Difference between revisions of "Batch 3"

Latest revision as of 16:50, 1 January 2010

We're going to try a batch of barley wine. We got some advice at the brewing store and picked up the following ingredients:

• 1 can (3.3 lbs) of extra light malt extract
• 2 cans (6.6 lbs) of light malt extract
• 1 can (3.3 lbs) of amber malt extract
• 1 lbs crystal 40 malt
• 1/2 lbs Munich I malt
• 1 oz Roasted Barley malt
• 2 oz Black Patent malt
• 2 oz Cherry Smoked malt
• 1/2 lbs maltodextrin
• 2.5 oz Kent Golding hops pellets
• 2.5 oz Willamette hops pellets
• 3 oz Spalt hops pellets
• 2 packets of ale yeast
• 1 packet of champagne yeast
• 1/2 tsp whole cloves
• 1 TBS coriander
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 12oz jar of molasses
• 5 oz priming sugar

Brought 4 gallons of water to 155F, turned off heat and soaked the grains for 35 minutes. Brought temperature up to ~180F, turned off heat, added malt extract. Brought to ~190F, added Spalt hops, set timer for 1 hour. At 30 minutes, added Kent Golding hops, at 4:45 remaining, added spices, molasses, Willamette hops and maltodextrine. Cooled the wort to ~90F, added cold water to 5 gallons (1/2 gallon), pitched yeast at ~86F. IG: 1.065 adjusted to 68F. (Probably wrong)

Fermentation was exceptionally vigorous, and bubbled some beer out the fermentation lock.

One week later racked to secondary and topped off with cold water. Almost a gallon of yeast at the bottom. Very strong, but will need aging.

Three weeks later, pitched the champagne yeast. I followed the directions and added 1/4 cup of warm water to the yeast and let it sit for a couple of minutes, then added it to the fermenter. I was a little worried about over-priming, so I decided to let that yeast have a go at any sugars left before we prime and bottle.

A week after that, we added 5oz of priming sugar and bottled. The flavor is nice, very complex, and it's not as harsh as it was when I racked to secondary. Then again, it's had a month to condition. It's got a slightly sour finish, but that should go away with aging. I'll probably open a bottle in a month or so to see how it tastes. It's a pretty even clear brown, so it'll have a nice color. It's not quite as strong as I was expecting, but still clearly has a lot of alcohol in it. Certainly something to split with someone else. FG: 1.046 @ 63F, ABV estimate at 7-8% based on estimated IG of 1.1-1.11

RedCat and I are splitting this one, and Zahnnie also helped start it. RedCat and I bottled and split the batch pretty evenly.