12 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 60.4 %
12.0 oz Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 3 3.8 %
8.0 oz English Extra Dark Crystal (160.0 SRM) Grain 4 2.5 %
3 lbs 4.8 oz Gold Malt Extract (4.0 SRM) Extract 5 16.6 %
3 lbs 4.8 oz Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 6 16.6 %
1.00 oz Pacific Gem [15.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 36.1 IBUs
1.00 oz Bramling Cross [6.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 7.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Bramling Cross [6.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 2.9 IBUs
2.0 pkg Whitbread Ale (Wyeast Labs #1099) [124.21 ml] Yeast 10
So here’s my first stab at a recipe for an English Barleywine. Brewed on 7/25 with an OG of 1.113. Checked the gravity tonight and it is sitting at 1.040. I guess I’m looking at around 65% attenuation from the yeast which is kind of on the low end for this strain. Not sure how much lower this is going to go but I am thinking about throwing a wine yeast in to see if it finishes a little lower. I did rouse the yeast a bit to see if it perks back up a bit.
So my question is…worth doing or is it probably done?
Other than that it looks right, smells good and tastes pretty okay from the fermenter. Definitely want some age on it though.
At 1.040 it must be wicked sweet, so it must have more to go- I would think around 1.020 would be better. How long has it fermenting?
Just one observation- you pitched 2 pouches of a liquid yeast without a starter? If so, it was a pretty significant underpitch. The yeast may be all pooped out. I’m thinking you may have to repitch a high ABV tolerant yeast, and that most likely by making a starter and pitching at high active krausen.
You won’t get any more out of that yeast. It has an alcohol tolerance of about 10%, and you are already past that.
If the taste is fine as-is, just let it age and enjoy like that. If it is too sweet for you, you can try to introduce a champagne yeast, but it is going to be pretty hard to get that going. No yeast strain likes to start in an already alcoholic environment.
So, as RBC says, I wonder ifn you where to do a half gallon starter with a lot of yeast, get it going strong, then start to add yer barley wine, say half gallon at a time twice a day, trying not to shock yer yeast… No I haven’t done this, just a brain fart! Sneezles61 :roll:
No, that’s actually a really good suggestion. It’s pretty much what wine makers do when they get a stuck fermentation. Might I suggest, though, WLP099 as a good yeast to get this going again. It’s a bit slow, but it’ll get the job done.
No, that’s actually a really good suggestion. It’s pretty much what wine makers do when they get a stuck fermentation. Might I suggest, though, WLP099 as a good yeast to get this going again. It’s a bit slow, but it’ll get the job done.[/quote]
Yup, that’s about the only way to get it going again. But not with WLP099. As said above, it is already past it’s alcohol tolerance. You need to use a strain that can go to at least 15% to have any chance of it taking off again now. That’s why I suggested champagne yeast. It typically goes above 15%, and it is selected for its ability to get started in high alcohol environments as is common when conducting in-bottle fermentations.
