Looking for feedback on barleywine recipe

[Vex]

Hi all,



I've been toying with the idea of a barleywine for some time. Due to a mistake from the supplier, I was sent 50 lbs of crushed 2-row rather than a sack. I figured now was as good a time as any to make one.



I typically look to the bjcp guidelines when designing a recipe, but barleywines have massive variance in the gravities and IBUs.



I'm leaning towards the following (note: I typically get 70-75% efficiency, so I input this at 60% due to reading that it is expected in larger beers) for 5.5 gallons:



24 lbs 2-row

.75 lbs caramel 120L



1 oz Magnum 75 min 33 IBUs

1 oz Centennial 60 min 20 IBUs

.5 oz Centennial 30 min 8 IBUs

.5 oz Falconers Flight 30 min 10 IBUs

.5 oz Centennial 5 min 2 IBUs

.5 oz Falconers Flight 5 min 2 IBUs



I may whirlpool and dry hop, but wanted to get a grasp of the total IBUs first.



Wyeast 1275 Thames Valley Ale yeast



OG: 1.100

IBU: 76

BU/GU ratio: 0.77



It'll probably be a 60-75 minute mash at ~152. 90 minute boil to yield 5.5 gallons.



The yeast choice is because I made a starter for 1056 and it's a dud. Oh well. Centennial for hops because I think it's cheating. They are a very forgiving hop regardless of when you put them in the boil.



Thoughts? Critiques? I'd love to hear it. Especially regarding the hop schedule. Right now it looks like a gigantic IPA.



Thanks in advance!

 

[55x11]

Hi all,

I've been toying with the idea of a barleywine for some time. Due to a mistake from the supplier, I was sent 50 lbs of crushed 2-row rather than a sack. I figured now was as good a time as any to make one.

I typically look to the bjcp guidelines when designing a recipe, but barleywines have massive variance in the gravities and IBUs.

I'm leaning towards the following (note: I typically get 70-75% efficiency, so I input this at 60% due to reading that it is expected in larger beers) for 5.5 gallons:

24 lbs 2-row
.75 lbs caramel 120L

1.5 oz Magnum 75 min 33 IBUs
1 oz Centennial 60 min 20 IBUs
.5 oz Centennial 30 min 8 IBUs
.5 oz Falconers Flight 30 min 10 IBUs
.5 oz Centennial 5 min 2 IBUs
.5 oz Falconers Flight 5 min 2 IBUs

I may whirlpool and dry hop, but wanted to get a grasp of the total IBUs first.

Wyeast 1275 Thames Valley Ale yeast

OG: 1.100
IBU: 76
BU/GU ratio: 0.77

It'll probably be a 60-75 minute mash at ~152. 90 minute boil to yield 5.5 gallons.

The yeast choice is because I made a starter for 1056 and it's a dud. Oh well. Centennial for hops because I think it's cheating. They are a very forgiving hop regardless of when you put them in the boil.

Thoughts? Critiques? I'd love to hear it. Especially regarding the hop schedule. Right now it looks like a gigantic IPA.

Thanks in advance!

Overall looks very good. Parameters right down the middle of American Barley Wine as per BJCP, maybe could use a bit darker color, but otherwise its fine.
I would mash lower. 148-150 or so.
Check AAU on your Magnum. It may give you more than 33 IBU.
Crystal-120 can give you harsh ash-like burned flavor. I prefer to avoid it and not go above 80 (untill 220-250 or so). I would use some Crystal 15 - say 1lb, and Crystal 80, another 1lb. Some Special B - 0.25 lb. That should help with the color too.
Make sure your mashtun can fit all the grain and water.
Finally, make sure you have highly attenuating yeast. I prefer WLP-001 or WLP-090. I am guessing alcohol content is about 10%?
You want it to attenuate well. Age it for at least 6 months. Stash some bottles away and age for 1-3 years.

