First barleywine..

Putting together a barleywine to brew with my bro-in-law and brewing buddy. Want to do it now so it'll have time to rest and be ready for the winter. We also are talking of tossing in some oak spirals down once its done dry-hopping.

Here's the recipe:

0.50 lb Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 2.11 %
11.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 46.32 %
11.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 46.32 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 4.21 %
0.25 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 1.05 %
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Summit [18.00 %] (90 min) Hops 46.7 IBU
1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -
0.75 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 23.7 IBU
0.50 oz Summit [18.00 %] (60 min) Hops 21.8 IBU
0.25 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (20 min) Hops 4.8 IBU
0.50 oz Citra [12.00 %] (15 min) Hops 7.2 IBU
0.50 oz Citra [12.00 %] (10 min) Hops 5.3 IBU
1.10 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
2 Pkgs Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007) Yeast-Ale

Est OG 1.109
Est FG 1.025
70% Eff
Est ABV 11.06%
109 IBU (yes, wanted a big hoppy american bw)
155* mash

Seem like an ok recipe to run with? My only thought is to cut down on the 80L and maybe toss in some 60L in its place?

Ditch all the crystal malt and mash at 149* for a long time, otherwise there's no way you'll hit 1.025.

Also, do any oaking you want to do before you dry hop. Oak spirals will take a few months to get good flavor from, I'd probably plan on 4-6 months, then dry hop a week before you bottle it.

I would also pitch a much larger starter. Two dry packs in a 2L starter would be a lot better. You really can't have too much yeast in that thing.

I could see lowering the mash temp a bit. Original thought was around 153 for 90min. 149 seems like it would be a bit too low/dry?? My Saison was done down at 148.

At 1.109 you have so much malt, you should be more concerned with it finishing cloying rather than too dry. As your gravity increases, you'll be fighting harder to get even "average" 75%-ish attenuation. You're shooting for 77%, by my calculation, which is above-average for normal beers, and much above average for high gravity brews. You'll need the wort to be as fermentable as possible.

I mashed at 146* for two hours on my last barleywine, and it went from 1.120 to 1.022, but I also pitched it onto a whole yeast cake of S-04. I only used 2-row, no crystal on that one. And I wish it had turned out a bit drier still.

Some reading:
http://beerdujour.com/Howtobrewabigbeer.htm

I like the crystal in there, but then you need to ensure you pitch a HUGE starter. Like Nateo said, you can't have too much yeast in there. I'd pitch a gallon starter, minimum. Aerate that wort for a few minutes too before pitching. I agree with Nateo that you won't get that level of attenuation you expect; too high for such a big brew. As far as mash temp, it all depends upon how you like your brews; if you like them dry, mash low. If not, mash higher, but I wouldn't go over 153. For this one, I would even suggest mashing overnight in a converted cooler, for instance, if you can.

Thanks for the info guys. Good link on the site also.

As far the attenuation goes, I'm not sure how to adjust that in beersmith, or even if its possible. But for the yeast selected, its pre-input at 75%

What about the idea of possibly using a 1lb of turbinado sugar or something like that to help bring the gravity down and impart some light flavor?

Not sure you'll need rice hulls in there. I don't see anything really sticky in your mash.