Critique this Old English Barleywine recipe

Notes
Age in Oak Barrel including additional 10oz of hops ( EKG and Fuggles) for 26 weeks

Seems way too heavy for my tastes. Between the crystal and mashing @ 153* there will be a ton of dextrins. I like to mash my big beers below 150* in order to get as fermentable a wort as possible. With that much alcohol, it'll be tough to get great attenuation.

*Edit* Also, with that much dark malts, your beer will basically be black. The black patent really has no place in a barley wine.

It does seem a little dark, a fair bit sweet and on the outer limits of bitterness to style, but that is ifyou are going to style.

What yeast are you looking at? Is it straight sacc?

grain in a 10 gallon batch ....yikes

You know, I am only commenting on the FG and the IBU, but a friend of mine makes his barleywine at 1.100 with a FG of 1.035 and a bitterness of about 60-70IBU and that beer really takes well to both oak and time. It is a great beer. I was amazed completely when he said that he will mash at 153-155*f. I asked if he would try to get it down to about 149 and he said "nope, I like my barleywine to have a higher FG so that it tastes interesting and malty as time goes on". I really like that beer, so do what you do when you do it. He used a British yeast that isn't known for its high attenuation either.

but this recipe other wise is from 1851

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They just don't know you well enough to have recognized the old historic recipes.

mrbowenz said:

no one mentioned the 27 ozs of hops ? for 10 gallons ..

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I should get partial credit.

Ryan_PA said:

and on the outer limits of bitterness

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I think for those of us that know your history, knew this was a semi-loaded question. I was curious what your angle was, and now I am glad I know. I am in the planning stages of an English barlywine myself once I get through a few more moderate octane brews on some 1275.

Well I am in good company here (my PA brew friends
Ryan gets credit for hops and Fly18 get's credit for the fact I am wierd ...