extract barley wine recipe

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mjm76

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Does anyone have a good extract recipe for barley wine. I have actually never tried a commercial version of barley wine, but the idea of a high gravity beer with long aging possibility is intriguing to me.
 
I'm looking too, and given the cost and time involved in a barleywine, I think getting the recipe right would be key :)

One thing I've found is that barleywine is a pretty generic description and other than being 'strong', the flavor of various versions exists along a wide spectrum... My wife and I enjoyed the Avery Hog Heaven barleywine (at $5 a bottle, semi affordable) as it had an intense hop and spice flavor that was almost overpowering, but quite nice. However we also recently sampled a bottle of AleSmith's Old Numbskull ($15 a bottle ouch!) which we weren't so fond of. It was overwhelmingly malty, without a whole lot of hop flavor to balance it. I think we're just not fans of big malty beers, we tried the Trappist Rochefort 10 which also didn't do much for us...

So if anyone has a barleywine recipe along the lines of the hog heaven, I'd love that.
 
AMERICAN BARLEY WINE (STRONG ALE)

12# COOPERS LIGHT MALT EXTRACT
1# BELGIAN CLEAR ROCK CANDI SUGAR

STEEP UNTIL 165 DEGREES:

1# 80L CRYSTAL MALT
1/2# DARK CARASTAN

HOPS:

2 OZ. CHINOOK 60MIN.
1 OZ. CLUSTER 60MIN.
2 OZ. CRYSTAL 30MIN.
2 OZ. CENTENNIAL 0 MIN.
DRY HOP WITH 2 OZ. CASCADE

AERATE HEAVILY AND FERMENT WITH WHITE LABS CALIFORNIA ALE YEAST!!!!

I RECOMMEND THIS RECIPE COMES FROM MY LOCAL BREW MART AND THEY OWN A VERY PRESTIGOUS MICROBREWERY IN SAN DIEGO. GOOD THING ABOUT THIS BARLEY WINE IS A KEGGED IT AFTER 3 WEEKS FROM START TO FINISH AND IT WAS AWESOME CAME OUT AT ABOUT 9.5 PERCENT. STRONG BUT DELICIOUS WOW!!!! TOOK ABOUT 9 DAYS TO FERMENT THEN I ARTICIALLY CARBONATED IN THE KEG WONT HURT TO LET IT SIT IN THE KEG FOR A WEEK OR TWO.

GOOD LUCK HOPE YOU TRY IT!!!

I CALL IT GNARLEY WINE!:ban: :mug:
 
2 oz. Centennial for 0 minutes???? throw it in when chilling the wort?
How long did you dry hop? In the primary??
I'm not familar with California white labs ale yeast. I will assume that it is normal ale fermenting temperatures? What was your schedule like? 9 weeks primary, any secondary time? Did you keg with the dry hops still in it?
This sounds like something I'd like to try and not using any kits.
 
that does sound interesting I think I might give it a whirl as well. The only other recipe I have been able to come across has been in "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" Which was 10-12# of lme and 4.5oz either cascade or williamette hops at 60 min and 1.5 oz cascade for aroma
 
ya when you hit 60 min on your wort boil turn the flame off then wait to let the boil die down then add the centennial 0minhops. Then for dry hopping i usually throw the dry hops in the primary when all the crap that is floating on top formed from violent fermentation begins to fall down usually withing 7-10 days.

I would recommend using the white labs California ale yeast very popular and goes great with this recipe. White labs is the best yeast in my opinion. I created a starter with this yeast 24 hours before brewing. The temp is the same as any ale usually at 70-76 during fermentation for me.

