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Long term aging

Post #1 made 13 years ago
by Two If By Sea
Ok, so I am 2 weeks into the ferment of my RIS that I am going to age for 5 years. What things can I do to help successfully aging that long?
The specifics:
OG: 1.104
IBU: 111
FG:TBD
Right now it sits in a 6 gallon betterbottle.
  • Normally I would bottle this after 4 weeks in primary. Since this is going to age, bulk aging would be a better idea for a bit? How long?
  • Bulk age on the yeast or transfer to secondary? When?
  • Would it make sense to drop campden tablets in this at some point to kill off any wild yeasts or bacteria? I could then add in new yeast at bottling time. What is the best way to get the new yeast (assume dry) mixed into the beer solution if this is a viable idea?
My bottling plan:
  • Scrub bottles with bottle brush and place into rubbermaid bin full of oxiclean solution.
  • Soak bottles overnight
    *Inspect each bottle as I transfer into a rubbermaid bin full of iodophor solution.
  • Soak bottle tree components in iodophor along with bottles while getting everything set to bottle.
  • Soak bottling bucket, spigot, and bottle wand while getting everything set to bottle.
  • Set up bottle bucket, running the iodophor solution through the spigot and wand as well as my autosiphon.
  • Using autosiphon, transfer beer onto priming sugar solution after boiling it for 15 minutes in 1 pint of water. Cover with clean towel and set up for bottling.
  • Remove bottles from iodophor, drain on the bottle rack, when tree is full begin bottling.
  • Use oxygen absorbing caps. (Would I soak this in my vinator like normal caps while I bottle?)
  • Wax caps. (is cheese wax used?)
  • Age 3 weeks upstairs in house ~60-70 F normally.
  • Move to basement. Winter temps ~40-60F summer temps ~60-70F
  • Sample 3 months into the bottle, June 2011, June 2012, June 2013, June 2014, enjoy starting June 2015. (if an infection becomes evident at early tasting, start drinking the stuff.)
Any problems or any other advice?
TIA
Last edited by Two If By Sea on 20 Nov 2010, 23:51, edited 5 times in total.
Blog: http://littlehouseonthesandpit.wordpress.com/
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Post #3 made 13 years ago
by stux
Yes, I'm not sure how quickly,

Jack Keller's wine site had a lot of info on it. I think he also said most commercial yeasts are resistant to the sulphites, so they wipeout the bacterias and wild yeasts, but the yeast you innocuoate with doesn't mind
Fermenting: -
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III

5/7/12

Post #4 made 13 years ago
by Two If By Sea
Hrmph, fermentation stuck. First time ever. OG 1.104 @ 11/6 SG 1.045 @ 11/21 ~57% attenuation I added some yeast nutrient, sanitized the end of my spoon, stirred up the yeast cake, and heated the swamp cooler up to 75F to see if I could kick start it. No go. 11/22 cooled down to 65F and pitched a packet of S-05. Think that'll do it? Wonder what happened, never had a stuck fermentation...but never done that high an OG with a beer.
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Post #5 made 13 years ago
by EoinMag
I'd have said Campden is a good idea to soak up any oxygen that gets in there anytime that you rack, otherwise with that long of a keeper you'll have problems with oxidation.
The trick would be to let it sit under airlock for a few weeks after the campden is added to allow the sulphites to off-gas again which they will do with time.
I would be extremely careful about not getting oxygen into the beer or it will not age very well.

I recently drank a beer that I gave to a disabled mate of mine a year ago, it was up high and he couldn't reach it from his wheelchair so it's lasted.
It was good, just as good as it was a year ago when I first made it, I was actually surprised as it was my first attempt at an extract beer and it worked out very well and has aged well also.
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Post #6 made 13 years ago
by PistolPatch
Wow, what an ambitious project 2XC - good on you!

The only thing I can offer here is to echo Eoin's thoughts :salute:. Campden soaks up oxygen. The only reason I know this is a brewer over here always adds Campden to his cool strike water to prevent HSA. He is the only brewer though I have heard of that does this so maybe it is a case of once bitten, twice shy?

Oh and one other thing, just read your stuck fermentation post...

If you think your fermentation is stuck, it may not be. Have a read here for a trick on monitoring the progress of your fermentation.

Also, taste your wort.

I have no experience in high gravity beers but maybe this isn't silly advice???

Sometimes I think tasting wort can be a lot more accurate than a small sample on a refractometer slide or in a hydrometer jar. I remember in my earlier days of brewing waiting for a Scwartzbier to move from 1.022 or thereabouts down to 1.010. It never did and neither did the subsequent ones. 1.015 seemed to be the common ground for my ever-expanding range of measuring equipment on that beer and quite a few others :lol:.

Now though, I am confident to just observe the, "hydrometer side-by-side to the brew," (as linked above) or, if I am worried for any reason, taste the wort.

My palate is, in no way, 'clever,' so tasting wort once we think it has fermented is probably not a bad practice for all of us???

Thanks for the fascinating read 2XC. I always admire you guys that venture into these beers I would never dream of. I am scared of anything over 6% ABV :lol:
PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 23 Nov 2010, 21:28, edited 5 times in total.
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Post #7 made 13 years ago
by Two If By Sea
I tasted the sample, I think the BU:GU is still off. In theory I should have 111 IBU with a BU:GU of 1.1 but the sweetness is still stronger than the bitter. Also low attenuation. It could be just a slow sucker, hope the S-05 kicks it off. I think I may rack into a secondary after 6 weeks in the primary and put some campden in there. I'll let it bulk age for a couple weeks to a couple months in the 50s. Then I'll bottle the stuff, adding in fresh yeast, then tuck it away in a dark corner and forget about it.
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Post #8 made 13 years ago
by dick
You beer is around 8% alcohol now. I have been looking for the alcohol tolerance for US-05 but I haven't been able to find it (and lunch is over). That's my reservation about adding US-05 - it might help a bit but may not ferment to beer out as far as you want it to. Maybe a more alcohol tolerant yeast??

Edit - just found out that its tolerance is quoted as 12% so you should be OK.

Post #10 made 13 years ago
by Two If By Sea
I use a siphon with a venturi in it for aeration. Then I shook the carboy too. Yeast nutrient and servomyces went in on top of 1/2 an S-04 yeast cake (shush PP). I added yeast nutrient twice and gently swirled up the yeast daily. Huge fermentation and blowoff. One thing I think it may be is an oxygen deficiency perhaps?

Would the champagne yeast dry the beer out too much?
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Post #13 made 13 years ago
by stux
I don't know, but I think, if I were going to try an RIS or similar big beer I might look into a pure O2 oxygenation system. A finely timed burst of O2 before pitching should get the perfect oxygenation rate
Fermenting: -
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III

5/7/12
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