Q2XL

Recipes 

I brewed a barleywine back on June 4th and transfered to a secondary on June 30th. I took a hydro reading today and it was 1.032. I started off at 1.110. So, I am at about 70% attenuation with a ABV of 10.26%. I tasted the hydro sample and while it tasted good it had that burning alcohol feeling going down. Is this normal for a higher alcohol beer? If so, will the "hotness" fade over time?

humann_brewing

Recipes 

Sounds like it needs more conditioning time to settle down that warmth. I have a RIS that is a little over 8 months old and it is just getting there.

__________________
On tap: Batch 1 Flanders Red, experimental sour 1.072 > 1.000, #70 Simple, gone complex pale 1.063 4/5/13, #71 French IPA, American IPA with spanish cedar and fermented with 3711 1.059>1.008
Fermenting: #72 Flower power saison 1.053>1.004 with lavender and jasmine
Aging: #67 Bareleywine 1.116 11/07/2012, Flanders 2 batches 1.056 and 1.060 12/12/11 and 3/26/12, Smoked Porter 1.063 10/11, pepper RIS 1.088 7/11, Kriek, 1.052 12/11, RYE IPA sour experiment 8/12, Berliner Weisse 1.030 9/20/12

olllllo

Recipes 

Should not be hot but warm.

19B. English Barleywine

19C. American Barleywine

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style19.php

__________________
Rabbit And Coyote Schwag
Rob - Phoenix Ambassador to Milwaukee
Where did your avatar go?
Ginger Beer for Moscow Mules Bacon Vodka
Twitter

jason.mundy

Recipes 

Just curious... What temp did you ferment at?
Did you have active temperature control?

I understand that barley wines are aged to mellow out the hot alcohol flavors. Try to keep the beer in the bottles/keg and let it age.

__________________
Jason

Q2XL

Recipes 

I fermented it around 70F. But, I am sure that it got a bit hotter during the initial fermentation. I did not use a swamp cooler back then. I do plan to bottle it in a couple of weeks and let it set for at least 6-8 months.

mattmcl

Recipes 

Yeah, it's WAY too early to judge. 8 months minimum, and that hotness will fade a lot. Give it a year and it'll be unbelievable.

__________________
>>Proudly brewing the beer I drink since 1989<<

agusus

Recipes 

Uh, your hydro sample was room temp right? Warm beer brings out hot alcohol flavors, so of course it tasted hot. I've found that with strong commercial beers like an IIPA that are super well balanced when served at a proper chilled temperature, if you drink them at room temp they can have almost disgusting hot alcohol burn.

So just a warm hydro sample alone isn't going to tell you whether the beer is good.

uechikid

Recipes 

The hotness will go away the more you drink.

__________________
"Carpe Diem"

carnevoodoo

Recipes 

I like to drink barleywines at around 60 degrees. A good beer should not have a burn.

I think your temps will produce a bit more harsh alcohol, but with time they will mellow a bit. You really have to be careful with bigger beers, because the fermentations can get out of hand.

__________________
http://chugsd.com

Revvy

Recipes 

If it's only since June???

You betcha it will taste hot...

When people think of Barleywines they thing in terms of a year for mellowing, or at least several months.....like 6-8 minimum.

My 1.090 Belgian strong took 6 months before it stopped tasting like rocket fuel....

You absolutely NEED to give it more time to mellow....


Lazy Llama came up with a great chart to help us all know when something is ready...



I wouldn't touch a barleywine I made til it was a year old....

__________________
Like my snazzy new avatar? Get Sons of Zymurgy swag, here, and brew with the best.

Revvy's one of the cool reverends. He has a Harley and a t-shirt that says on the back "If you can read this, the bitch was Raptured. - Madman

I gotta tell ya, just between us girls, that Revvy is HOT. Very tall, gorgeous grey hair and a terrific smile. He's very good looking in person, with a charismatic personality... he drives like a ****ing maniac! - YooperBrew