Brewsmith
Home brewing moogerfooger
I just finished bottling my annual barleywine that was brewed in late December. I was shooting from a slightly lower gravity from the previous years, which started at about 1.113 and was almost 12%. It was great, but some of the judging comments about it said there was a little bit of residual sweetness still there.
This year's recipe was changed a little and the OG was only 1.087. I mashed low at 148, kept the crystal grains to a minimum and pitched on a yeast cake from a pale ale. At the secondary the gravity was at 1.016 and about 81% attenuation, but at bottling it had dropped another 4 points giving me a final gravity of 1.012, an ABV of 9.9% and an attenuation of almost 85% without adding any sugar to the recipe. The bitterness and alcohol is a bit harsh now, but with some age this should be one fantastic barleywine. If you want the recipe, check out the 2007 Old Helicon in my sig.
This year's recipe was changed a little and the OG was only 1.087. I mashed low at 148, kept the crystal grains to a minimum and pitched on a yeast cake from a pale ale. At the secondary the gravity was at 1.016 and about 81% attenuation, but at bottling it had dropped another 4 points giving me a final gravity of 1.012, an ABV of 9.9% and an attenuation of almost 85% without adding any sugar to the recipe. The bitterness and alcohol is a bit harsh now, but with some age this should be one fantastic barleywine. If you want the recipe, check out the 2007 Old Helicon in my sig.
