Barleywine ?'s

1 - I personally prefer 1084 (if I cant get a hold of the imperial VSS strain that wyeast offers), do a beer before hand with the yeast and use the cake

2 - 3% is what ~0.5#? if so no problem with either

I would add a bit of sugar (1lb) to thin it out a bit, a MO base with a dark crystal and special b could get a bit heavy, I would also suggest going higher on the IBU, say 60-70 at a minimum, trust me you wont regret that

 

I like to use WLP007 dry english for the attenuation and rely on the special b for the fruitiness myself.

 

I pitched a 1.094 barleywine onto a 1084 Wyeast Irish Ale yeast cake and had good results with that fermentation. I have used the Scottish Ale too, when my temperature conditions were lower, but that one gets out of hand easily if too warm. They are similar in alcohol tolerance, so all things being equal, I would recommend the Irish Ale yeast.

 

I did an English barleywine a couple weeks ago, OG 1.092. Besides a MO base, I used 6% C-120 and 2.5% Special B. I pitched with WLP007 Dry English Ale.

 

I brewed a barleywine last year that came out great. 94% MO, 4% C80, 1% C120, 1% chocolate malt, and about 1.5 lbs brown sugar. I was shooting for a OG of 1.11. I hopped it to about 65-70 IBU. I pitched it onto a WLP007 cake from a low abv English pale I did before it.