Barleywine for first All-Grain?

[jim4065]

I've only brewed two extract kits (and drank up one) but it seems like you've gotta keep a goodly supply in the pipeline. That being the case - and considering that I want to try an All-Grain - I'm considering a Barleywine, mostly because it'll be a freakin' year before it good to drink, and at my age there ain't any guarantees.

So - does this make sense, or should I find an extract kit for the Barleywine and make a "sensible" AG? I'd kinda hate to bottle a batch - wait for a year - and end up despising the stuff. Also - I live in a dry county, in Arkansas for God's sake! Ain't no Barleywine on the store shelves over in the next county, so I've never tasted the stuff.

 

[carnevoodoo]

I'd start with something smaller. You could get a stuck sparge, poor efficiency, and a big damn mess to deal with. It is best to start small and work up. But if you really have an itch to do it, just make sure your mash tun is big enough!

 

[UnderThePorchBrewing]

I made this as my first barley wine https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f74/johns-red-english-barleywine-97485/ both my wife and I thought it was great a little malty without too much bitterness. It is incredible watching/tasting it evolve. Brewed it in June, it was very good fresh and a bit raw in Aug/Sept at about 10 weeks old, right now at 6 months it has a little more bitterness due to the yeast dying off but from what I read and have been told this will be wonderful at one year as everything mellows. This is a partial mash so it can ease you into AG and is a very good brew. am going to brew it again in Jan so I have it next year again. I cut it in half and only brewed a case now wish I had done 5G.

 

[jim4065]

Holy Cow, UnderThePorch! I had a feeling I was sluffing off, but your list of bottled confirms all my worst fears - and then there's the "Ready to brew" list! To quote Snuffy Smith "Time's a wasting!"

Just finished the "Fermentation Chiller", so I guess tomorrow's "Brew Day".

 

[babalu87]

Pick something else

 

[UnderThePorchBrewing]

Holy Cow, UnderThePorch! I had a feeling I was sluffing off, but your list of bottled confirms all my worst fears - and then there's the "Ready to brew" list! To quote Snuffy Smith "Time's a wasting!"

Just finished the "Fermentation Chiller", so I guess tomorrow's "Brew Day".

had a week off work a month or so ago and spent 3 days of it brewing

the ready to brew list is grain and DME (one is a partial mash) that I ordered in measured out and placed into plastic buckets so that when I get a chance I grab one off the shelf grind and brew. hopefully going to get a chance to do 2 more batches by the new year. if we get ice and rain on Sunday it's brew day otherwise going to Longwood Gardens for the Christmas light show.

 

[UnderThePorchBrewing]

Pick something else

I'd start with something smaller. You could get a stuck sparge, poor efficiency, and a big damn mess to deal with. It is best to start small and work up. But if you really have an itch to do it, just make sure your mash tun is big enough!

jim, I do agree with this some. was my 3rd partial mash when I brewed John's Red Barleywine. do at least one mid gravity beer to get the idea then go for it
edit: I almost always dive in and just do it. for a partial mash barley wine a trial run is a good idea. for a full allgrain I would do a few batches first, this way if the efficiency is off or something else you can dial in your process and technique a little. your first big beer you want to be good.

 

[jackson_d]

dont do it.... you'll most likely end up with like 50% efficiency on your first AG. give it a month and do a few AG batches first so you get familiar with the process of sparging and water temps and boil off and hydrometer readings based off of estimated OG, etc...

no sense in making your first AG a beer that you cant drink for a year.. get a few under your belt and brew the barleywine at the end of February. Then next March, right at the beginning of spring, you can taste the barleywine...

seriously....

 

[barleynhops]

I agree with Jackson. I started AG brewing after about 4 extract batches and let me tell you, there are just a ton of mistakes to make when you're first starting out with AG...I made many of these mistakes and given the price tag that you'll ultimately have to spend on a barleywine, you may want to get your process down first. You'll want to figure things out about your system before you dive into a seriously big beer like that. I've been at it for about 2 years now and am only now starting to think about a barleywine for my next batch. It took that long to work out the kinks and build the confidence.

 

[TXCrash]

2 options:
Go with one of the crowd favorites for your first beer and have 5 gallons of beer to show for it in 2 months.

Do the darn barley wine but do a 2-3 gallon batch. Have something to show for it in a year. I wouldn't do this as you WILL have some issues with your process that'll need to be worked out.

Do NOT do a full 5 gallon batch of barley wine. That's a LOT of grain which translates more to move when crap goes wrong.

 

[Revvy]

I would do something with a quicker turn around than a Barelywine. I mean if you are not going to be able to taste it in it's fully conditioned and aged glory for a year, then how will you be able to assess any mistakes in your process?

You wont be able to taste it un-green to know if you extracted tannins for instance because your thermometer was off or your mash tun didn't hold temps, or your crush was too fine.

You could develop a bad brewing "habit" for example and since you can't get feedback from that beer, it could be a year's worth of brewing, where that aspect of your process would be so ingrained before you got the feedback from that beer. You could taste it a year later and realize that it has "blah blah blah blah" and realize all your beers in the last year have that.

I personally would do something really simple, with a quick trunover, with no step or cereal mashes or added steps to it. And with a low gravity that there will be a short grain to glass turn around time...Like a mild or a pale ale or like a relavtively low gravity SMaSH. A simple one grain one hop beer with a 1.050 graivity.

That way you can get asses your crush/and efficiency, the ability of your mashtun to hold temps, stuff like that.

 

[sp1365]

As stated before I would do something a bit smaller than a Barleywine. My suggestion would be a Mild or a Bitter. Both of these can be turned around very fast (a Mild in around 2 weeks if you keg). Then you can get a feel for how AG works and dial in your procedures.