I'm very late to this thread/party, but wanted to chime in that s 04 managed to get a barleywine of mine up to 11%. OG 1.098 down to 1.022 in about 3 weeks (only took a final, not sure how long it really took). I pitched onto a big yeast cake from a 1.065ish beer.
Now the beer is in bottles and I'm going to try and wait 2 months before opening one up. The hydro sample was delicious! I was concerned because the airlock put out a strong banana smell but didn't really notice that in my hydro sample. Maybe I'll try this yeast out for a RIS.