best barely wine kits.

[nobody]

i want to make a barely wine from a kit. i have looked at the home brewery kits and they come with 13 1/2 pounds of dme. i was wondering who makes the best kits for making a barely wine? i plan on making it this month and breaking it out next year at thanksgiving dinner.

 

[EricCSU]

Any barleywine kit from a reputable seller such as Austin Homebrew, Northern Brewer, etc will yield good results (fermented and conditioned properly of course).

Just an FYI, it is spelled barleywine.

Eric

 

[klyph]

If you get really low efficiency, it might turn out to be a barely wine.

 

[EricCSU]

If you get really low efficiency, it might turn out to be a barely wine.

Definitely funny.

That is one of the best things about extract though, you don't have to worry about efficiency, it is already set for you.

Eric

 

[nobody]

i just noticed i spelled barley wrong!! i had several that night so my spelling was off. i'm not a real good speller anyway, but i can put together about anything from scratch. that seems to be what i'm really good at.

 

[aksea102]

I brewed Austin Homebrew Supply's American Barley Wine last January. Cant say enough about it, except that I will definitely brew it again this winter! Excellent!!

 

[rico567]

The only barleywine I've done has been Midwest's Bigfoot Barleywine. I did the AG version, but so far (not conditioned yet, I just bottled it three weeks ago) so good. I tasted the leftovers and they were good. Simple to make, too. I expect it would be no problem with extract, but be sure you have a minimum 10 gal. MLT if you're doing AG.

 

[heywolfie1015]

I just ordered Old No. 1 from Northern Brewer. I was in the mood to make a barleywine, but not to do an AG batch, and that one looked great. Specifically, it Is an English barleywine (whihh I love) and uses Wyeast 9097-PC, so will get a nice Brett character.

 

[bootney]

Wolfie,

How did your extract turn out? I did the all grain version about 4 weeks ago and just checked the gravity and I hit 12.12% abv. Also tasted what I used for the reading and it was pretty hot throughout with a little cherry flavor at the backend. I plan to transfer to secondary and let it sit for 6 months or so. I'm curious to see how yours did. Look forward to the reply.

 

[heywolfie1015]

Pretty good, I think. I took some tips from BrewStrong and tried to minimize fusels by aerating less off the bat, and then injecting some oxygen about 12-18 hours in. While it definitely has some alcohol bite, it's nowhere near as hot as I'm used to with big beers.

My ABV is around 10% and growing (due to the Brett). I transferred to secondary after about three weeks and plan to bottle sometime in June. The taste was really nice, but very bitter when I tried it. I got some nice fruity notes and that cherry everyone mentions. It definitely needs time, but I think this is going to be a good one.

When I bottle, I'll try to remember to report back on the taste then. So far, I'm happy with the kit.

 

[heywolfie1015]

Just to give an update, this is turning into an amazing beer. I am now down to 1.014 with the Brett activity (from around 1.020 after the Sacch kicked out). Flavor is just wonderful, although still overly bitter because the hops haven't mellowed yet. I definitely get the Brett character in the nose and on the tongue, but it melds beautifully with the cherry and other ester flavors. Man, do I like 9097!

 

[bootney]

Thanks for the update. I haven't touched mine since the last update, but I was thinking of replying to this thread to see how some of you felt about pitching yeast at bottling.

I think I'm going to pitch some extra yeast to help with carbonation because I'd hate to bottle after waiting for 7 months and not have this one carbonate.

What do you guys think?

 

[heywolfie1015]

I think I will almost definitely pitch some extra, probably a little S-04 for consistency's sake. Given the attenuation in my batch, the current yeast is probably pretty tired out by this point. I forget exactly how much extra you are supposed to use, but it's less than a pack. Also, barleywines aren't supposed to have a lot of carbonation, just enough to get a few bubbles.

 

[bootney]

I just read through the first page of threads that popped up on the addition of yeast for bottling. No real clear answer as the amount varied from 1/3 to a whole package. I agree with S-04 as that was what I was going to go with. If you find anything more conclusive let me know.

