American Barleywine Bigfoot Barleywine Ale Clone

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jeff62217

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2013
Messages
631
Reaction score
108
Location
Mountain House
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Wyeast 1056
Yeast Starter
yes
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.5
Original Gravity
1.096
Final Gravity
1.02
Boiling Time (Minutes)
140
IBU
101.4
Color
14.9
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14-21 @ 65-66F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
optional
Tasting Notes
Tastes great young, after aging, toffee, caramel balance hop flavors
I emailed sierra nevada about info on their grain bill for their BF barleywine, and they ended up sending me the entire recipe. Here it is.. I brewed it once, got 58% and 9.2% abv, beer came out excellent. I have adjusted it to 65% efficiency, as that's what I'm getting now vs then....using percentages below adjust accordingly.

Pale 2 row: 89%
Crystal 60L: 9%

Mash at 154
OG 23.0 Plato
FG: 6.5 Plato

Hops:
140 mins: 1/2 cascade 1/2 centennial
90 mins cascade
45 mins: chinook
0 mins: chinook

Dry hop with
1/8 chinook
5/8 cascade
1/4 centennial

How I interpreted it:
2 row: 20.5 lbs
crystal 60: 2.0 lbs
carapils: .05lbs

Cascade 1.25oz @ 140 min whirlpool
Centennial 1.25oz @ 140 min
Cascade 1.0oz @ 90 min
Chinook 1.25oz @45 min
Chinook 1.5oz @0 min

Dry hop with
1.25oz cascade
0.5oz centennial
0.25oz chinook

20140825_181011.jpg
 
Would like to brew this as well. Hoping to do a 75 minute mash and 90 minute boil. You must have made a hell of a starter....


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I couldn't help but notice your key chain. Did you get that at the Firestone Walker Beer Festival?
 
I've also been looking for a barleywine recipe, thanks for sharing. It may be a bit ambitious for my first AG batch but I was toying with the idea of doing a parti-gyle brew session with the first runnings being the bigfoot and the second runnings being a smaller beer, maybe littlefoot. Is this standard practice for AG brewers who have a large grain bill and an entire day devoted to brewing?
 
Really 140 min? Very odd boil time... I have been looking for a BW recipe. I think I might have found it.

Yeah caught me off guard at first too.

I've also been looking for a barleywine recipe, thanks for sharing. It may be a bit ambitious for my first AG batch but I was toying with the idea of doing a parti-gyle brew session with the first runnings being the bigfoot and the second runnings being a smaller beer, maybe littlefoot. Is this standard practice for AG brewers who have a large grain bill and an entire day devoted to brewing?

No problem, hope you have at least a 10 gal mash tun, anything less and you may have to do a partial mash. If you have to cut back some of the base malt you can substitute DME/LME.
 
Bigfoot is my all time favorite beer. Thanks to the OP for emailing and getting the recipe... And then sharing with us.

It may be a bit ambitious for my first AG batch but I was toying with the idea of doing a parti-gyle brew session with the first runnings being the bigfoot and the second runnings being a smaller beer, maybe littlefoot. Is this standard practice for AG brewers who have a large grain bill and an entire day devoted to brewing?

I'm happy to give advice, feel free to ignore it, just my two cents.

First, whenever I brew a big beer, I party-gyle. I just can't waste the potential wort.

It's not really much more laborious you just collect more wort from the same grist and do a second boil. If you have a second brew kettle it will make the brew session much more enjoyable and less drawn out.

Personally, I think you should save this recipe for about your 5th ag batch and do a party-gyle. A beer this big and adding party-gyle to your first ag could make a disastrous day. I would recommend starting with a couple smaller beers first so you can get a feel for your system. Ignore numbers and enjoy making beer.

That being said, It's kind of a poetic thing making a barley wine right from the start. If I read this I'd probably ignore it and do a bw anyways. No matter what you decide to do, good luck. If you have other questions about party-gyle I'm happy to answer what I can.
 
Bigfoot is my all time favorite beer. Thanks to the OP for emailing and getting the recipe... And then sharing with us.

I'm happy to give advice, feel free to ignore it, just my two cents.

