My first "original" recipe: Barleywine

[GooberMcNutly]

I wanted to do a big beer on Jan 1 when I could spend all day, sun up to sun down, working on a beer. This is the barleywine I came up with:

3.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 16.7 %
10.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 55.6 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.6 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 5.6 %
1.00 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 5.6 %
2.00 oz Chinook [13.00%] (60 min) Hops 82.3 IBU
0.25 oz Pearle [8.00%] (15 min) Hops 3.1 IBU
1.00 oz Saaz [4.00%] (5 min) Hops 2.5 IBU
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Primary 3.0 days) Misc
2.00 lb Brown Sugar, Light (8.0 SRM) Sugar 11.1 %
4 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale
2 Pkgs Pasteur Champagne (Red Star #-) [Add to Secondary] Yeast-Champagne

Protein Rest Add 2.93 gal of water at 132.3 F 122.0 F 30 min
Saccrification Add 2.60 gal of water at 188.0 F 150.0 F 60 min
Mash Out Add 2.60 gal of water at 210.5 F 168.0 F 10 min

I had a strange mash. My temp would read between 140 and 157 depending on where my temp probe was inserted, even after 3 stirs and 15 minutes. I have never had a temp not stabilize before. So, true to slacker form, I just poked the probe around until I found 150 degrees, and left it there.

Those 4 packages of Nottingham are going ape-freaking-crazy in the 6 gallon corny right now.

My goal was to have a 10-11% beer that was low hopping, still retained good head, and light in color. Kind of like a Thomas Hardy but with some wheat and carafoam and a nice Brit bready-yeast. The Champagne yeast is for driving down the final gravity depending on when the Nottingham poops out.

Any comments?

[Bugeater]

Depending on what your actual mash temperature was, the Nottingham should do the job by itself. I would not use the champagne yeast unless absolutely necessary as it will add some un-beerlike tastes to the barleywine. Let this beer go for at least 30 days in primary before even thinking of going to secondary. Every 3 or 4 days gently rock the fermenter to keep the yeast in suspension, being careful not to splash. Assuming you had an OG of around 1.090-1.100, you want to keep lots of yeast in contact with the beer, so you don't want to go to secondary too early.

Good luck, sounds like it will be a good beer. I just kegged a barleywine myself. Went from 1.106 to 1.022 in just 30 days. Used a yeastcake of WLP001 from a cream ale.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

[GooberMcNutly]

The Champagne yeast is just for insurance in case I screw up the temps and stress the yeast or something. I won't use it unless the yeast kicks off at 1.030 or more. I started at 1.104.

Good tip on reminding me to rouse the yeast. I had forgotten that from the high-gravity tips I saw. I mashed around 150 (at least I tried to, see my notes above), oxygenated the crap out of it, reoxygenated 1 hour and 8 hours after pitching, and it is pumping krausen out the blowoff tube like a bilge pump.

I did end up with a bunch of hop trub and hot and cold break in the bottom of the carboy, about 2-3 inches worth, so I am not sure that I want it to sit on that for 30 days. I have about 20 more packs of Nottingham (it was under $1 when I bought a bunch), perhaps Ill just rack it in a week or so, then repitch some more Nottingham. What do you think about that?

[Bugeater]

Jamil might be a better one to answer that question. You are probably right about that much trub. I would still hold off for two weeks before racking and then be sure to rehydrate the yeast according to the directions on the package rather than pitch it dry (like I normally do).

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

[jamilz]

Racking and repitching on such a big beer should be OK.

On the recipe, brown sugar really doesn't add anything to the beer, you can use cane sugar and get the same results. If you want to add caramel flavors, use caramel (crystal) malts instead.

Also, the use of sugar (brown or table sugar) is there to keep the beer from being too unfermentatble and having too high a finish. This is counter to the carapils that you're using. I'd drop the carapils and stick with just plain sugar.

I hope that helps.

[tipstall]

I'm waiting for Jamil's next show, American Barleywine, as I wanted to do a Barleywine for next Christmas.

[GooberMcNutly]

Racking and repitching on such a big beer should be OK.

On the recipe, brown sugar really doesn't add anything to the beer, you can use cane sugar and get the same results. If you want to add caramel flavors, use caramel (crystal) malts instead.

Also, the use of sugar (brown or table sugar) is there to keep the beer from being too unfermentatble and having too high a finish. This is counter to the carapils that you're using. I'd drop the carapils and stick with just plain sugar.

I hope that helps.

Thanks, Ill probably repitch 2 packs of Nottingham, properly hydrated and acclimated to wort temps and sugar levels after about a week or 10 days, once I notice the high activity has fallen off and the trub settles.

I added the sugar to bump the OG (along with the DME) and the carapils to keep it from finishing too dry. Next time I will probably stick with just sugar, or throw a tablspoon of molassas in if I want the same flavor. I added a pound of Crystal 20 for color and also to keep the FG from falling too far and making rocket fuel.

This was my first attempt at total recipe formulation. I started with the known that I had about 10 lbs of 2 row in my larder that I needed to use, and went from there. I didn't want a "pure" English barleywine and I didn't want a hoppy American barleywine, but something in the middle.

Thanks for the recipe tips. I gotta get the "Designing Beers" book. I wished, but Santa didn't hear me on that one.

[jamilz]

You can always jack the mash temp up if you don't want the beer to attenuate too much. The problem with most barleywines is that they don't attenuate enough, which is why people make the sugar addition. If you want to boost gravity without thinning the beer, then you can add DME or LME instead.

Designing Great Beers is one of my favorite books.