Aging a naturally carbonated ale that was bottled from a keg

Okay, let's see if I can keep this question brief--I have a lot of followup questions that go with this so it may be difficult.

Background: Last year I decided to start doing an annual Birthday Brew Day Barleywine, wherein I'll brew a barleywine each year on my birthday and age it for years to come (for as long as I can keep them in stock...we'll see how long it goes). Last years finished off at 10.1% abv, while this years batch is at 9.7 % or so (currently in the secondary).

Context: I HATE BOTTLING!!! No, seriously, I really f$#%ing hate it!!! So, I keg all of my brews, and occasionally fill bottles from the keg using a technique that prevents oxidation and preserves proper carbonation levels.

More Context: Conventional wisdom says that for a beer to be truly "cellar-worthy", it must be unfiltered and bottle-conditioned so that the living yeast can continue to develop flavors in the beer as the years go by.

Questions:

  1. If I keg the beer, and later bottle just under half of the batch off of the keg, will the beer condition and mature in the same way when I cellar it?

  2. I'm assuming that if I force carb that too much yeast will be knocked out of suspension for it to mature in the same way--is this correct? What's the scientific explanation?

  3. I'm thinking that I'll add priming sugar to the keg, seal it up, let it carbonate naturally, and then bottle some time later. Will this solve the force-carbing problem, assuming there is one?

Topic cellaring kegging aging barleywine techniques homebrew

Category Mac

1
answered at

I personally don't think that natural carbonation or yeast in the bottle have much of anything to do with beer maturation upon cellaring. Yeast obviously plays a critical role in flavor development while making the beer and carbonating it. But I have never heard someone really say that force carbed beer and bottle conditioned beer tasted different.

When the best homebrewers I know use either technique to carbonate beer the beer largely tastes the same. Even for when I have done side by sides with my own beers.

Most pro-brewers filter out the yeast to generate a more shelf stable product, for the near term AND long term. After only a few months in the bottle the yeast is mostly dead or dying. Years later the yeast isn't doing anything to the beer except degrading into the beer.

All the flavor changes that come with time are chemical in nature. Namely oxidative type reactions. And it has little to do with yeast.

SO my take is keg, cold crash for as long as you can and bottle crystal clear barleywine fully carbed and ready to go...or age.

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