that OG, did you use any extract in the end? Hopefully the overnight mash added some extra fermentability. I'm not sure what sort of impact that mash temp will have, but hopefully it'll work out!

[@dmott9750]

How long was your boil? Thanks

[@secretlevel5951]

About 2 hours from what I remember.