Second Barrel Aged Pale Ale

4 months in barrel, 2+ months in keg, 1 great beer

9 Gallon Batch - Pale Ale - Barrel Aged (2nd in Barrel)

March 24, 2013

See first barrel Ale here.

lbs        Malts
2          Cara-red
1          British 30L
1          British Pale
3.5 oz   British 55L
1 oz      Black Barley Roasted
0.5       Crystal 40L
20        2-Row

OG 1.069

FG 1.009

ABV 8% (final product estimated to be about 9% with barrel residue)

The Boil

2 oz  Magnum (H)  65 mins 

2 oz  Simcoe (H), Coild,Tablet 20 mins
2 oz         Columbus (P) 10 mins
2 oz         Chinook (P)  10 mins

Mash 150F
Yeast Saf 05

Barreled on April 11, 2013
Kegged on August 10, 2013 (122 days in barrel)

Notes:

- Angels took about 5 pints of beer from the batch over 3 months.
- Barrel was not held at a low temperature. House got upwards of 80F for about 3 weeks. Oak I think rescued this beer.

- the change in temp actually created a very complex beer and transformed this into something special. This is quite amazing since after the first few weeks in the barrel the high house temperatures created a harsh caramely beer. During the 4 months in the barrel plus two+ months in keg this beer is smooth, okay, a bit caramel on the palette. It's very different than the first batch in this barrel. Most striking is that this batch is light on the rye flavours.
- Bottles for angels turned very dark with strong caramel flavour
- Keg flavour was more mellow and not caramel-like
- Taste was very nice and dry, nice after flavour of rye
- Hops were not as fresh as I like them. They added less to the beer than expected. This turned out more like a strong Pale Ale with some Rye flavours. Not bad.

Apr 11, 2014 - This beer has had quite the trip. Originally the was in the barrel during summer which seemed too high a temp. It came out way to caramely but started to mellow after a few months. Note the rye is more pronounced. Overall this has turned into a winner but it took time. Compared to the first in barrel this is more mellow but still in the same family.