Barleywine recipe help/suggestions

So, you're looking for something more towards the English side of the spectrum? If so, use 100% Maris Otter (or other, similar base malt), do an extended boil with EKGs or Fuggles added during the last 60 minutes, and a less attenuative yeast strain, like Scottish Ale. Screw the crystal malt.

 

There can be a place for crystal malt in an English barleywine, but I wouldn't go over 5%. I typically use almost all English pale ale malt with a touch of chocolate malt to adjust the color. If you are worried about the body being too thin, the first thing to focus on is yeast selection. Second would be mash profile.

 

Not sure if you were aiming for that much residual extract, but that's likely a function of your recipe and not the yeast, even though that yeast does not have a super high alcohol tolerance, you should have been able to get it to more than 10% (even though that's its stated tolerance)

 

I personally don't prefer crystal malts over 10% in a barleywine. 5% mixture of medium and dark crystal should get you in the ballpark of what you're looking for. I'd mash higher (156-158), use a less attenuative yeast and leave out any brewing sugars which will thin out the body.

 

I use 2row, some munich and flaked oats, a splash of chocolate and a buttload of chico yeast. I start at 1.125 and finish around 1.030. The finished product is still thick and full bodied, but this way I don't worry about under attenuation.

 

I suppose no #brewmance is perfect

I like my barleywine on the sweetish side...I use 20L, 120L, and chocolate malt in addition to 2row

 

an fg of 64 is insanely high for a bw tho, and for any beer, even a fat stout. you dont need to complicate a bw recipe.

 

I am not big on a lot of crystal in a barley wine. 1/2 pound is plenty for a five gallon batch. Also I would not mash over 152 as with a big beer there is always going to be plenty of residual sugar. No need to get crazy with a lot of different specialty malts unless you want to. My favorite yeast for Barley Wines is WLP007. Take care.

 

This recipe is excellent: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/king-henry-clone-input.49320/

I brewed it once as posted, aged on oak cubes in secondary for 13 months and added bourbon at kegging. Sweet, luscious, caramel, vanilla, dark fruit, really delicious.

I just brewed it again but bumped up the OG to 1.145 with a longer boil, and used WLP007 instead to get more attenuation.

 

Little early for things to be going south, don't you think?

English or American style, brofessor?

 

I did two mashes. Each with about 15 lbs of grain, 5 gallons of mash water and 1.5 gallons of sparge water. I started boiling after the first mash, and just drained the second mash right into the kettle, I also boiled a gallon of first runnings down to a half gallon on a separate stove. Not sure about the exact pre-boil volume, but it went from about 9 gallons down to 4.5.

 

Actually bramigo, now that I think about it, I mentally don’t distinguish the two so much. Im assuming that an American barleywine is a little drier and more balanced, and an English can be a little unbalanced to the malty side?

Aww, our first argument. XOXO

#brewmance

 

94% golden promise, 6% Breiss DRC.
3+ hour boil.
Ekg, 1968.
Barleywines are badass!

 

Could you break that down into pounds grain for a 5 gallon batch?

 

It depends on your brewhouse efficiency and how big of a beer you want to make.

 

I would call the english variety more malty with esters typically found in English ales. American styles lean towards hoppy with no yeast expression.