 

[heywolfie1015]

My recollection from a Brew Strong episode is that it's somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of a pack, properly rehydrated.

 

[I_B_Mongo]

I did the barleywine kit from Norther Brewer last year, and it came out really good. I barrel aged and dry hopped mine. Now, about a year later, its great.

And for those considering pitching bottling yeast, I did due to the high alcohol and the barrel aging. I pitched half a pack of US-04, and carbonated to style.

Good luck, and happy brewing!

 

[bootney]

Thanks for the info Mongo. Did you brew the basic NB barleywine kit?

 

[I_B_Mongo]

No problem bootney. Yeah, I did the NB kit with specialty grains with whatever liquid yeast they suggest. I'd suggest building up a starter though.

 

[heywolfie1015]

Another update. I ended up oaking my beer in December and bottled tonight. The bitterness has faded quite a bit and the Brett is nicely present, but not in an overpowering way. Cherry, tart berries, caramel, a bit of vanilla and a nice mouthfeel that I attribute to the oak tannins. I plan to forget about this beer until Thanksgiving, but that is going to be very, very hard. Northern Brewer put together a helluva kit here. 9097-PC is one of the best yeasts I've ever used.

 

[bootney]

wolf,

I plan to bottle this week as well, and let it sit for another 6 months. Crack one open on the one year brewing anniversary.

 

[bootney]

Alright I bottled last night and man does this beer have a lot going on with it. The ABV for this ended up at 12.5%. I added one teaspoon of dry yeast to the bottling bucket to assist with carbonation. In mine I taste the cherry, caramel, and for whatever reason an almond type flavor on the finish. I'm really surprised by the flavor of this because there really wasn't much going on with the grain build. Now it's hurry up and wait until November.

 

[Ballsjaken]

glad i found this thread...

brewed the old number 1 kit in january, the day my daughter came home from the hospital after she was born. don't plan on opening my first until her 1st birthday. i was wondering what i should do about adding yeast at bottling-time. if s-04 is the consensus, s-04 it will be. how long should i expect > 12% abv beer like this to carb? its the highest gravity i've attempted so far.

(1st post, btw... i've lurked for over a year, great community with tons of great info)

 

[bootney]

I added 1/3 (1 teaspoon) of S-04 right into the bottling bucket ontop of my priming solution and then racked the beer right ontop of it. Gently stirred the mixture and bottled away. I targeted a co2 volume of 2.0.

 

[heywolfie1015]

glad i found this thread...

brewed the old number 1 kit in january, the day my daughter came home from the hospital after she was born. don't plan on opening my first until her 1st birthday. i was wondering what i should do about adding yeast at bottling-time. if s-04 is the consensus, s-04 it will be. how long should i expect > 12% abv beer like this to carb? its the highest gravity i've attempted so far.

(1st post, btw... i've lurked for over a year, great community with tons of great info)

I used 1/3 of a pack by weight, which was a little over 3 grams. Properly rehydrated first, and then dumped it into the bottling bucket after I started racking from the secondary.

Congrats on your daughter and welcome to posting.

EDIT: I went for a little less CO2 than bootney; more around 1.6 volumes.

 

[bootney]

I forgot to add that I plan to let this sit for 6 months. That doesn't mean it won't be carbonated by then, but I plan to let it sit for a while.

 

[bootney]

Wolfy, I wanted to go 1.6 but man did that make me nervous to go that low(usually 2.2 is what I target) so I went in the middle of desired range. I hope the carbonation doesn't end up being to much.

After reading multiple threads on whether or not hydration of the yeast was necessary, I decided just to dump right into the priming solution.

 

[heywolfie1015]

I'm sure yours will be fine. I was actually thinking afterward that I might have gone too low. If anything, it will be great for us to compare notes on the final result for next time.

 

[Ballsjaken]

I forgot to add that I plan to let this sit for 6 months. That doesn't mean it won't be carbonated by then, but I plan to let it sit for a while.

my plan is to bottle in october, giving it around 3 months to carbonate. i did 5 weeks in primary and its been in secondary ever since.