barleywine has alcohol sting?

[cockybitz]

Just cracked my first and it had a scent of the actual alcohol, unlike lower ABV beers. Is this normal? Should I add more 60 min hops to counter this in the future? Is there anything else to bring a "balance" to the beer?

BTW, don't even ask what my grain bill for this was. I used every bit of odd and end grain I had to make it-- just to use the stuff up. Though not an actual barleywine, I had an OG of 1.132. It fermented down to 1.040~ 12%

 

[JayBullen]

How long has it been in the bottle? Probably just needs a few months to age and mellow.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

Yeah, a 12% beer is going to need to condition for 6 months to a year to be drinkable.

 

[devilishprune]

Yeah, definitely at least 6 months. I made an 8% that was really bad after 1.5 months in the fermenter and 3 weeks in the bottle, so yours is going to need way more time (probably, we don't know how long it's been bottled).

 

[dcp27]

it'll fade in time. how hot did you ferment it?

 

[cockybitz]

fermented at 65 with an ale yeast. It has been bottled for 3 months.

 

[rjwhite41]

Alcohol bite usually goes away in time. Barley wines in general are aged in the neighborhood of 9-12 months.