Barleywine in memory of my dads dog

[BSBrewer83]

My dads dog passed suddenly a couple months ago. In memory we want to brew a barleywine and bottle it with labels. The recipe is Old Ruffian

Batch Size: 6.25 gal
Boil Size: 10.54 gal
Color: 10.1 SRM
Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.116 (26.9° P)
Est FG: 1.029 SG (7.3° P)
ABV: 11.7%

Ingredients Amount Name Type #
26 lbs 4.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
10.0 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)
10.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)
5.0 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)
3.5 oz Chinook [13.0%] - Boil 60 min
2.0 oz Amarillo Gold [8.5%] - Boil 30 min
3.0 oz Amarillo Gold [8.5%] - Boil 5 min

I want to add oak cubes that have been soaked in some johhnie walker black. I have never done this but think it might add some good flavor. My question is how long should the oak cubes soak? When should I add them to the beer? How long do I keep them in the beer?

I plan on bottle conditioning this beer so that it will be ready around Christmas time. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[LostBoyScout]

Nice, my first homebrew was the day after my cat passed, so I named it after the cat. I've since developed a recipe named after our late dog using ingredients related to her origins (Scotland) but with a Canadian twist.

I think, based on boil and batch size, you meant to have a longer boil than 60 min? I would suggest 120 - 180 min to get the good barleywine characteristics goin'.

I don't have the experience to critique beyond that, but I think you're on the right track keeping the grain bill simple and mostly pale malt. Oak cubes can stay in the beer a lot longer than oak chips, as their surface area is much smaller. From what I know, chips you'd be looking at days to maaaybe weeks but with cubes you can leave in for weeks to months. You'll want to periodically taste-test of course. I think the longer the better for the spirit soak, so if you're planning to use them, might as well get soaking now.

 

[Gavin C]

You're boiling off 4.25 gallons in 60 mins. What do you use to heat the wort. This is incredible.

 

[MaxStout]

I want to add oak cubes that have been soaked in some johhnie walker black. I have never done this but think it might add some good flavor. My question is how long should the oak cubes soak? When should I add them to the beer? How long do I keep them in the beer?

I plan on bottle conditioning this beer so that it will be ready around Christmas time. Any suggestions are welcome.

I brewed a 5-gallon batch of RIS last year and used oak cubes soaked in Maker's Mark. It lent a nice, "barrel-aged" flavor.

I put 2 oz. of medium-toasted oak cubes in a small jelly jar, topped it off with bourbon and let it sit for about 2 weeks with the lid tight. When I racked the beer to secondary, I dumped in the cubes, along with the whiskey. It aged in secondary for 3 months before I bottled.

Be sure to use cubes and not chips. The chips tend to leach out tannins from the oak if used more than a few weeks.

 

[MaxStout]

You're boiling off 4.25 gallons in 60 mins. What do you use to heat the wort. This is incredible.

A good chunk of that 4.25 gallons will be absorbed by the 27 lbs of grain. Still, there's close to 2 gallons being boiled off, which seems a bit high.

 

[BSBrewer83]

You're boiling off 4.25 gallons in 60 mins. What do you use to heat the wort. This is incredible.

LOL! whoops. The boil time should be 90 minutes and I think I must have changed my boil off rate on accident with beersmith. I was messing around with some stuff earlier. I will get that fixed.

 

[BSBrewer83]

I brewed a 5-gallon batch of RIS last year and used oak cubes soaked in Maker's Mark. It lent a nice, "barrel-aged" flavor.

I put 2 oz. of medium-toasted oak cubes in a small jelly jar, topped it off with bourbon and let it sit for about 2 weeks with the lid tight. When I racked the beer to secondary, I dumped in the cubes, along with the whiskey. It aged in secondary for 3 months before I bottled.

Be sure to use cubes and not chips. The chips tend to leach out tannins from the oak if used more than a few weeks.

Thanks for the advice. Sounds tasty.

 

[catdaddy66]

Sorry for the loss of your dad's pet. It is a tremendous loss...

Some of the best beers I've made were memorial in nature. I love that you can toast to the lost loved one with each beer. Salute!

 

[SC_Ryan]

+1 on the three month time frame for oak cubes. I would start tasting it after about 6-8 weeks just to be sure you don't over-oak.

 

[BSBrewer83]

+1 on the three month time frame for oak cubes. I would start tasting it after about 6-8 weeks just to be sure you don't over-oak.

Will do. Thanks for the advice.

 

[h0psnobery]

What kind of oak? IIRC American is the most intense oak flavor, French is the weakest, and Hungarian is somewhere in the middle. The level of toast will also make a difference. Whatever you decide on, I usually soak for at least a week and let them sit in secondary a month before I check for flavor.

 

[BSBrewer83]

Ita gonna be a huge beer so was gonna go either hungarian or american.