First, whenever I brew a big beer, I party-gyle. I just can't waste the potential wort.

It's not really much more laborious you just collect more wort from the same grist and do a second boil. If you have a second brew kettle it will make the brew session much more enjoyable and less drawn out.

Personally, I think you should save this recipe for about your 5th ag batch and do a party-gyle. A beer this big and adding party-gyle to your first ag could make a disastrous day. I would recommend starting with a couple smaller beers first so you can get a feel for your system. Ignore numbers and enjoy making beer.

That being said, It's kind of a poetic thing making a barley wine right from the start. If I read this I'd probably ignore it and do a bw anyways. No matter what you decide to do, good luck. If you have other questions about party-gyle I'm happy to answer what I can.

ya so i have been wanting to do partigyle after a barley wine. but need a little help. if i want to do a stout, could i just remash the spent grain with some crushed roasted grains for a short time. then lauter again and boil?

and how in the world could i estimate the OG for this?
 
ya so i have been wanting to do partigyle after a barley wine. but need a little help. if i want to do a stout, could i just remash the spent grain with some crushed roasted grains for a short time. then lauter again and boil?

and how in the world could i estimate the OG for this?

There are online calculators, you can use this:

http://www.astrocaver.com/java/Parti-Gyle.html

I'm assuming you want two equal quantities. So just put the OG of the Barley Wine into the First Runnings 1/2 Batch box. When you solve for the other variables the Second Runnings 1/2 Batch box will give you the estimated OG of the second batch.

To make a stout from the 2nd runnings of this beer I would just ad the roasted barley maybe a pound of a C Grain and mash it for another 20-30 minutes. Sparge as you normally would and there you go. As Barley Wines generally require a 90 minute boil or more, it would be beneficial if you had another pot & burner to collect into and boil. Obviously it's not necessary, it just could save you a bunch of time on your brew day.

Make sure you plan ahead and make a schedule, it will make life easier on your first party gyle. If you only have one pot, you need to figure out how you're going to heat the the sparge water for the second beer while you are conducting your first boil. If you use a second pot for a HLT, I would plan to use it as your boil kettle for beer #2 and do a batch sparge for this beer.

Once your first beer is done and you're still boiling your 2nd wort, I would get to cleaning the boil kettle and specifically your wort chiller right away (You'll be needing it again very soon!). First chance you get, start cleaning your mash tun. (Do you see a theme yet? Take advantage of every moment you have to clean or prepare for the next step).

I know this might seem excessive, but the brew day is going to be longer. You have an additional hour of boiling, you have a second beer to cool, you have to clean the equipment twice, etc. It all adds up. I love party gyle brewing. I try to do it as often as possible, it really helps to have an organized mind and a plan of attack. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll try my best to help you out.
 
There are online calculators, you can use this:

http://www.astrocaver.com/java/Parti-Gyle.html

I'm assuming you want two equal quantities. So just put the OG of the Barley Wine into the First Runnings 1/2 Batch box. When you solve for the other variables the Second Runnings 1/2 Batch box will give you the estimated OG of the second batch.

To make a stout from the 2nd runnings of this beer I would just ad the roasted barley maybe a pound of a C Grain and mash it for another 20-30 minutes. Sparge as you normally would and there you go. As Barley Wines generally require a 90 minute boil or more, it would be beneficial if you had another pot & burner to collect into and boil. Obviously it's not necessary, it just could save you a bunch of time on your brew day.

Make sure you plan ahead and make a schedule, it will make life easier on your first party gyle. If you only have one pot, you need to figure out how you're going to heat the the sparge water for the second beer while you are conducting your first boil. If you use a second pot for a HLT, I would plan to use it as your boil kettle for beer #2 and do a batch sparge for this beer.

Once your first beer is done and you're still boiling your 2nd wort, I would get to cleaning the boil kettle and specifically your wort chiller right away (You'll be needing it again very soon!). First chance you get, start cleaning your mash tun. (Do you see a theme yet? Take advantage of every moment you have to clean or prepare for the next step).

