First American Barleywine Attempt, input & suggestions welcomed!

[pshankstar]

As the title says, I plan on brewing my first American Barleywine next month. Below is a my recipe which I plan on using all Chinook for this brew (using Beersmith). I have done a lot of reading on adding some sugar to the wort so there are some simple sugars for the yeast to munch on too. I also have 2oz of oak chips that have been soaking in bourbon since March. I plan on bottling the beer and letting it age, depending on how long I can keep my hands off of it.

Grain:
Maris Otter - 94.5%
Corn Sugar (Dextrose) - 5.5% added with 10 minutes left in the boil

Hops:
All Chinook with IBUs coming in around 120.7

Yeast:
WLP001

Estimated Numbers:
OG - 1.111
FG - 1.017
ABV - 12.6%

Does the percentage of sugar being added to the boil seem ok? Should I add more or less? 5% seems like a sweet spot for most other styles I have read about. Instead of using dextrose, would table sugar work just as well? Should I use some other ingredient, such as honey, brown sugar, etc... to impart some other flavor to the beer? Also, should I add any simple sugar to the fermenter while there is active fermentation? If so, how do I go about that and figure out how that affects the OG & FG?

I know there is no right answer to this, but to those who have used chips, cubes, spirals, etc... How long do you usally let the beer sit on the wood? I was thinking a good 2-4 weeks easily. I would place the oak in a keg, rack the beer onto the keg and purge the headspace, then bottle off my beer gun to free up the keg. Or I might just leave it in the keg and pull samples off as I want or if I get lazy. Should I add the extra bourbon from the jar which the chips are soaking in to the keg too? I'm concerned if I dump it all in the keg it may be too much, but I know it would mellow out with age too, which is the plan.

Lastly, I know you need a lot of yeast for any big beer. I could do a big yeast starter for the beer or rack onto a yeast cake from a 1.055 Pale Ale I have going on right now. I assume there is no wrong answer here, but I was curious to know if anyone had any additional input on this one. Lastly, I do have an oxygen stone which I will use. How long should I blast the wort with oxygen? i.e. 30 seconds, 60 seconds, etc...

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[ProblemChild]

Lots of great stuff.

I would look at the yeast - it might miss just a little. WY1028 may do you better. WLP099 a good choice as well

As a thought - take the first gallon of runnings and boil that separately. Boil well and carmelize the sugar a bit. Keep it going the whole time you sparge. When sparge is done, add that gallon to the rest of the runnings and do your regular boil. You will get darker color and rich flavor. That will add a lot of depth to the flavor with no crystal or other ingredients.

Otherwise, your simple approach should be wonderful.

 

[pshankstar]

Lots of great stuff.

I would look at the yeast - it might miss just a little. WY1028 may do you better. WLP099 a good choice as well

As a thought - take the first gallon of runnings and boil that separately. Boil well and carmelize the sugar a bit. Keep it going the whole time you sparge. When sparge is done, add that gallon to the rest of the runnings and do your regular boil. You will get darker color and rich flavor. That will add a lot of depth to the flavor with no crystal or other ingredients.

Otherwise, your simple approach should be wonderful.

Thanks for the input! I’ll keep that in mind for sure about the extra gallon and boiling it down. I will be doing a 120 minute boil, I forgot to mention that in my original post.

I have read the WLP001 does well with high ABV beers, but I’ll look at the WY1028 & WLP099.

Yeah I want to keep it simple for sure. It’s almost like a SMaSH version of an American Barleywine.

 

[ProblemChild]

the

Thanks for the input! I’ll keep that in mind for sure about the extra gallon and boiling it down. I will be doing a 120 minute boil, I forgot to mention that in my original post.

Doing the boil of the first runnings will take care of that. The whole point is caramelization. Highest concentration of sugar is in the first runnings - while you boil that and keep your sparge going, you take care of th two hour boil. That - and over-boiling can reudce head retention. Not really an issue in higher ABV stuff as it often does not have good head retention anyway, but why kill off what there is to have?

 

[pshankstar]

I use the BIAB method with no sparge. That why I need to look into it and figure how I would do this with my setup.

 

[pshankstar]

Well I brewed my American Barleywine but not until last week (10/19). Since my original post I made some changes to the recipe, which I'll post below. I believe it will be a success and I can't wait till it's ready to enjoy, which I know will be some time for I plan to place some bourbon soaked oak chips in the beer before packaging.