I had my barley wine in the primary for 3 weeks then I kegged it and waited a week in the keg to drink age longer if you want. It turned out great but I must warn you it will put you on you’re a**. I am 6’4 230 and 3 pints are good for me. Usually come out to 9-10 percent. Most people say it takes a few month but that is only if you want to age it which im sure makes it taste even better. My barley wine was great so I would just keg it within 4-5 weeks and get it off the yeast after 3 weeks and transfer to secondary for the remanding 2 weeks.


ohh one last thing for the recipe the last 10-15 min of boil add a tablespoon of irish moss this will make you beeer not so murky. oh also for the dry hopping you could but half the hops in the keg in a bag and the rest in the primary after 7-10 days.
 
Been looking at the ingredients, but is that right....12 POUNDS of Coopers Light Malt extract? Whoa nelly! That's some batch. I can't find the crystal pellets from my LHBS and all they got is a "light amber" clear rock candi. Will that work?
 
Ol' Grog said:
Been looking at the ingredients, but is that right....12 POUNDS of Coopers Light Malt extract? Whoa nelly! That's some batch. I can't find the crystal pellets from my LHBS and all they got is a "light amber" clear rock candi. Will that work?

Barleywines are typically 9-12% ABV, so figure double the fermentables of your average 4-6% homebrew...
 
Here's mine. Came out VERY nicely. But with that crazy IBU count, it's gonna need at least a year before it calms down. It's really good right now, but the hops are wackay! I HIGHLY recommend the juniper berries and star anise---especially the anise. Go very lightly on it. I said 1/2oz in my recipe, but you can get away with like 3 star pods. I'm not a licorice fan, but it really complements the savory flavors of the base beer quite nicely. By the way, I didn't need to finish with champagne yeast, as some suggest---the Nottingham took me from 1.123 to 1.030! I was very surprised that that dry yeast was able to withstand 12.5% ABV.

Just be careful---blowoffs are probable. Fit a blowoff tube, fo sho.

Oh, yeah, this is a partial-mash formulation---which I would recommend. It doesn't require any extra equipment, just a little more time investment. If you need help with PM, lemme know.

The Burninator

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

19-C Strong Ale, American Barleywine

Min OG: 1.080 Max OG: 1.144
Min IBU: 50 Max IBU: 100
Min Clr: 10 Max Clr: 19 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 17.95
Anticipated OG: 1.123 Plato: 28.63
Anticipated SRM: 20.0
Anticipated IBU: 276.1
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 5.88 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.104 SG 24.70 Plato

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
% Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Rager

Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
17.8 3.20 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
8.4 1.50 lbs. Crystal 10L America 1.035 10
4.2 0.75 lbs. Special B Malt Belgian 1.030 120
39.0 7.00 lbs. Briess LME- Gold America 1.035 4
11.1 2.00 lbs. Briess LME- Amber America 1.035 9
16.7 3.00 lbs. Generic DME - Light Generic 1.046 8
2.8 0.50 lbs. Molasses Generic 1.036 80

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.50 oz. Pacific Gem Whole 13.60 67.0 60 min.
2.00 oz. Northern Brewer Whole 6.50 42.7 60 min.
1.00 oz. Northern Brewer Pellet 6.50 23.5 60 min.
2.00 oz. Simcoe Pellet 12.00 86.7 60 min.
2.00 oz. Cascade Pellet 5.75 41.5 60 min.
0.50 oz. Pacific Gem Whole 13.60 6.0 15 min.
1.00 oz. Willamette Pellet 4.10 3.9 15 min.
0.50 oz. Willamette Pellet 4.10 1.2 2 min.
1.00 oz. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 6.00 3.6 2 min.


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.50 Oz Juniper Berries Other 60 Min.(fermenter)
0.50 Oz Star Anise Spice 60 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----

Danstar Nottingham
 
I'm thinking of brewing the recipe in post #10. Does the hopping schedule look too high to anyone else?
 
It seems to me that English barley wines aren't dry hopped. But you'll def need a serious amount of extract malt(s) to make one. I used 10.5lbs of 3 extract malts & 3oz of hops in my #3 Burton ale. It was OG 1.065,finishing at FG 1.018. So you'll need at least 12-15lbs to get over 1.100+,ime. And barley wines tradditionally use a lot of hops in the boil,with plenty of long chain sugars to keep the finish a little sweet. In other words,a good amount of un-fermentables.
 