I know this might seem excessive, but the brew day is going to be longer. You have an additional hour of boiling, you have a second beer to cool, you have to clean the equipment twice, etc. It all adds up. I love party gyle brewing. I try to do it as often as possible, it really helps to have an organized mind and a plan of attack. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll try my best to help you out.

wow, great info thanks a lot. i do BIAB so partigyle will be interesting. i will be doing this overnight so not too much problems with time ans i do no chill so no time spent cooling and waiting. i let you know how it goes.
 
I've been told 05 and 1056 are the same strain, and in my experience if not the same they're pretty similar. I haven't with this recipe, but I'll sometimes use one in place of the other.
 
Couple of questions?

1. How much did you end up with in your bottling bucket?
2. How many times did you rack?
3. How long did it take to ferment out?
4. How active was the fermentation? If I put 5 gallons into a 6 gallon carboy would it blow off?


I've been looking to brew a barley wine for my newborn grandson's 21st birthday and this looks like a real winner. He is not quite 6 months old right now and I was thinking I would brew this and get it bottled before his first birthday so it will have 20 years age on it for his 21st.

Any suggestions on how to properly age it for 20 plus years?

It surely won't all make it 20 years, and I might not either, but I would love to have him enjoying one of my beers and know that I was brewing it for him, when he was just a baby.
 
Couple of questions?

1. How much did you end up with in your bottling bucket?
2. How many times did you rack?
3. How long did it take to ferment out?
4. How active was the fermentation? If I put 5 gallons into a 6 gallon carboy would it blow off?


I've been looking to brew a barley wine for my newborn grandson's 21st birthday and this looks like a real winner. He is not quite 6 months old right now and I was thinking I would brew this and get it bottled before his first birthday so it will have 20 years age on it for his 21st.

Any suggestions on how to properly age it for 20 plus years?

It surely won't all make it 20 years, and I might not either, but I would love to have him enjoying one of my beers and know that I was brewing it for him, when he was just a baby.

I dry hopped in primary, after about 21 days of fermentation, so I only racked once. You could always rack to secondary and bulk age if you dry hop in primary like I do.

I ended up with 5 gallons or a hair over in the bottling bucket.

It's been a while since I brewed it last time, but I fermented in a 6.5 gallon carboy and I can't remember if it was active enough to need a blow off tube.


If you plan on aging for 20 years I'd look into making some wax seals for your bottle caps. In addition to providing a better oxygen barrier they look awesome as well. Plenty of info on youtube and google on that.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out. :mug:
 
I dry hopped in primary, after about 21 days of fermentation, so I only racked once. You could always rack to secondary and bulk age if you dry hop in primary like I do.

I ended up with 5 gallons or a hair over in the bottling bucket.

It's been a while since I brewed it last time, but I fermented in a 6.5 gallon carboy and I can't remember if it was active enough to need a blow off tube.


If you plan on aging for 20 years I'd look into making some wax seals for your bottle caps. In addition to providing a better oxygen barrier they look awesome as well. Plenty of info on youtube and google on that.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out. :mug:

Thanks!

Now I just have to make room in the budget for the ingredients for this and hops for a second run pale ale. I might as well do a party guile.
 
I'm surprised at how simple the grain bill is.. I assumed it required a bit more variety to get those complex flavors they are known for. Then again, I personally haven't tried SN Bigfoot.
 
I'm surprised at how simple the grain bill is.. I assumed it required a bit more variety to get those complex flavors they are known for. Then again, I personally haven't tried SN Bigfoot.

I don't know if SN gives exact recipes to homebrewers, they might just give you something that gets you in the ballpark.

I think a lot of the flavors comes from the insane amount of base malt, hops combination, plus the long boil time may be providing some caramel/toffee flavors. Gonna have to max out the mash tun again soon with this one.

Would've been nice to do this in summer and age it 5-6 months, this beer really benefits from some age. My problem is I always have to check a bottle every couple days/week. ;)
 
I'm surprised at how simple the grain bill is.. I assumed it required a bit more variety to get those complex flavors they are known for. Then again, I personally haven't tried SN Bigfoot.