 

[Vex]

Overall looks very good. Parameters right down the middle of American Barley Wine as per BJCP, maybe could use a bit darker color, but otherwise its fine.
I would mash lower. 148-150 or so.
Check AAU on your Magnum. It may give you more than 33 IBU.
Crystal-120 can give you harsh ash-like burned flavor. I prefer to avoid it and not go above 80 (untill 220-250 or so). I would use some Crystal 15 - say 1lb, and Crystal 80, another 1lb. Some Special B - 0.25 lb. That should help with the color too.
Make sure your mashtun can fit all the grain and water.
Finally, make sure you have highly attenuating yeast. I prefer WLP-001 or WLP-090. I am guessing alcohol content is about 10%?
You want it to attenuate well. Age it for at least 6 months. Stash some bottles away and age for 1-3 years.

Good evening 55x11 and happy holidays.

Thank you for the response.

I intend to brew this tomorrow. Regarding the Crystal, I only have 10L and 120L on hand. I understand that they are the extreme ends of the spectrum, but I couldn't consciously brew a barleywine with just 10L. There wouldn't be enough complexity.

I am ecstatic you brought up Special B though. I had forgotten I have a pound lying around. What if I ditched the 120L for 1 lb of 10L and 1 lb of Special B? A pound of Special B may be overdoing it, but it's only 4% of the malt bill. The SRM of those two together is also tantalizing.

That would definitely lend itself to some layering and complexity over time.

Again, thanks for the feedback.

Cheers!

 

[55x11]

Good evening 55x11 and happy holidays.

Thank you for the response.

I intend to brew this tomorrow. Regarding the Crystal, I only have 10L and 120L on hand. I understand that they are the extreme ends of the spectrum, but I couldn't consciously brew a barleywine with just 10L. There wouldn't be enough complexity.

I am ecstatic you brought up Special B though. I had forgotten I have a pound lying around. What if I ditched the 120L for 1 lb of 10L and 1 lb of Special B? A pound of Special B may be overdoing it, but it's only 4% of the malt bill. The SRM of those two together is also tantalizing.

That would definitely lend itself to some layering and complexity over time.

Again, thanks for the feedback.

Cheers!

If that's all you have, I would go with your original plan of 0.75 lb of C-120 and maybe 0.25 lb of Special B - you could scale C-120 down to 0.5lb.

Plenty of classic Barley Wine recipes use C-120.

 

[Vex]

I wanted to follow up on this.

I went with the recipe I initially posted (edited; 55x11 was correct, my initial Magnum amount was off by .5 oz)

OG: 1.093

Fermented at 62-64 for 2 weeks. Upped to 70 during a long weekend that I could monitor it.

Racked Friday (day 20) into a smaller carboy that I intended to bulk age. SG: 1.031

There's more headspace than I care for in the secondary, so I do have a question.

Would you leave as is? I'm thinking I might make a large starter and pitch it in there to help lower the gravity and reduce the chances of oxidation.

All comments and critiques welcome.

Cheers!

 

[Vex]

About two months ago I took another reading and the gravity had not changed. Still 1.031.

I decided to make an IPA, then transfer the barleywine onto the yeast cake. I believe it was harvested Bell's yeast.

While prepping for bottling today, I opened the bucket and there were signs of krausen!

OG of 1.093
FG of 1.022

I'll post again in a couple months when I crack the first one.


View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1494185665.422432.jpg

 

[imasickboy]

Major props for the continuing updates. Too many threads here die off before the beer is finished.

 

[Vex]

I brewed this beer six months ago to the day, so it was about time to reap the benefits.

To alleviate any suspense, something happened in the bottle. Either I overprimed (it was a couple months since I've bottled) or the beer was not finished fermenting. Both cases seem unlikely given the nearly 10% alcohol and 3.5 months in the bucket, but alas, I had a bottle bomb and the one I opened today (pic at the bottom) are signs of overcarbonation.

I only discovered the broken bottle this week and have since moved all bottles to the garage.

Nonetheless, after letting the beer set, it was pleasant. Noticeable, but not off putting alcohol warmth; comforting caramel complementing excellent balance. Lends itself a tad on the sweet side. Not distracting, but in an overall balance line of thinking.

Overall, a distinguished, enjoyable beer. My optimism toys with the idea that the two mishaps are isolated incidents. Time will tell. Ultimately, a 9.5% fermented beverage such as this tends to alleviate any stressful results of what was a journey that included insight, test of patience, and the experience to watch a beer evolve.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1498344926.808317.jpg

Cheers.

 

[Elduder]

You could decarbonate a sample's worth to check for continued attenuation if you wanted to know for sure.