Beer 2013.03

Overview

Style: Weak Barley Wine
Codename: Barely Barley Ale
Tagline: "If you told me this was a porter I'd believe you."
Brewmaster: Eric Stein
Type: Partial-grain
Expected Initial Gravity: 1.103
Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 smaller bucket, 1.015 on the larger bucket
ABV: 6.83%
Brewed: 2/10/2013
Kegged: ?
First served: 3/19/2013 on Tap 1
Last served: ?/?/2013

Originally based on Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine. Tweaked because we don't have a big enough mash tun to make a 5 gallon batch out of 23 pounds of grain. Yipes.

Label

Brewing

Mash

Grain Bill:

8.6 lbs Organic 2 row pale malt
14.4 oz UK Crystal 60L (Pauls Medium Crystal Malt)
3.3 lb Muntons light malt extract
3.3 lb Muntons amber malt extract
3.3 lb Muntons dark malt extract

Mash Schedule:

Type: Single step in insulated mash tun, no heating
17.75 qt water at 161F
expect absorbtion of 4.56 qts, so out of mash pre-sparge we expect 15.44 of wort.
Target temp: 148F
Actual temp: 152F
Start pH: Did not measure
Time: 90 mins
End temp: ?
End pH: Did not measure
Started: 3:40 PM
End: 5:16 PM

Sparge

14.625 qts sparge water
Target temp: 168F
We accidentally put 3/4 of a teaspoon of 88% lactic acid solution in the sparge water. Don't ask.

Boil

Start: ~8.5gals? Not sure.
105 mins. Start with 1.7oz of nugget pellet hops at flame start.
after the boil is over, add 2 oz of czech saaz pellets in a bag, while the wort chiller runs. Yes that's wacky.
Boil Yield: ~6 gal
Boil start: 6:02pm
Whirlfloc: 7:24pm
Boil done: 7:47pm (target)

While chilling, fill up the 10 gallon brew kettle to the top with more hot water. Chill down to 88F.

Fermenting

Starting gravity: 1.071
Primary ferment: Plastic tubs: 5 gallons in one, 4 gallons in the other.
Pitched Wyeast 1098 (British Ale)
Ferment temp set point: 60F
Checked with wine thief in larger bucket 3/3/2013: grav 1.019.

Flavor @ Wine Thief

Tucker and Eric tested this out with their mouths. It's a little nutty and brown, but also reminds of a stout in a way; a little porterish. Not very hoppy - our dilution lowered the hops.

Racking

Kegging

Kegged into Keg 5 on 3/17 - the 4 gallon bucket. The other bucket remains. Tasted good at keg, but warm & flat so not a true tasting. Kegged by Sacha De'Angeli and Eric Stein. THIS KEG IS GONE.
Kegged into Keg 4 on 3/26 - the 5 gallon bucket. Kegged by Tucker Tomlinson, James Longfield, and Eric Stein. Didn't put on force carb until 4/1. Oops.

Tasting Notes