Since this seems to be the most long-running barley wine thread, I'm posting here ;D

I've had this Brewcraft extract kit for a month or two, waiting for my green chili lager to finish (new mexico flava!) reading up on wide scattered details to make a good barley wine. I've got a few dozen extract brews to my credit and some AG as well, but this is a style that I knew was going to be something different. I love me some BW - Bigfoot, Old Guardian (my favorite) and I've sampled several years of Lagunitas - so I'm excited. Anyways, on with the show.

5 gallon barleywine extract

The kit includes:

specialty grains- 1lb chrystal 40L
.5lb Chrystal 150L malt
.5lb special b malt

7lbs Briess gold light DME
1lb brewers chrystal, 56% maltose corn sugar

1oz US Magnum
1oz US Fuggle

Pretty basic. I'm adding:
1lb briess GL DME
1lb brewersbest light candi sugar.
and ~lb brown sugar at flame-out.

So I heated/steeped the grain in ~3 gal to 150 and let if sit there for about 10 minutes as per the instructions, and added 6lbs of the DME and set it to boil. It's been on for about an hour, I'm going for an extended boil, probably a total of ~3 hours. I'm going to add the remaining DME when I throw in the Magnum and the candi sugar about 10mins before the fuggle. I may also add a little more basic cane sugar, maybe a pound.

The yest provided is safale s-04, two packs worth. I'm going to shake the everloving crap out of the carboy before I pitch the yeast. Even though the pack says simply to pitch the dry yeast onto the wort, I'm going to rehydrate it first. I don't have any extra cash or I'd pick up something else from my LHBS. I figure I'll get some nice hops and dry hop for a few days after primary if I find it too sweet.

I've got a temperature controlled chest freezer, going to ferment around the low end of the stated range at 59f.

Any thoughts? I'll update the OG and status, sorta hoping the previous commentors chime in with results ;D I've been trawling hbt to gather ideas for this brew but it's all over the place. Gotta go stuff my face in some hops, I'll be back soon.
 
Ok so I ended up adding 2lbs of brown sugar about 10 minutes before end of the boil. OG readin 1.110 with the wort at 59 degrees. ready to add yeasties and hope it doesn't make a mess in my fermenting freezer. Updates to come.
 
I left this in primary for a bit longer than I initally anticipated...~3 weeks at a very stable average of 63 degrees. Moved to secondary today, I have a tentative 'F.G.' of 1.024 at 63degrees so I'm certainly close to my final.

The taste is very rich, nice deep carmel/malty finish not terribly dry. Color is a dark amber brown, still quite cloudy but I hope it'll clear. I've got as near 5 full gallons as I'd hoped, sediment in primary was less than I anticipated, with some other imperial styles I've done it sediment was almost a full gallon in volume(!) but I had filled my primary 6-gallon carboy enough to end up with the 1.110 OG so I'm happy.

Still no body chiming in with their success stories, I don't want to start yet another thread on this topic but I'd really like to get some fresh input and thoughts... anyone out there? anyone? Bueller?
 
Last week I brewed the English Barleywine kit from Northern Brewer. It came out a somewhat disappointing OG of 1.082, though that's what the kit called for. I probably should've added more DME or brown sugar.

On the plus side, I still have airlock activity 5 days later. I'm planning on keeping it in primary for 8 weeks and then racking to secondary for 4 months. It'll be a while before I know if it's any good.
 
Well,my Burton ale was def in strong ale territory at 6.8%. Took a total of 5 weeks in primary to finish & clear. A couple months in bottles & 2 weeks fridge time for decent head & carbonation. And it was only 1.065OG. So patience is doubly important with big beers.
 
