I thought it was a Barleywine.....maybe not?

Northern Brewer General
1

My main question deals with the amount of time needed in secondary. Here’s the deets:

Yesterday (it was about sweltering 78degrees outside) I brewed what I thought was going to be a Barleywine. All Grain recipe, in the end I am not having great success getting the right amount of wort out of the Mash tun, this time I got too much, about 7gallons, which brought down my OG.

Recipe: 17lbs maris otter
1/2 lb Special B
1/2 lb Chocolate malt
1oz Magnum 60
1oz NB 30
1oz Sterling 30
1oz Sterling 15

IBU should be approx 65.

For the yeast I used the British Cask Ale, reused as cake from another batch. Fermentation took off after about 3 hours.

My instructions for fermentation schedule says (according to the Palmer book) 3 weeks primary, 3 months 2nd, 1 month bottle condition.

Now this batch got me OG of 1.082.
Boil size was 7gallons, amount that went into the fermentor was about 6 gallons.

Does the length really need to be 3 months for 2nd? I am thinking i am gonna get about 8.2%ABV, and wonder maybe treat this more like a Scotch Heavy or a Strong Ale.?? is it still a Barleywine?
Any suggestions? thanks guys.
gdizzle

2

Next time this happens, just boil longer to reduce the volume. Having a way to estimate the volume in the kettle makes this easier, or use a refractometer to take gravity readings. You sometimes have to adjust for late hop additions when doing this, so it helps to know your boiloff rate, too. Your OG is right on the lower edge of the barleywine category, so you could reduce your aging time a little if you like - tasting along the way will help you decide when it’s ready.