Barleywine Idea's

Michael_biab · Jun 8, 2018

Not sure if my note is too late (if you've brewed already) but I wonder if the German Carafa II won't contribute some bitterness that you might not want, especially in such a highly bitter beer (i.e., might make for grain astringency). I would recommend the de-husked version of the Carafa at the % you're using it. One other thing - if you think you'd like to enter this into a competition - Enter it when the beer is fairly new and fresh. I've seen a lot of barleywine's get knocked for oxidation and lack of freshness when they are aged. Even though we know that's the idea behind them! Good luck!

GFHomebrew · Jul 12, 2018

Well 44 days post brew day i finnaly have kegged this beer! Longest ive left a beer in fermentor but for good reason its been sitting on rum soaked toasted american oak chips and sampling it and smelling it it sure lets you know its there in a good way.

Ill leave this as is in the keg now and try and forget about it for some time before posting a sample pick

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jmcnamara · Jul 12, 2018

That sounds awesome. Good luck forgetting about it.
I just bottled the 2018 version of my barleywine. The 2017 version is about 10 or so months in the bottle. Can't wait to compare the 2

BOB357 · Jul 12, 2018

Ah, patience is a virtue. I bottled my first barley wine a number of years ago in bombers and waited 6 months before sampling the first one. The last one was opened 4 years later and very much worth the wait. It sat on bourbon soaked oak chunks cut from red wine barrel staves, for a number of weeks after primary fermentation.

The bourbon was excellent too. A friend and I quickly drank it just after decanting off of the oak.

GFHomebrew · Jul 12, 2018

BOB357 said:
Ah, patience is a virtue. I bottled my first barley wine a number of years ago in bombers and waited 6 months before sampling the first one. The last one was opened 4 years later and very much worth the wait. It sat on bourbon soaked oak chunks cut from red wine barrel staves, for a number of weeks after primary fermentation.

The bourbon was excellent too. A friend and I quickly drank it just after decanting off of the oak.

Yes this is what ive found with the rum that was soaking with the oak chips its taken on a new flavour.