Aging Barleywine - Temp

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3GumsBrewing

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I have a American barleywine nearly finished in primary, I am going to split it into two batches, one on French oak chips the other with nothing.
The question is what temp should I age these beers at? It's bloody hot here at the moment, will that matter if I leave the carboys in the cupboard? Or should I make room in the fermenting fridge and set it to a specific temp?
 
I assume you mean aging in secondary as opposed to in bottles. Yeah ideally ~15 degrees. What's the ambient temp of your house? If they were in the low 20's it's probably not the end of the world.
 
ive got a barley wine going at the moment - im keeping it in a big cooler bag and changing 2L ice bottles each day - keeps it round 20 in this weather
 
ive got a barley wine going at the moment - im keeping it in a big cooler bag and changing 2L ice bottles each day - keeps it round 20 in this weather

This suggestion may sound a bit out there - but if you have an area in your back yard (In shade if possible), dig a hole, put the esky (Or whatever you want to keep the beverage in) place esky in ground and cover with weather proof wood/iron etc. The ambient ground temp (Even during summer) will keep it under 16c year round...just remember where you put it - and tell the kids 'don't touch' (Which generally means it could be a beacon that they will hang around and play with).
Might be a bit hard if you want to age in a secondary fermenter though...I have used this for bottle conditioning..
 
Thanks for the reply guys, I reckon I will put them in the cooler box with a couple of frozen bottles, I only did a half batch so it is 2 5L demijohns, want to age them for a good 6-9 months. It smells great already.
Wombles your suggestion was a rippa, but my labrador and 3 yo daughter would consider it their mission in life to unearth the fermenter :lol:
Cheers
DK
 
Under the house (assuming you're not on a slab)

I recently put a half a batch of RIS under the house, in order to forget about it for a year or two. I figure even during those protracted Melbourne summer scorchers, it's not going to get superheated (unlike my brick garage), and has the added advantage of being a pain in the arse to get to, so I wont be tempted to just grab one of my diminishing stash when I'm already half cut.
 
:icon_offtopic: I think it is perhaps the nicest piece of irony/subtle humour I've seen for a long time that Mr Wombles digs holes in the ground to age beer. Please understand I am not taking the piss or saying it is a bad idea; it is exactly what Great Uncle Bulgaria or Orinoco would do! Awesome stuff. I love it. :icon_cheers:
 

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