Barrels, Foeders, Wood Fermentation & Aging. · 2019. 11. 18. · This is often referred to as...
Transcript of Barrels, Foeders, Wood Fermentation & Aging. · 2019. 11. 18. · This is often referred to as...
Barrels, Foeders, Wood Fermentation & Aging.
BY CHRIS MEADOWS, BREWMASTER @ ELKMONT EXCHANGE,
KNOXVILLE TN
Why ferment/age on wood?
In modern day, the intention of fermenting/aging beer on wood is
to impact the character and flavor of the beer in a desired
manner.
This process should yield a more complex and unique product
than before its transformation.
Why ferment/age on wood?
What type of influences are we talking about?
- original/natural
- toast, char (ranging from light to heavy)
- secondary characteristics like wine, ports, or spirits
Wine has a softer profile, which allows yeast or grains to shine, while
spirits like bourbon may be overpowering and a dominant contributor.
Why ferment/age on wood?
Oak is full of many flavorful and aromatic compounds and chemicals
that, when added to beer, create another level of depth and
complexity.
Why ferment/age on wood?
- Some styles of beer are better suited for aging vs others
- Not all wood aged beers are high gravity
- Some people view wood as the fifth major ingredient in beer making
- Wood presents an ideal breeding ground for wild yeast and bacteria
Why ferment/age on wood?
Set intention. If you’re going for a clean beer with no additional
fermentation, the barrels may need to be steamed for sanitation purposes.
If you’re going for a wild or sour beer, wild yeasts and/or bacteria may
need to be selected for a secondary fermentation to begin.
Why ferment/age on wood?
- Brewers favor oak as the primary wood used for producing barrels for its:
- Strength
- Resistance to decay
- Water tight, yet slightly porous to air
- Relatively high level of tannins
The right amount of tannins can add bitterness and mouthfeel. Too much
can be harsh. Oak isn’t necessarily the best in every situation, but in terms of availability and consistent quality, it’s a winner.
Why ferment/age on wood?
A few examples are:
- Furfural, which lends caramel sweetness
- Eugenol, which is clove-like
- Vanillin, the most recognizable flavor, tastes and smells like vanilla
- Lipids, which constitute the oils, fats and waxes found in the wood, are
responsible for oak lactones, which lend coconut and aromatic wood
flavors.
These are the basic flavors found in all types of oak, and the ones we as
brewers are looking for.
Ways to age
There are many ways to age your beer including the use of barrels,
puncheons, foeders, chips, spirals and staves.
This is often referred to as cooperage
Barrels & Puncheons
A barrel, cask or tun is a water tight hollow container made of staves
bound by wooden or metal hoops
Barrels & Puncheons
Barrels & Puncheons
Barrels & Puncheons
Barrels & Puncheons
Foeders
A foeder is a Dutch word referring to a large wooden barrel set on
end used for either long term fermentation or primary fermentation and
inoculations. Sometimes spelled foudre, foedre
A foeder can range in size from home brewer to commercial scale. Foeders
allow a slow ingress of oxygen into the beer that is easily supervised with the
tasting valve.
Foeders
The high beer to wood ratio allows the beer to mature and
develop whereas smaller barrels may progress sooner which may
lead to over-acidification before the beer is fully developed.
Foeders
Foeders also allow for greater capacity compared to the footprint
barrels take up.
Because the beer is coming from one vessel, you will have a more
consistent and reproducible product.
Foeders will also save on time and labor compared with racking multiple
barrels or pulling multiple nails when sampling.
The world's largest
foeder belongs to the brewers of
the aperitif Byrrh, in France.
Though no longer operative, it
once held up to 1 million liters,
and required 200 trees over the
course of 18 years to complete.
Foeders
Foeders
Foeders
Foeders
Foeders
Chips, spirals and staves
Oak chips are an effective way of modifying and adding flavor to your
beer or wine - and chips are far cheaper and easier to manage than
buying new or used oak barrels.
Remember, chips float! Most brewers place chips into a clean sterile
hop bag and weigh the bag down with something heavy and inert.
Fitting a bag full of chips inside a secondary might not necessarily be
easy depending on what you use for a secondary vessel. Some people
add extra chips to barrels, while some utilize a stainless tank with a
man-way door.
Wood aged vs barrel aged
A lot of people use the term interchangeably. The simple difference is
that wood aged can also include chips, staves and spirals whereas barrel
aged implies the use of an actual barrel, puncheon or foeder.
