[dbeechum]

Ok, so I alluded to the fact that I'm entering into classic American indentured servitude in the next couple of months (if everything goes well)

So, here's an exercise in creativity and idea generation - what would be a good project beer to brew now that would be drinkable - once per year - until that last damn check gets mailed in.

What would you do? A supreme barleywine? A mead? A Braggot?

[babalu87]

What would you do? A supreme barleywine? A mead? A Braggot?

Yes 

Knock down a Lambic or three too 

Congrats on the house Drew, it'll be like new found freedom

[The Professor]

Congratulations!

I'd have a hard time choosing between a hefty and hearty Barleywine/Burton ale or a good old Sack Mead.  Both are prime candidates for this undertaking.  I have long aged both of these categories (never 30 years, but I have meads that made it passed 20) so I can unhesitatingly vouch for the fact that you'll be mighty glad then that you're doing it now.

So if it were me, I'd do a batch of each.  Seriously.

You'll have one hell of a tasty celebration stash...  the hard part will, of course,  be keeping your mits off of it until it's time for that document burning bonfire.

[dhacker]

Any of the aforementioned . . But me, I'd do the Apple Butter Cyser.

Sheesh . . I'd just be glad to be around in 30 years. One thing's for sure . . If I am, it' s a given, I'll be taking my meat through a straw . . .

[gordonstrong]

Well, Thomas Hardy's Ale is supposed to be good for 25 years, so you could make a beer like that.

According to a Real Ale Almanac from 1995 when they were still making the good stuff:
1125 of nothing but Pipkin malt, 75 IBUs, Challenger, Golding and Northdown whole hops, dry-hopped with Styrian Goldings. I think they used a long boil, 3 hours-ish, for color development. I don't know if you can get the original yeast strain, but I'd start it with Fuller's yeast and then pitch the Bass yeast a week later for better attenuation. Then I'd pitch 2206 for conditioning and storage. From what I read, they triple-pitched and used lager yeast last.

You could also try a Courage Russian Imperial Stout, which holds up a long time (I still have one from 1994, I think).  From the same book, OG 1102, 10% ABv, 59.8% pale, 21.4% amber, 2.8% black, 16% sugar, some caramel for color. 50 IBUs from Target.

I'd certainly make a mead. Heather honey needs a lot of age, but I'm always partial to Tupelo.  24 lbs (2 gal) in a 5 gal batch. VL3C yeast. Staggered nutrient additions.


If you refinance will you drink all the remaining bottles at once?

[denny]

Hey, if you make double payments, you only need a 15 year beer!

[tschmidlin]

Even just one extra payment per year would cut it down to about 23 years, so there's that.

I agree with The Professor - why limit yourself to one?  Make a few different things, they're more likely to last 30 years that way

Oh, and have good place to lose them - I recommend a crawl space that's kind of a pain to get into. It helps me keep my hands (lips) off of stuff I want to store.

[dbeechum]

I'd certainly make a mead. Heather honey needs a lot of age, but I'm always partial to Tupelo.  24 lbs (2 gal) in a 5 gal batch. VL3C yeast. Staggered nutrient additions.

Yeah, I love Tupelo meads, but ouch 24 lbs? I usually use 18 as my max line.

[dean]

Congrats Drew.     Btw, I saw you and the Maltose Falcon's on the History Channel last night... I grinned when I saw a woman wince after tasting someone's brew.   

[gordonstrong]

Yeah, I love Tupelo meads, but ouch 24 lbs? I usually use 18 as my max line.

Man up.  Go big or go home.  You said you wanted it to go the distance.  I didn't say it was cheap; I said it was good.

We also haven't talked about how much you might need to back-sweeten it... Save a few pounds for that; more if you use fruit or something acidic.

If you like tupelo, try it in a cyser or melomel with darker fruits (cherries, plums, black currants, blackberries). Spice the tupelo with vanilla and cinnamon, which also would work with the cyser.

There's five mead ideas, all using tupelo.  Better buy a 5 gallon pail.  Better yet, two.

[jeffy]

Hmmm.... My mortagage will be paid up in 2012, which is something I thought only our parents could do.  I wonder if I have any homebrews from 1990?  At the time I don't think I was planning this far ahead, so it'll probably be a nasty kit beer with a rusty cap, but I bet I can find a bottle.  Whether I can drink it or not is another question....
If I had been thinking this far ahead, I'd probably have brewed that Thomas Hardy ale.  One of the best beers I ever drank was a 20 year old Thomas Hardy.

[dbeechum]

There's five mead ideas, all using tupelo.  Better buy a 5 gallon pail.  Better yet, two.

I would, but my usual supplier http://www.floridatupelohoney.com had a crap harvest this year and isn't selling 60 lbs pails until he knows how it will hold up. I still have about 30 lbs remaining from last years 2 pail order. (Last year's was not as good as three years ago when I arranged a ~600 lb order for the club)

My fun experiment was to make a Tupelo Weizen Braggot. Basically made a strong American Wheat Ale and hit it with Tupelo to bump the gravity up (about 1/2 the points from the honey) and let the honey provide the spicy weizen characters you'd expect. Damn good and super drinkable.

ETA: I really like the idea of something hardyesque. Maybe split it down and do some bottles for older aging that going onto oak.

[gordonstrong]

Ack. I didn't know they weren't selling pails. That's where I got mine last year. I have other secret sources, but not for that quantity.

I think you can try www.honeylocator.com to find other suppliers. Look in Georgia and Florida for Tupelo.

[dbeechum]

Yeah, Mr. Smiley and I exchanged a few emails about it. When I went trolling through the internet enabled suppliers on honeylocator they all seemed to be out as well, so.. boo!

[The Professor]

Yeah, I love Tupelo meads, but ouch 24 lbs? I usually use 18 as my max line.

18 lbs of Tupelo would make a great 'keeper' mead.
And Drew, if you've never used Tokaji (aka Tokay) yeast, get your hands on some and use it for this project.
Trust me on this...it will be special.