Keen to brew a barleywine, but getting some other brews under my belt first ;)
 
A little update:

It's been about 3 weeks since I brewed the NB Barleywine kit. I cracked open the bucket to test FG, it came out at 1.019 (or 8.13% ABV). I tasted it, not expecting much, but damn, it tastes good!

Good hop bitterness with a very nice chewy mouthfeel. I wasn't planning on having this for 6+ months, but now it's going to be hard to hold out that long.

I'm going to leave it on the yeast cake another 5 weeks, rack to secondary and bulk age for 3-4 months.
 
Thanks for posting the great Barleywine recipes. I love drinking big beers, but I just started home brewing and I've only brewed two batches so far. I will progress into doing an Imperial Stout or a Barleywine soon, but I didn't want to have to age one of my first batches for months. (I wanted to be able to drink it!).

I'm just doing extract brewing too, although if I have a goal of making a nice barleywine, then that may motivate me to get into the mini-mash thing. I'll definitely share my experiences once I have brewed my first barleywine. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.
 
My BW is still aging in 'secondary' (though I've racked it twice so technically we'll call it tertiary) fermentation at a stable 58 degrees in our temp controlled chest freezer.

Last I checked it had cleared up a bit, and the brown sugar has left a hard-to-describe texture on both initial aroma and the finishing feel. Given that I had done an extended boil I'm extremely pleased with the smoothness especially given the fantastically high ABV and generally low IBU. I'm on an extended motorcycle trip across the country so I'll probably bottle when I return home in a few weeks, BUT DAMN IF I DONT WISH I HAD SOME BOTTLES WITH ME TO SHARE WITH FRIENDS!

In my travels I've discovered that the BW style is very popular this year, much more so than in previous years where mentioning BW would only get you a confused look and scratching of the head. Even 'home' in Iowa the beer culture has exploded and I'm diggin it. Even the local grocery store had some basic home brew supplies in their HUGE expanded beer section. Win all around!
 
I'm gonna wake this thread up and hijack it. I'm looking to do my first extract BW as well, but I'm looking to do a super-barley wine up around 20% abv and let it age a very extended amount of time (1-2 years).

Everything I've read has said that even the high alcohol yeast will have a hard time getting a beer of that size down below 1.050 and it should be done in stages.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Does it require repitching and adding corn sugar?

Any help would be VERY appreciated.
 
Haha yeah I forgot to add that I started secondary fermentation with an activated champagne yeast, which are usually good for the mid-teens in abv. Depending on the strain and sugars available it may dry things out a bit, obviously a good BW is nice and rich in leftover sugars.
 
So here it is some time later and I've got to say this was worth the effort. Even if my bottles are kinda flat after ~3 years they're nice and rich and pretty much need to be mixed with something hoppy like an arrogant bastard to get through a bottle.

I did manage to forget most of the fermentation details, aside from adding champagne yeast at racking to secondary to get things going again at lower temps - which may well be the key to a decent strong BW, as there's so much sugar if you let the yeast get carried away you'll have a hard time getting FG down to something manageable.

I may have gotten lucky in hitting the right points here but I did a lot of research and prep work first - and that chest freezer was nice. It may be hard to resist the urge to turn a freezer into a kegerator but it's a much better allocation of resources IMHO...
 
2 years on, is it the same beer?

I don't think champagne yeast will do anything. I don't think it can convert the complex sugars that are left.

Please report back if iam wrong.
 
Champagne yeast will convert all the sugars that ale yeast can. Ale yeast doesn't convert complex carbohydrates either. Just mono and di-saccharides).

Since looking for info in this thread a few years ago, I've done several beers 20% and higher. My 19% Barleywine has won in several BJCP contests. They're all grain, but that doesn't really make much of a difference.

What I will tell you is that you can skip the champagne yeast for a beastly ale yeast like WLP099 as long as you ramp it up in stepped starters. You'll also want to start on a more standard ale yeast if you want any sort of yeast character.
 
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