Stored vs Aged beer – technically all beer rested in a wooden vessel or on
oak chips is aging with the intention to welcome changes and
transformations, whereas beer that is stored is typically in stainless
containers like kegs with no intention of further evolution of the product.
Wood aged vs barrel aged
How to increase extraction from the wood
- temperature
- time
- recirculation
- pressure
- surface area
Time: time impacts wood aging in a simple manner. The longer the beer is
contact with the wood, the more impact the wood has on the character
of the beer.
Temperature: temperature swings allow the wood to “breathe,” which
draws the liquid into the pores of the wood and out of them based on
when it is warm or cold outside of the barrel.
Recirculation: recirculation for the most part only happens in tanks or
totes, and is a form of agitation to achieve a stronger flavor transfer.
Wood aged vs barrel aged
Surface area: The surface to volume ratio gets smaller as the size of the
barrel increases. As the size of the barrel increases, there is less liquid
actually in contact with the wood.
Pressure: when pressure increases, flavor extraction increases.
Wood aged vs barrel aged
A good practice in wood aging beer is blending.
- Blending allows the brewer an opportunity to choose which characteristics
to highlight. For instance in sour beer, blending is often used to mix highly
acidic beers with less acidic beers.
- Blending also allows the brewer to have an opportunity for better
consistency. For instance, if releasing a barrel aged beer each year, the
brewer can choose to blend young vs older aged beers to work the product
towards a consistent brand identity.
- In some circles, blending is viewed as the most important process of aging
on wood. One bad apple could in fact ruin the entire bunch.
Blending
How often can a barrel be used?
- Typically most barrels are used only once or twice before being retired,
although this is not always the case. Keeping a stash of older barrels is a
great way to begin a sour program.
- Foeders and puncheons are often used for several generations, especially
in wild programs where yeast and bacteria can live in the wood and restart
fermentation when filled again.
- Even when barrels are done with beer, they often find secondary uses as
rain barrels, decoration, furniture or garden beds.
Blending
- it’s best to use freshly emptied barrels.
- If the barrel has been emptied a long time it may need to be opened up
and scraped. Scraping the inside will remove blisters, crystal deposits and
other debris that may be undesired.
Prepping
sulfur dioxide – sulfur sticks which burn like incense inside a barrel, will act as a
disinfectant to stave off a variety of unwanted microbes that might be native
to the wood.
Prepping
potassium metibisulfite & citric acid - The metibisulfite releases sulfur dioxide
into the water and the Citric Acid increases the amount of SO2 in solution by
lowering the pH of the water.
Lowering the pH can also keep out unwanted microorganisms. This solution
will keep the barrel sound
*When you treat a barrel in this manner, you will be stripping some of the oak
flavor from the wood.
Prepping
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
https://www.westernsquare.com/barrel-racks-breweries-1/
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
https://www.gwkent.com/bulldog-barrel-transfer-tube.html
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
https://www.gwkent.com/barrel-fermentation-plus-bungs.html
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
https://www.gwkent.com/short-strainer.html
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
https://www.gwkent.com/2in-sight-glass-tc.html
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
https://www.gwkent.com/turbine-flow-meter.html
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
https://www.gwkent.com/hoop-driver-for-oak-barrel.html
Things you’ll need in addition to cooperage
"Time does not respect what
is done without it."
Reputable sources
Reputable sources
Reputable sources
When brewing beer for wood aging, it is important to note that you
will end up with less volume than when you began.
Evaporation, leakage, soaking into the wood.
Always intend to brew a little extra for options when blending the final product.
Advice
Top off barrels often, especially after sampling or fixing a leak.
Aging beer in barrels is 100% about the ‘controlled’ oxidation over an
extended period of time.
Too much head space in the barrel could cause the beer to oxidize at a
rapid rate which could ruin that stout, or over-acidify that sour.
Advice
Expect occasional failure.
Things go wrong.
Barrels leak, bungs blow off.
The wrong bugs get in
Advice
https://www.keystonefermentationsupply.com/
https://www.riverdrive.co/
https://www.foedercrafters.com/
https://www.barrelsdirect.com/
https://www.thebarrelmill.com/
https://www.halfyankeeworkshop.com/blogs/news/aging-beer-with-wood
https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Beer_Wood_Oak