Imperial IPA vs. Barleywine

[HarvInSTL]

Thanks for the great reply, abt. I'm going to re-evaluate my concept for the barleywine. I'm not sure I really need to make it so huge on the OG, but I figured why not max it out. But a FG of 1.040 is pretty high. Luckily, the brewdate for this is still weeks in the future, so I can play around with the concept a lot more.

No matter your SG just pitch some Qyeast 1056 and after 2 weeks rack to secondary, dry hop and pitch some dry champagne yeast.

 

[Grimsawyer]

ok, earlier I read that IIPA's don't stand the test of time where barleywines do... ok, i'm confused. Isn't the hight ABV and hopload what makes it possible for either of these beers to age well. Hops and alcohol being great preservitves? IPA's were first made to have a better shelf life... IIPA's have more. I'm confused here. If you have a beer that's a bit drier and hoppier tasting with 9% and a barleywine that has more bittering hops and less finishing hops than an IIPA but with 9%abv wouldn't they both get better for the same amount of time? Wouldn't they both peak 7-10 years out?

 

[the_bird]

One of the key differences between a barleywine and an IIPA is hop flavor and aroma, which is going to drop out fairly soon even when added at these huge levels. Hop flavor and aroma simply doesn't last forever. In effect, I would expect an aged IIPA to be fairly similar in character to a barleywine, albeit more bitter and somewhat drier - but without the big hop character that makes an IIPA.

 

[Torchiest]

Yeah, you basically are drinking the IIPA for the hops, which do keep the beer from turning, but in a sort of altruistic, taking-one-for-the-team kind of way. They're still drinkable later, but the best aspect of the flavor is gone.

 

[abt]

My opinion, stay away from champagne yeast. It is a poor last-result sort of thing. Pitch plenty of strong yeast in a well-oxygenated and fermentable wort and keep it happy. There is no pro brewer (certainly not winning awards) that would use champagne yeast in a beer.

 

[Torchiest]

Don't worry, champagne yeast is not on the agenda. I was curious about the characteristics of the WLP099 though. Anyone used it before?

 

[Torchiest]

Okay, it's been almost a year, and I still haven't brewed the Barleywine yet, so I'll re-open this topic for further discussion. I'm going to do a half size batch and throw it in my 3 gallon carboy, so I can just set it aside and forget about it for a long time without it getting in the way of my other brews.

But, no one answered my question about WLP099, the super-high gravity beer yeast from White Labs. Has anyone used it, and what was your experience with it? I was thinking I could start with another yeast and then throw the WLP099 in after a month or so to finish it off without losing some good yeast character from another strain.

 

[Ooompa Loompa]

The thing with WLP99, is that it works best when you start with a lower gravity, and build it up by gradually adding concentrated wort to increase the gravity. For example you would maybe make 3 gallons at 1.075, pitch the yeast, give it a day or two then add a half gallon to a gallon of super concentrated wort (around 1.13 or so), give it a day or two to eat that, then add more super concentrated wort, etc. Essentially you have to build up your beer over time. So I really don't see it working very well simply by pitching it into a beer that is already at 9-10%. If I were you I'd pitch something like 1028 or 1056, wait until that has done its job completely, then pitch a package of champagne yeast to drop those last few points of gravity.

Note: I don't have any personal experience with WLP099, the above statements are based upon my knowledge just from reading. I did however bottle a batch of RIS about a month ago where I pitched 1028 into it, then finished with champagne yeast. It already tasted great at bottling, I am going to let the bottles age for a few more months before I touch them, but just based upon my tastes at bottling time I know that it will taste awesome when I crack open that first bottle.

 

[mike4420]

Torchiest, just wondering what you decided to do.

 

[Torchiest]

Well, all my 5 and 6 gallon carboys were full, and I've been debating doing a Barleywine or a Mead with my 3 gallon carboy. So this project is still up in the air for now. My next brews will probably be a brown ale and a raspberry wit.

I might try building up a good-sized starter in a 5 gallon carboy and then brewing a couple more gallons to make the barleywine though. Then I can rack it to the 3 gallon carboy after a couple months and forget about it. I've just been kinda timid about the barleywine so far, since it'll be a long time commitment. I guess I'm curious what kind of character the WLP099 has, flavor-wise, but nobody seems to know the answer to that.

 

[mike4420]

Well I will let you know in about 6 months! I did 10gal and went with WLP099 and Wyeast 1028 London Ale. I went with a starter 2 days prior to pitching. They are very different colors. The 1028 has some red in it while the 099 is kinda yellow orange, looks nasty! But as long as it taste good I don't care. Its been 1 week and they are both still bubbling, there was some crazy activity the first day. The 099 definitely had more activity and is still out bubbling the 1028.

 

[Torchiest]

Oh wow, you did two five gallon batches of barleywine? I salute you! Definitely let us know how they turn out and what the differences are.