Help with Barley wine.

Hey all. I am going to brew this Barley wine in a couple days. I think it should be hoppier, what do you think? I have only had one Barley wine before. It was Behemoth by Three Floyds. It was DELICIOUS.

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/three-floyds-behemoth-barleywine/6055/

I am making this recipe because I have a bunch of malts I want to use up.

I want to age this for awhile. Probably a year at least. Should I age this in the bottles for a year or age it in the secondary? Please say bottle (I want to be able to crack some open earlier!)

Here's the recipe. I did it in Beer Calculus. Here ya go:

OG 1.110
FG 1.027

23* SRM

57.2 IBUs

11.1% ABV

3 Gallon Boil
---------------------------------------------
9.00 lb Light DME
0.50 lb Biscuit Malt
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L
0.50 lb Red Wheat
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L
0.50 lb Gambrinius Honey Malt - 20L
0.25 lb Special B Malt
0.25 lb Victory Malt


1.00 oz Centennial @ 90 min (First Wort Hop)
1.00 oz Summit @ 90 min
1.00 oz Nugget @ 90 min
1.00 oz Willamette @ 30 min
1.00 oz Cascade @ 20 min

1.00 lb Corn Sugar (Dextrose)

2 Pkgs Safale US-05

Any comments appreciated. Thanks!

I think the IBU's are in line for a barleywine, but everybody has their own preferences as to how hoppy they like one. As far as aging is concerned, you can go either way and it will still make good beer. I prefer bulk aging, but that's just my $0.02. I did a barleywine last year that's just now coming into its own. I had it in primary for about 2 or 3 weeks, then racked to a 5.25 gallon used bourbon barrel for another 2 or 3 weeks. I then moved it back to another carboy to dry hop, as it lost some of its hoppyness in the barrel. It's been aging in bottles for about 10 months now. So far I've been able to leave it alone, other than about 3 or 4 bottles. Good luck!

I agree with IB about the IBU's, that is up to you. But, with the higher alcohol content, there won't be as much bitterness - if you had a brew that was 6% at the same IBU, you would notice the bitterness more than you would at your 11%. You could probably bump it up to about 80 IBU's and still be fine. I made a rye ale at ~85 IBU/8.5% and it wasn't that bitter, and I'm not a huge fan of overly bitter brews.

As far as aging, I would opt to aging in the bottles, but try not to crack one open before at least 6 months, otherwise it will be plenty green.

Here is another updated version. Any Comments?

OG 1.110
FG 1.027

23* SRM

78 IBUs

11.1% ABV

3 gallon boil
-------------------------------------------

9 lbs. Light DME
8 oz. Ganbrinus Honey malt 20L
8 oz. Red Wheat
8 oz. Crystal 40L
8 oz. Crystal 80L
8 oz. Crystal 120L
8 oz. Biscuit Malt
4 oz. Special B
4 oz. Victory

1 lbs. Corn Sugar (Dextrose)

2.00 oz. Centennial @ 90 minutes (FIRST WORT HOP)
1.00 oz. Summit @ 90 minutes
1.50 oz. Nugget @ 90 minutes
0.50 oz. Willamette @ 30 minutes
1.00 oz. Cascade @ 20 minutes

2 pkgs. Safale us-05 yeast

Can somebody explain to me what First Hop Wort is? Also, At what temp should I mash these grains at? Also I think I should add 1 lbs. of 2-row to my grain bill for conversion. I'm pretty sure Victory and Biscuit cannot self convert. If I add the 2-row, then I need to lower my DME correct?

Any help appreciated! Thanks!

For me, you gotta go at least 1:1 with your bitterness:gravity ratio. It is designed to age so you want to make sure the bitterness lasts.

Cool northernlad, what do you suggest? I don't want something super bitter. My favorite Barley wine so far is Three Floyd's Behemoth. That is only 80 IBUs.

With 11%, I doubt you will get something that is too bitter. The alcohol will cover it up.

As far as what first wort hop is, those are hops that are added to your wort when you are collecting it from sparging. Just dump them in when you get some wort in your kettle (well before boiling) and you are all set. For the grains you mention, I would just steep them in enough water to cover them and keep them around 150 or so for about 25 minutes. If you add 2-row, you will need to mash it (you can add all and do the same, but for a longer time). If you do add the 2-row, you could drop down your DME by about 3/4# or so.

Thanks Avid. Let me see if I get this...

I fill my brew pot with 3 gallons of water. Then I would bring it up to 150 degrees. Then I would steep my grains + 2-row for 45 minutes to an hour. After that hour, THEN i would dump in the 2 oz. of centennial?

after that I would stir in my DME and bring it up to a boil. Set my timer for 90 minutes, and throw in my Summit and Nugget hops? Then proceed as normal?

