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Barrel Aged Dark Matter Collab (R)

Beer made by Sudzers every year. This beer was blended with ~45 gallons of Dark Matter made by other Sudzers and put into a barrel.


Brewed 5.0 gallons on 2013-12-18

Original gravity: 1.100

Final gravity: 1.034

ABV: 8.7%

Apparent Attenuation: 66.0%


Process notes

2013-12-20
Temp lowered to 64° the morning after pitching. Raised to 67° that evening. Fermenting at 66-67° from then on.
2014-01-04
Kegged. SG is 1.039. Final gravity is higher than expected. Aroma slightly alcoholic, molasses comes through. Bitter molasses, chocolate, coffee flavor and similar aftertaste. Alcohol is warming on the finish.
2014-02-06
Checked SG again, 1.034. The key has been sitting at around 66° since it was filled.
2014-03-15
Put together w/ ~45 gallons of other Dark Matter brewed by various Sudzers into barrel.

Boil for 60 minutes

At 60 minutes
2 ounces of 13% Alpha Acid Magnum pellets
At 60 minutes
12 fluid ounces of Molasses (Grandma's Gold Standard Unsulfured Original Molasses.)
At 15 minutes
1 ounce of 10.5% Alpha Acid Centennial pellets
At 15 minutes
At 15 minutes
At 5 minutes
1 ounce of 10.5% Alpha Acid Centennial pellets

Mash

[73.17%] 15 pounds of Maris Otter (BairdsMalt)

[4.88%] 1 pound of Flaked Barley (Brewmaster)

[7.32%] 1 pound 8 ounces of Black Roasted Barley (Briess)

[4.88%] 1 pound of Black (Patent) (Briess)

[4.88%] 1 pound of Chocolate Malt (Briess)

[4.88%] 1 pound of CaraMunich Type I (Weyermann)

Single infusion mash. Mashed with 6 gallons (1.50 quarts per pound) of tap water for 60 minutes. 16lb of grain was used in the mash. (Final temp was 153.5 degrees.)

Strike water temp: (0.2/1.50) * (152 - 70) + 152 = 162.9

Sparge

Sparged for 75 minutes with 4 gallons of 170° tap water.

Yeast

2013-12-18
Pitch starter (started on 2013-12-17 with 1500mL water, IntermittentShaking, 150 grams DME, 0.25 tsp FermaidK) made from 1 pack of WLP001 California Ale (WhiteLabs) at 67°.

Tasting notes (8.00/10; 3 ratings)

2017-01-16
[8/10] Should've taken more notes. This beer started off really hot, w/ lots of barrel character; but has been mellowing over time. Now, pitch black, dark brown foam. Small clumps of bubbles stick to the side. Sweet alcohol, oak, and a bit of nail polish remover in the aroma (which isn't unpleasant). Charred oak is the main character in aroma and flavor. Fully body, but not viscous like a BCBS. Alcohol stings the gums and tongue. Although the heat has mellowed a bit, there's still a real strong barrel character. Coffee and chocolate come through as this warms.
2017-02-28
[8/10] Strong alcohol aroma that dominates any beer aroma. Boozy chocolate, some roast; acidic, roasty finish. Long alcohol warmth.
2017-03-04
[8/10] Final pour. Pretty damn good barrel-aged stout. Tons of barrel, and could be more balanced w/ the beer. More body, less booze would help. Still solid, though.