Don't be surprised. IMO home brewers often put too much variety into a single beer until it's a giant vat of who knows what. A stroll through the recipes section here is proof enough of that. I think it's easy to think of the things we like about beer and we get into the habit of saying "yeah I want some of that."

As far as complexity with a simple grain bill, remember the hops and yeast also add to the complexity. Not to mention they open ferment this beauty which also plays a role.

BFB is a top ten favorite of mine I'd definitely recommend it.
 
I brewed this recipe a few days ago. I didn't think much about the mistake on the amount of carapils - I followed the posted recipe so you could say I skipped carapils entirely. I'm debating on dry hopping prior to aging. Or just not aging and considering it more of an IIPA.
 
I brewed this recipe a few days ago. I didn't think much about the mistake on the amount of carapils - I followed the posted recipe so you could say I skipped carapils entirely. I'm debating on dry hopping prior to aging. Or just not aging and considering it more of an IIPA.

Awesome, keep us posted on how it turns out!

Not sure if carapils was the right filler ingredient for that missing 2% of the grain bill, it's just what I filled in when interpreting the recipe from SN. I don't think leaving it out will have any ill effects.

:mug:
 
Those who brewed and bottled this did you use corn sugar or champagne yeast?
Dry hop in the primary after about 14 days for 7 days then rack to bulk age a bit before bottling?
Thinking this might be a good beer to brew next weekend.
 
Those who brewed and bottled this did you use corn sugar or champagne yeast?
Dry hop in the primary after about 14 days for 7 days then rack to bulk age a bit before bottling?
Thinking this might be a good beer to brew next weekend.

I usually just use cane sugar when I bottle, but corn works too. I didn't use additional yeast, just bottled normally. It'll carb up.

I always dry hop in primary, the usually secondary for a few days to drop out the hop trub and most of the yeast especially if I plan on bottling. Your schedule sounds good.

Happy brewing, post your results when it's ready :mug:
 
Brewed this today with a slight variation. Ended up 1.092. Also did my first party gyle. Smaller beer is a pale ale 1.041. Used my HLT as a 2nd boil kettle. Long brew day but had a lot of fun. Can't wait to see how it ends up
 
Hello, is the start of the boil the 140min cascade whirlpool? Makes sense but the fact that whirlpool at the start of the boil and cascade boiling for 140 min threw me.
 
Hello, is the start of the boil the 140min cascade whirlpool? Makes sense but the fact that whirlpool at the start of the boil and cascade boiling for 140 min threw me.

Just went over the email again this morning. They say to whirlpool at 150 mins before the 140 min cascade/centennial addition.:confused:

I've always thought whirlpooling was done at the end of the boil, but I don't have a pump or ports on my kettle to allow me to do it.

Now that I think about it they may have misunderstood the boil addition times. Instead of adding chinook at the end, I might try switching the schedule around and doing it at the beginning and adding the cascade/centennial at the end.

Guess I should've caught that sooner.
 
totally forgot to log this here

brewed on 2/21/2016, bottled 3/28/2016, tasted 6/10/2016

horrible efficiency, came in waaay low on OG (1.077), but ran with it. dry-hopped with additional hops

don't know how close a clone it is, but 3 months in bottle, it's very, very tasty

attachment.php
 
Anybody brewed this up recently? Or another Bigfoot clone recipe? Looking to get some into some bottles soon to start sampling this winter. Drink a few, cellar the rest for a year or more.
 
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not recently, but I still have a couple bottles of my 2016 clone & a 2016 Bigfoot for comparison

I might have to break out a bottle of each, see how they've aged

my guess is they are delicious

Anybody brewed this up recently? Or another Bigfoot clone recipe? Looking to bet a barleywine into some bottles soon to start sampling this winter.
 
I'd be interested to hear that comparison. I ordered a 6 pack a few days ago. Should be here by Friday. Been a long tims since I've had a Bigfoot but I'm looking to brew a barleywine soon and figured it a good place to start. Looks like Sierra Nevada only releases Bigfoot from Jan-April. Not sure which vintage I ordered, (assuming 2020) it didn't say.

I've seen a few Bigfoot clone recipes on here; so you used the OP's recipe but added additional dry hops?
 
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