barleywine questions

I hope this reply doesn't come after you've brewed this beer. In any case, the only thing I might consider with the sugar is whether it will contribute any color if it's boiled for a long period of time. Since it's a barleywine it shouldn't really factor though. I usually add the sugar with ~10 minutes left in the boil, just so it's completely stirred in. No real reason for me to add it earlier.

As far as the yeast goes, why bother with the WL005? I can't say I have experience with either, but looking at the White Labs website the attenuation is higher for the 007 which should give you the dryness you're looking for. If you're set on two strains though, I would say to make a separate starter for each. No experience with using two different strains in a beer, but I would keep them separate to allow each to do it's own thing before pitching. I wouldn't want one to dominate the other in the starter.

 

Depending on the flavor profile of your sugar and what you want out of it should determin when to add. I'll add white sugar at 45 min. If I use Brown sugar and want the flavor then 10-15 min.

An interesting yeast combination! I like both yeasts and appreciate what they will give to your Barly wine. I agree with the above post about making separate starters. The 005 yeast falls out of suspention early and needs to be roused at around 4-5 days. I have not brewed anything over 6% with this yeast but the 007 will take care of the rest. Good luck!

 

I would (and have) added tubinado sugar at the end of the boil (about 10 min). Tubinado will already add some color in lighter beers. And by adding it early, you will have more sugars to carmelize during a 90 min boil. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (especially in a Barleywine), just something to consider.

 

I have to ask, why are you adding the turbinado to a barleywine? Are you going for some obscene gravity?

 

A 90 minute boil won't give you carmelization, regardless of whether you add sugar or not.

Easiest way to get carmelization is to boil down first runnings to a syrup and add back to main beer. Can get some pretty nice maliard reactions and some caramelization by boiling for 4+ hours.

 

Cuz its delicious I've done it in a big ass 14.5% barleywine (~4 lbs in a 10 gal batch) and it really wasn't noticeable at all, kind of like pissing in the ocean, however I really like bottle priming my milds with it.

 

OP: This is what you should do; You're already using a yeast that finishes pretty dry (007). Sugar might thin out the body too much, especially for a style that should be rich and sippy. A long boil can give you a super high gravity without using sugar. Caramelizing the first runnings and adding back to the main kettle will give some nice flavors without the long boil.