Barley wine

[Todd]

Thanks. That might be some of the most useful info anyone could have possibly offered! I'll stop at Home Depot and pick up some 1" ID tubing. I make enough mess as it is and don't need more opportunities, no need to anger SWMBO.

My wife has been incredibly understanding these past few months as I've become completely engrossed with this new hobby...although she did think I was a bit nuts when I was busy learning all the ins/outs of washing yeast from my last 2 batches at 11pm last night. As if she needed another reason to think that...

[UcfLumberjack]

your blessed man i couldnt even get my girlfriend to tolerate it..... fixed that problem.....

[Todd]

Note: Better Bottles are 1.75" wide at the mouth. I guess I'll use the 1" ID tubing for my 5 gal carboys. I had fun trying to find something that comes close to 1.75" OD at Home Depot but there is a semi-rigid spa/pool tubing that comes close. I used a little electricians tape to make a 'plug' about 2" up from the end so it fits snugly at the top. Good thing too - this thing is chugging away like a locomotive!!!

I brewed this last evening. I was shocked when I tried to whirlpool the kettle and it just laughed at me, that trub was NOT going to be denied, the whole 5 gallon kettle was nothing but dissolved solids. OK, no problem, rack the whole darn thing and we'll see what happens. About 30 minutes later it had started to separate in the BB. By morning the entire bottle was a churning mass of activity. WOW, this isn't your father's Oldsmobile, this is kinda fun! I keep showing my wife, my friends who are over to watch football, heck even the dog and the cats, anyone who will look, at this thing putting out ridiculous burps like a machine gun - it takes a lot of gas to push that kind of activity through a tube that wide. Who said fermentation was boring!

The wort had the most amazing hops bitterness, I can't wait to see how this one turns out with some alcohol and CO2 in it some day. The OG was only 1.080, small for barley wines, but that's 12 pounds of LME that come in the More Beer kit. I'll know to play with that amount for the next batch.

Thanks to Bug for the pointers. I love barley wines and can't wait to make my next batch already.

I brewed a second batch this weekend, a weizenbock that started out at 1.070 and looks to be a pretty tasty one. Used a 2 liter starter with WLP 500 Hefeweizen, so that one should be fun to watch too!

[Todd]

Hey Bug -

I took a gravity this weekend (after 2 weeks in primary) and both of these big beers are at 1.020. They both tasted amazing too, so I'm really looking forward to their eventual flavor once kegged. To call the fermentation 'vigorous' does not do it justice!!

If the OG was 1.080 on the barley wine and 1.076 on the weizenbock, these are at around 74% attenuation and an ABV of around 7.8%, correct? Realistically, how much more can I expect them to come down, or is it more 'conditioning' that I'll get by additional time in the primary? Thanks

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

I make a couple barleywines every year. I age them in a corney keg for a minimum of a year. I carbonate in the keg and then bottle with a beer gun. It takes me about a year to drink up 2 kegs of barleywine so this schedule keeps me in properly aged BW all the time.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

Got a spare bedroom?

[Bugeater]

Got a spare bedroom?

That's where the brewery is. No room for boarders.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

[Crut]

Got a spare bedroom?

That's where the brewery is. No room for boarders.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

with a very tiny "spare bedroom" i said the hell with it and converted he spare bedroom to my gun room and brewery room. I keep all my guns and ammo and hunting stuff(as much as i can) and brewery stuff that doesnt go in the brew shed in there.
-Crut

[Henway]

I make a couple barleywines every year. I age them in a corney keg for a minimum of a year. I carbonate in the keg and then bottle with a beer gun. It takes me about a year to drink up 2 kegs of barleywine so this schedule keeps me in properly aged BW all the time.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

Does this mean you are leaving them in the corneys sealed but not pressurized? I pressurized to maybe 5psi to make sure the lid was sealing properly and have let it sit for about a year (or is it two?) I have also attached a tap on the outlet to "draw down" the pressure and to continually sample...... Or should I bump up the pressure to 15psi and wait that way?

I guess the best question is which ages it better, low pressure (potentially keeping yeast alive) or at higher pressure (maybe killing yeast but assuring no contact with O2)?