Belgian Barleywine (contest tested)

73% American 2-row
14% Turbinado
8% D2 syrup
5% Special B

Decoction mash, 2qts/lb:
122* for 15 minutes
146* for 60 minutes
158* for 60 minutes

60min - 1.4oz US Goldings for 23 IBU
1/2 tab whirlfloc
2oz Med+ French oak chips for 1 week after primary fermentation was complete.

Carb'd to 2.7 volumes

At the time of the comp, it was 2 months old, from grain to glass.

I know a lot of people are looking for "tested" recipes, so I thought I'd share this one with all of you. It placed poorly for being "out of style" for a Belgian Dark Strong, but three judges said it would have been a strong barleywine. One judge was an apprentice, one was a professional brewer, and one was recognized by the BJCP.

Here are the three judges' tasting notes, combined by category:
Aroma - Oaky, Pinot Noir nose, no hop or Belgian yeast character
Appearance - Dark gold, head dissipates quickly, high carb
Flavor - Oaky Chilean wine character, currants, spicy/peppery, vanilla oak, hot, malt sweetness, finish has low bitterness.
Mouthfeel - Medium body, creamy, nice warming effect going down, smooth and balanced
Overall impression - I love the taste! But it's not the spec for a Belgian Strong. Really complex, delightful brew in wrong category. Really like this beer, but definitely not to style. Enter as English Barleywine oak aged and you have a winner. A very drinkable beer (would go great with a steak) but not in the correct category. Is it a barleywine? Where is the Belgian?

you used 14% turbinado sugar in the brew? that seems like a lot, but if the judges said it's good, it must be.

Well apparently I had no idea what I was making. It did turn out well, to my tastes. Apparently I also have no idea what a dark strong ale should taste like. This recipe seems close to Avery's Reverend, to my palate, but it's pretty unrefined.

Do you have the yeast listed and I'm overlooking it? 12L starter but of what?

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: 3787
Yeast Starter: 12L

The "starter" was a batch of Dubbel, with the same ingredients, but slightly different proportions. With ample yeast, I hit 1.010 after a week without any problems.

I know this is probably a stupid question, but when creating a recipe how do you figure the poundage for each ingredient?

I left the weights out intentionally. It'll depend on your brew house efficiency and your process. You can use a web app like hopville.com and play around with the amounts to get close to the percentages and OG. I used to use hopville all the time, but now I mostly use beersmith.

Also, in a beer like that, it doesn't really matter what type of hops you use. Their flavor contribution is basically nil, so that's another variable that's up to the brewer to decide.