Updated Recipe:
Maris Otter - 75.6%
Vienna - 18.9%
Dextrose - 5.5%

Hops:
All Chinook with IBUs coming in around 120.7

Yeast:
WLP001 - Big Starter (Roughly 520 Billion cells based on calculations)
Used an oxygen wand for 60 seconds before pitching the yeast.
12 hours later blasted the beer with oxygen again for 60 seconds before the krausen started to form. Dang did it foam like crazy this time!

Estimated Numbers / Actual:
OG - 1.111 / 1.107
FG - 1.017 / Not Yet Available
ABV - 12.6% / Not Yet Available

I have the fermenter in the fermentation chamber set to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. I figured I would leave it in there for two weeks, then move the fermenter into my basement. I'm debating if I should add the dry hops at the two week mark when I move the beer into the basement, or wait a little longer. I'll leave the beer sit for another two weeks (or longer) before I add the bourbon soaked oak chips. From there I will pull a small sample about three days later. This will help me decide if I should pour some of the bourbon into the fermenter or not, if I feel like it needs more of the bourbon and oak character. From there, I think I will pull a small sample once a week to see where it stands and if I should pull the chips.

Now I have the dilemma of bottling the beer (bottle condition) when it's ready or keg the beer. I have plenty of kegs to leave it in the keg and pull samples or bottle with the last straw bottle gun later on. Part of me is thinking, I should bottle this beer since the residual yeast (if any) and sugars would scrub the oxygen that is in the bottles and prevent them from oxygenating as much later on as the beer ages in the bottles. If I go that route, I think I would wax the tops of the bottles to help ensure a good seal/barrier.

If anyone has any suggestions, insight, tips, tricks, etc. you would like to share, please do. I plan to provide another update later this year as I move along with this beer. Cheers!

 

[ProblemChild]

With that big a beer, a little diacetyl rest would not be bad when the krausen starts to fall. May not be needed, but the extra temp may help not only ensure it cleans up, but may help wake up the little yeasties to hig FG without stalling.

I would definitely bottle. Over time, the sherry-like flavors will come through. Additionally, it is easier to save for a few years that way. a little O2 will not hurt a barleywine. If your bottling practices are good and the bottles are clean and sanitized, there will be no problem. Wax as you mentioned is not a bad idea. In fact, some 02 in a barleywine adds some characteristic flavors that folks expect from that style.

 

[Oldskewl]

Subscribed. Looking to try my hands at a Big Barleywine or Wheatwine over the winter

 

[pshankstar]

Pulled a hydrometer sample today (11 days since pitching) and it was down to 1.031 (SG was 1.107) so it’s around 10.3% ABV. The sample is a little sweet, I hope the yeast can still chew through more of it. I bumped the fermentation chamber up to 71, for it has been around 66 since pitching.

As I continue to make progress, I’ll post more updates.

 

[ProblemChild]

Optimum temp for strain is 73°F. this close to the FG, I would take it all the way to the top of the range. 74°F will not hurt it now - the bulk of fermentation is over. Eek out those last 6-8 points. Try to drive it just south of 1.025.

Don't forget to take the fermenter for a walk - that will help rouse the yeasties as well.

 

[pshankstar]

Optimum temp for strain is 73°F. this close to the FG, I would take it all the way to the top of the range. 74°F will not hurt it now - the bulk of fermentation is over. Eek out those last 6-8 points. Try to drive it just south of 1.025.

Don't forget to take the fermenter for a walk - that will help rouse the yeasties as well.

Maybe I’ll bump the fermentation chamber a little higher and give the fermenter a little rocking. [emoji6] Thanks for the input!

 

[pshankstar]

Well, I kegged the beer on Saturday (1/5/19). I placed the 2oz of bourbon soaked oak chips into one of the stainless steel mesh sleeves (sanitized of course), placed it in the sanitized keg, then racked the beer into the keg. Set the regulator to 25 PSI.
This afternoon (1/7/19) I dropped the regulator to 12PSI. I'll pull a sample later tonight or later this week and continue to report back.
OG - 1.107, FG - 1.024, Beersmith puts it at 11.1% ABV and the yeast attenuated 75.8%.

 

[ProblemChild]

sounds pretty much on target. nice to see you got the last few points. post a pic with the official tasting.

 

[pshankstar]

sounds pretty much on target. nice to see you got the last few points. post a pic with the official tasting.

I really want to pull a sample but I can’t kick this darn cold. So I’m trying to wait on tasting it until it’s gone, but I’m almost there so it’s so hard to wait.

I will definitely post a photo and feedback too.

 

[ProblemChild]

I'll be right over. Let me take care of that tasting for you. I promise I will do a thorough job