Barley Wine - Recipe opinions?

[pixelboy]

Hi guys,

I wanna have a go at a big yankee Barley wine, its gunna need heaps of hops/malt so Im going to do a half batch..

Any opinions on this?

Type: Extract
Batch Size: 12.00 L
Boil Size: 7.00 L
Boil Time: 60 min

Ingredients

1.00 kg Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 26.32 % (in Boil)
1.00 kg Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 26.32 % (After Boil)
1.50 kg Amber Liquid Extract (12.5 SRM) Extract 39.47 % (After Boil)

0.30 kg Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 7.89 % (Steeped)

10.00 gm Chinook [11.00 %] (60 min) Hops 20.3 IBU
15.00 gm Centennial [10.00 %] (60 min) Hops 27.7 IBU
20.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (30 min) Hops 15.6 IBU
15.00 gm Centennial [10.00 %] (15 min) Hops 13.8 IBU
20.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 10.1 IBU
20.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
20.00 gm Chinook [13.00 %] (0 min) Hops -

1 Pkgs SafAle (DCL Yeast US-05) Yeast-Ale

Est Original Gravity: 1.099 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.025 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 9.76 %
Bitterness: 87.6 IBU
Est Color: 17.7 SRM
7 Days in Primary / 7 in secondary
Low Carbonation level.. approx 1.8vol
6-9 Months in the Bottle

Im doing a low grav boil to get the best utilisation of the hops.. otherwise it would need stupid ammounts.

Im after a REALLY MALTY bitter (but ballanced..) "desert beer", not really after roasted flavours, just rich maltiness.

Any opinions?

[Bizier]

I was just reading the Designing Great Beers chapeter about barleywine a few days ago.

If the gravity is near 1.1, I would put a lot more yeast in there than 1 DCL pack.
Alternatively, you could pitch it at 1.040 and ferment for a few days, and then add remaining boiled+cooled malt.

I would also follow Jamil Zainasheff's adage of brewing the biggest batch possible when brewing a high gravity/aging beer, just so you have some extra bottles later on if it turns out great.

[pixelboy]

Yeah I wasnt sure about the yeast, gravity is high, but volume is low.. maybe a big starter is the go? Or would a Wyeast Smack Pack have enough to get through it?

To tell you the truth I cant really afford a full batch.. there is $40 worth of malt/hops in there.. $80+ is a lot to throw away if it goes pete tong. Im sure Ill regret though it if it comes out good.

[pixelboy]

if anyones interested here is how i ended up brewing.

13 litre batch.
Total 80IBU

Amount Item Type % or IBU
1.00 kg Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 23.81 % in Boil
1.50 kg Amber Liquid Extract (12.5 SRM) Extract 35.71 % coopers can -post boil
1.50 kg Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 35.71 % coopers can -post boil
0.20 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 % steeped/sparged/boiled
10.00 gm Chinook [12.00 %] (60 min) Hops 20.6 IBU
20.00 gm Centennial [7.00 %] (60 min) Hops 24.0 IBU
20.00 gm Cascade [6.30 %] (30 min) Hops 16.6 IBU
20.00 gm Cascade [6.30 %] (15 min) Hops 10.7 IBU
15.00 gm Centennial [7.00 %] (15 min) Hops 8.9 IBU
20.00 gm Cascade [6.30 %] (0 min) Hops -
20.00 gm Chinook [12.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
1 Pkgs Cooper Ale (Coopers #-) Yeast-Ale - boiled for nutrient
2 Pkgs US-05 Yeast-Ale - re-hydrated

OG was 1.095, its 1.032 after 7 days and im trasfering to secondary this afternoon.

Its got a hot alchohl tase at the moment that I hope will fade in the bottle after a few months and a lovely big malty taste chased out of your mouth by the huge hops..

Very happy so far.