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Fair warning: American barleywine is a challenging style. If this is one of your first, say, 10 beers you’ve ever brewed, move on and come back in about six months. Come to think of it, “come back in about six months” is also good advice after you brew it...
For more advice on brewing the style, see Make Your Best American Barleywine.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.111
FG: 1.030
IBUs: 67
ABV: 10.6%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
10 lb (4.5 kg) Maris Otter
10 lb (4.5 kg) Vienna
1 lb (454 g) crystal 60L
8 oz (227 g) crystal 80L
HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
8 oz (227 g) cane sugar at first wort
1.75 oz (50 g) German Magnum at 60 minutes [52 IBUs]
2 oz (57 g) Amarillo at 5 minutes [8 IBUs]
2 oz (57 g) Northern Brewer at 5 minutes [7 IBUs]
YEAST
Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 149°F (65°C) for 90 minutes. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle, adding sugar to dissolve. Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6.5 gallons (25 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. After the boil, chill to about 50°F (10°C), aerate thoroughly, and pitch plenty of healthy yeast. Ferment at 52°F (11°C) for about 6 weeks. When fermentation is complete and gravity has stabilized, crash to 35°F (2°C), then package and carbonate to about 2 volumes of CO2. Age at least 6 months.
EXTRACT VERSION
Replace the Maris Otter and Vienna with 16.6 lb (7.5 kg, or 5 cans) of Muntons Maris Otter Light liquid malt extract (LME). Mill and steep the crystal malts in a mesh bag at 160°F (71°C) for 30 minutes, then remove the bag and allow it to drain into the wort. Add the LME and sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Top up as necessary to get about 6.5 gallons (25 liters) of wort, then continue as above.