Strong Ale Recipe

Hi All,
Please critique this 5-gal batch grain brew with added DME for that little kick in the a$$.

OLD THROBBINGHEAD
15.00 lbs. American 2-row info
0.45 lbs. Crystal Malt 40°L info
0.96 lbs. Honey Malt info
0.27 lbs. German Smoked info
1 lbs. Dry Amber Extract info
2.00 oz. Chinook (Pellets, 13.00 %AA) boiled 60 min. info
0.50 oz. Fuggle (Pellets, 4.75 %AA) boiled 15 min. info
0.50 oz. East Kent Goldings (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 1 min. info
Yeast : White Labs WLP510 Bastogne Belgian Ale Yeast info

My program shows 117 IBU's, 13 SRM, 1.089 OG/ 1.019 FG, and 9.3% abv. I'll do a 60 minute single temp mash @ around 153f; approx 1.25qt/# grain strike; batch sparge, with 2 vorlauf/sparges.

Thanks! Steve

Explain a bit what you're trying to go for here. Basically an American Barleywine? It's kind of a hybrid, mostly domestic malts (I doubt you'll notice that little amount of smoked malt), American bittering hops, British flavor and aroma hops, and Belgian yeast. Not that this is good or bad - but what kind of beer are you trying to make? Thick and sweet? Big, but balanced? Smokey/sweet/floral? I have no idea, really, how all of these ingredients will ultimately come together.

You picked up on my wanting something really out there and unique. I ultimately want an american barleywine-style belgian. I want big and meduim-sweet but not cloying. I figure a little smoked will help with that. I want balanced, if that makes any sense using USA, UK and Belgian mixture. I don't want floral per se, but I want to get some pleasant hops in the finish, unlike a really big belgian. Sort of a noble belgian barleywine if you will. I'll take note on the smoked. Thanks!

You might have better succeess with a wee bit of roasted malt instead of smoked to cut through the sweetness. I'm adding a bit of pale chocolate to a dopplebock for that reason, I want to cut the cloying-ness with something other than hop bitterness. I don't think the smoke will do the same, it's smoothness on top of smoothness.