Last December I brewed a very simple recipe for a Wee Heavy, and according to Beersmith the est OG should have been 1.10. During the brew session I boiled down in a separate kettle 2 gallons of wort to enhance the caramel character/flavor (I know I could have just added some Crystal malt, but wanted to try this as an experiment).
The kettle caramelization lasted a little longer that I wanted, and the 2 gallons became a very sweet and thick syrup, which was not my end goal. After adding it back to the final 10 minutes of the boil, my final OG was 1.13. Fermentation only attenuated down to 1.038, which is a 12% beer.
Since the alcohol is higher and the malt character is very pronounced, can this even be considered a Wee Heavy at this point? Any hop character is completely gone to balance the malt. It has been bottle conditioning and recent samples gives an impression of it being between a stronger wee heavy and an English Style Barleywine. Any thoughts?
Recipe
20 lbs 2-row (UK)
1 lb Carapils
8 oz Roasted Barley
2 oz Fuggles (90 min boil)
Edinburgh Ale - White Labs WLP028 yeast
The kettle caramelization lasted a little longer that I wanted, and the 2 gallons became a very sweet and thick syrup, which was not my end goal. After adding it back to the final 10 minutes of the boil, my final OG was 1.13. Fermentation only attenuated down to 1.038, which is a 12% beer.
Since the alcohol is higher and the malt character is very pronounced, can this even be considered a Wee Heavy at this point? Any hop character is completely gone to balance the malt. It has been bottle conditioning and recent samples gives an impression of it being between a stronger wee heavy and an English Style Barleywine. Any thoughts?
Recipe
20 lbs 2-row (UK)
1 lb Carapils
8 oz Roasted Barley
2 oz Fuggles (90 min boil)
Edinburgh Ale - White Labs WLP028 yeast
