English Barleywine yeast

I have used 1028, 1968, and 1084 (Irish ale) in different capacities in an attempt to find a good barleywine strain. I thought the grahm cracker descriptor sounded interesting with the Irish ale. After using all of these strains and not getting the outcomes I desired I used 1056, american ale, for everything big. The Ester production with the English ales really made it difficult to dial in fermentation. One beer had green apple for a damned year even though I pitched a 4l starter of 1028. The esb left a very sweet and underattenuated beer that I didn't enjoy. The Irish ale was under attenuated as well. After switching to American ale I have been very pleased with my ventures into big beers and have had beers place in large competitions as a result. I'm sure there are people who have had success with English yeasts, but I'm not one of them. My palate does lean towards clean fermentation, I prefer German lagers and American ales, and when I do yeast driven styles I prefer the phenolic Belgians aver esters driven English beers. So there's that.

 

After digging around and figuring out the yeast strains that my preferred commercial examples use, it made the switch to American ale a decision I could make with confidence. Fremont B Bomb was the beer I wanted to base my strong ales on. They used 1056, so I do too. If there is a commercial example you like, dig around and see if you can find out what they use.

 

I have yet to brew an English style Barleywine but if I did my yeast choice would be Lallemand (LalBrew) Nottingham yeast. I have in the past used this yeast strain to brew IPAs with great success. It is an English yeast strain but is more on the neutral side.

“LalBrew Nottingham™ – High Performance Ale Yeast

LalBrew Nottingham™ is an English style ale yeast selected for its high performance and versatility for a wide variety of styles and fermentation conditions. Traditional styles brewed with this yeast include but are not limited to Pale Ales, Ambers, Porters, Stouts and Barleywines. In addition to these traditional styles, Nottingham can be used to produce Golden Ale, Kölsch, Lager-style beers, IPA, and Imperial Stout, among many others. LalBrew Nottingham™ is a relatively neutral ale strain that is stress tolerant making it a good choice for high gravity, sour and other challenging fermentation conditions.”

I would just pitch a couple of sachets for a high gravity beer like a Barleywine.

Cheers!

 

My vote is 1728. 1968 is tasty but I'm not sure it can ferment above 9% ABV, per Wyeast specs.

 

I like 1469, rated to 9%. Never brewed a barleywine with it but would give it a go, as I would be aiming for the low abv-end of that style.

 

I've used the equivalent of 1318 with great results in a Barleywine that trotted the line between English and American, though it's only a sample size of two.

 

+1 to Nottingham. I use it in my barley wine and and very happy with the results.

 

Opposite from my experiences.

What issue(s) did you have with using Nottingham?

Cheers!

 

What jack said.
I have had excellent results with it in many styles.

 

I could see a kveik yeast doing well for a barleywine if you fermented at normal ale temps.

 

I would go with WY-1028, an old favorite.

Right now I'm using Imperial Pub Ale for lowered gravity beers, and might push it's tolerance,see how it does at 10%.

 

i like 1469 West Yorkshire. It goes beyond the 9%, I've done 11%. I like the peachy esters.

 

I am a fan of using Wyeast 1469 for brewing my Bitter Ales since I too enjoy the fruity flavors this yeast provides. In post #3 @Supergenious discussed "fairly neutral" so it would seem that 1469 would not be an optimum choice here.

Cheers!

 

I'm a big fan of WLP007. I brew with this strain quite a bit. I just bottled a barley wine with this yeast. I also like to brew a bitter first then dump on the yeast cake. I've also used the Scottish yeast. An excellent choice! Good luck!

 

I think its a matter of preference. I am set up to do both but I prefer the bottling bucket. Take care!