Barley Wine FG of 1.004, how to increase mouth feel/FG

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

THCarnes

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2010
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Location
Tallahassee
Hello fellow brewers, first let me apologize for the long post. I brewed a barley wine recently that started at 1.090 OG and finished at 1.004 FG. I am looking at ways to increase the mouth feel and final gravity a few points to say 1.010-12.

To give a little background on the brew the mash was 16lb pale malt and 1 lb crystal 40. I mashed at 147 for 90min boiled for two hours to a final amount of 5 gallons. I pitched White labs WLP099 Super High Gravity Yeast from a 1L starter of a similar starting gravity. The beer showed visible signs of fermentation within 12 hours and fermented strongly for about 3 weeks. After fermentation slowed at around 4.5 weeks I thiefed out a sample to check the gravity and taste the beer. The beer had fermented down to 1.006 the mouth feel was very thin and it had an alcohol burn in the aftertaste other than that it was very tasty.

I have asked respected LHBC members and the owners of our LHBS about what I can do to make this a more palatable beer and they were unable to think of much that I could do.

I know it would be slightly out of style but would adding an unfermentable like Lactose to the brew increase the FG enough to make give the beer more body? Also what kind of flavors might it add to the final beer?

Any help is much appreciated.
 
Wow, that's some impressive yeast! For next time I'd suggest mashing a little higher, but I realize it's a little late for that.

I look forward to reading the responses from the beer gurus.
 
Why that yeast, and why a 1.090 beer? I have a 1.070 on dock for tomorrow, and that's probably the highest I've brewed in 2 years. I don't see a reason for a higher gravity beer.

The likely hood of improving it with new additions is small. Accept what you have and chalk it up to experience. Maybe some dry hop. I would not mess with lactose or other sugars; it is just going to give you a strange flavor.
 
Ummm....why not a 1.090 beer. I just did a 1.086 beer that went down to 1.010. Mmmmm....beer!
 
The reason for that yeast and mash temp was evaryone I have talked to in my brew club spoke of having trouble getting their barley wines down to the appropriate FG. I took every precaution to get the 1.010 FG I was aiming for however I guess I kinda over did it.

The reason I am brewing this large of a beer is I am wanted to age this and have some 5-10yrs down the road.

I am debating on whether or not to do anything to it or just charge ahead with bottling and see what happens.
 
Yeah, at this point you may be better of just leaving it. Hopefully mouthfeel will improve with time!

Oh & I love high gravity beers, i betcha all you'd have to change next time is mash temp. Let us know how it turns out!
 
Taste the lactose first, I hate the flavor. Brew another beer with the oposite goal in mind (fg really high) and blend.
 
Taste the lactose first, I hate the flavor. Brew another beer with the oposite goal in mind (fg really high) and blend.

So I tasted the lactose by itself and also in a shot glass with some water. I didn't taste anything at all when it was just the crystals themselves. I did notice when it was mixed with water that water felt, I really don't know how to put this, fuzzy, kind of like a glass of water that had set at the bedside all night and some of the next day.

Like I said earlier I might just go ahead and bottle it and try brewing it again changing either the yeast or the mash temp or go really crazy and change both. At the very least I have many friends in the beer club that will help me consume it and "diagnose" the problems in it. :mug:
 
I think bottling it and taking another crack later would be best. I've had similar issues with WLP099, it's a beast, took an imperial stout of mine from 1.140 to 1.010, way lower than I was looking for in the FG. I added some lactose that I had mixed with a mini-mash, it only helped slightly.

I'd second all the calls to mash higher, 153 or so, and maybe try a big starter of a slightly less attenuative yeast (I'm doing a barleywine right now with a big starter of WLP005 British Ale Yeast). Plus, beer never goes to waste, i'm sure that batch will still go to good use.
 
+1 on blending with something with higher gravity. Your planning on aging it for a long time so you have time to do high fg brew, high mash temp, 60min mash, 3 hour boil, plenty of crystal malt, whatever it takes.
 
The reason for that yeast and mash temp was evaryone I have talked to in my brew club spoke of having trouble getting their barley wines down to the appropriate FG. I took every precaution to get the 1.010 FG I was aiming for however I guess I kinda over did it.

The reason I am brewing this large of a beer is I am wanted to age this and have some 5-10yrs down the road.

I am debating on whether or not to do anything to it or just charge ahead with bottling and see what happens.

You aimed too low. Even 1.010 is too low for a barleywine. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot for example finishes at around 1.024. It's too late now of course to do anything about it, but definitely mash higher next time.
 
THCarnes said:
Hello fellow brewers, first let me apologize for the long post. I brewed a barley wine recently that started at 1.090 OG and finished at 1.004 FG. I am looking at ways to increase the mouth feel and final gravity a few points to say 1.010-12.

To give a little background on the brew the mash was 16lb pale malt and 1 lb crystal 40. I mashed at 147 for 90min boiled for two hours to a final amount of 5 gallons. I pitched White labs WLP099 Super High Gravity Yeast from a 1L starter of a similar starting gravity. The beer showed visible signs of fermentation within 12 hours and fermented strongly for about 3 weeks. After fermentation slowed at around 4.5 weeks I thiefed out a sample to check the gravity and taste the beer. The beer had fermented down to 1.006 the mouth feel was very thin and it had an alcohol burn in the aftertaste other than that it was very tasty.

I have asked respected LHBC members and the owners of our LHBS about what I can do to make this a more palatable beer and they were unable to think of much that I could do.

I know it would be slightly out of style but would adding an unfermentable like Lactose to the brew increase the FG enough to make give the beer more body? Also what kind of flavors might it add to the final beer?

Any help is much appreciated.

So if you can keg it I have a solution. Drop some campden tablets in it to stop the yeast from working. Then add some lme, or do a small mash and boil it down to a very small volume (basically making an extract). Then keg to carb.
 
I've also heard maltodextrin is ideal for increasing body without otherwise affecting flavor. I do not know how to dose it correctly however.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=430
Malto dextrin is approximately 12% fermentable. It is used to increase body and creaminess, and also to add mouthfeel. It may be added during the boil or at bottling time.
Usage: Consult your recipe. Usually 4-8 oz are used per 5 gallons of beer, but sometimes up to 1 lb can be used.
 
You could age it for a while. Usually many of my batches feel thin but seem to round out after a month or two of aging. If you still don't like it then blending would be avoid option too. Me personally I prefer my barley wines a bit on the drier side.
 
So I tasted the lactose by itself and also in a shot glass with some water. I didn't taste anything at all when it was just the crystals themselves. I did notice when it was mixed with water that water felt, I really don't know how to put this, fuzzy, kind of like a glass of water that had set at the bedside all night and some of the next day.

Like I said earlier I might just go ahead and bottle it and try brewing it again changing either the yeast or the mash temp or go really crazy and change both. At the very least I have many friends in the beer club that will help me consume it and "diagnose" the problems in it. :mug:

I wouldn't listen to them considering they suggested you try to get a barleywine out of a 147*F mash that lasted 90 minutes :D That's saison action, right there.

I've made a barleywine that was 1.085, mashed at 152*F for 60 minutes, used only two packets of Nottingham (sprinkled on, no rehydration) and that brew got down to 1.012.


But for an immediate fix, I'd vote for lactose.
 
Back
Top