Does that sound right?

also, how much 2-row should I add? 1 pound?

Is it ok to steep in 3 gallons of water or should I use less?

Thanks again for your help.

eon said:

Thanks Avid. Let me see if I get this...

I fill my brew pot with 3 gallons of water. Then I would bring it up to 150 degrees. Then I would steep my grains + 2-row for 45 minutes to an hour. After that hour, THEN i would dump in the 2 oz. of centennial?

after that I would stir in my DME and bring it up to a boil. Set my timer for 90 minutes, and throw in my Summit and Nugget hops? Then proceed as normal?

Does that sound right?

also, how much 2-row should I add? 1 pound?

Is it ok to steep in 3 gallons of water or should I use less?

Thanks again for your help.

Click to expand...

Steep/mash your grains (if you add 2-row, mash), then start to collect your wort after that time. This is when you add your first wort hops, after mashing/steeping.

I would add no more than a few pounds of 2-row (milled, of course, along with all the other grains), and mash with your other grains. You are possibly entering the realm of partial mashing now. Easy, but a little different.

You can steep your grains (without 2-row) in 3 gallons of water. If you do it this way, once you take out the grains (assuming you put them in a grain bag), you can add your first wort hops. Then, rinse (without squeezing) your grain bag a few times with about 175 degree water. Bring to a boil, add your DME, other bittering hops, boil for however long, add your flavor hops, boil some more, add your aroma hops, boil for another minute, cool, etc.

I think I see where I am getting confused. Are you thinking I have a mash-tun? If you are, I do not. The last time I had to mash or I guess partial is the correct term, I did this:

I put all of my grains + 2-row in a grain bag. I "mashed" them in 3 gallons of water at XYZ degrees. I kept the temp as stable as I could.

I'm confused when you say "collect my wort." usually I do steeping/mashing in my brew pot. I don't have to "collect" it, it's already in the pot! See what I'm saying?

So, I read your post again. It seems like I could do a partial mash as follows:

put all the grains + 1 lbs. of 2-row in a grain bag. Heat up 3 gallons of water in brew pot to 150 degrees. Keep the grain bag in the water for 45 minutes keeping the temp at 150 the whole time.

After that, pull out the grain bag and add my 2 oz. of centennial (which would be the First wort hop). Then add the DME, bring the wort up to a boil and then proceed as usual starting with my 90 minute hops. Does this sound right.

Sorry this is a little redundant but I just want to get on the same page.

I think what else is throwing me off is it seems like you are saying that if I use 3 gallons to start with then that is not mashing, it is steeping.

No, I'm not assuming you have a tun. You can do what I say on your stovetop. Right, if you do it on your stove, you won't be collecting anything.

Sounds like you have it down now. No reason to apologize. I'm not saying that using 3 gallons is mashing. You can steep in that amount too. I think you have it down now. Post your results.

Good luck!

Well, I finally got around to brewing my barley wine today. I tweaked the recipe a little. here it is:

OG 1.106
FG 1.027

18* SRM

82.8 IBUs

10.5% ABV
-------------------------------------------

9 lbs. Light DME
1 lbs. 2-row malt
8 oz. Crystal 40L
8 oz. Crystal 80L
8 oz. Biscuit Malt
4 oz. Special B


1 lbs. Corn Sugar (Dextrose) @ 15 minutes
5 tsp. Yeast Nutrient @ 15 minutes

2.00 oz. Centennial @ 90 minutes (FIRST WORT HOP)
1.00 oz. Summit @ 90 minutes
1.50 oz. Nugget @ 90 minutes
0.50 oz. Willamette @ 30 minutes
1.00 oz. Cascade @ 20 minutes
0.50 oz. Cascade @ 5 minutes
0.50 oz. Cascade @ Flameout

1 packet of Safale S-04 (Re-hydrated)
2 packets of Safbrew S-33 (Re-hydrated)

Tried to mash grains @ 150. I have a really hard time keeping a stable mash temp in my brew pot! Floated around from 150 to 153ish. Hope all is well.

I didn't hit the OG Beer Calculus gave me. It should have been 1.106 and mine was 1.100

What does that mean?

Well, any comments appreciate. I 'll keep everyone updated on this barley wine. Thanks!

It doesn't mean anything, except that your efficiency was a tiny bit lower than projected or the you "collected" a bit more wort.

Still .006 in a .100 + barleywine is like a drop of urine in the ocean. If you were able to keep the temps in the 150-153, that's good enough for BIAB.

Now park that somewhere cool and dark and forget about it for a month (or more).