# Group Barley Wine



## pmastello (5/3/14)

Hi everyone, I thought I would start a thread for a Brew club activity of a group brew of a Barley wine.

Basically, interested brewers state their interest in brewing a beer together. After a bit of discussion here on what the recipe will be - we will all get together one weekend at Toukley Homebrew shop and brew about 200L of a barley wine. We all split the cost between us all, so it should end up pretty cheap.


After its brewed, we cube it up and everyone can take home 20L of wort to ferment at home. The one requirement is that we all use a different yeast. 

Then once its all fermented, everyone bottles it up and we swap around our beers. That way we get a case of different barley wines to age and taste over time.

So - Who's in?


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## mr_wibble (10/3/14)

Aye!

An _English_ Barley Wine?
Recipe?
Geeze, that means I need to find 20 litres of bottles - probably smaller ones.

I don't have an "under the house" ... maybe I could bury it.

-kt


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## pmastello (10/3/14)

Nah, doesn't have to be English. We want to come up with a recipe that can lend itself to different yeasts - An American neutral yeast, a fruity english yeast, Belgian yeast, even a lager yeast! Hops will be the hardest choice here I think.
Yeah, I'll need to find some smaller bottles too - haven't got many lying around, I'll have to start collecting.


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## Goldenchild (10/3/14)

Count me in Pete. Wanted to do this one for a long time now.
I have a friend who is also interested so how many of us would that make?
I am thinkng of using wy9097 old ale which has a brett strain in it.
I would also love to chuck some in the wine barrel but oxidisation could be a problem if its not full.
Cheers Marc


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## pmastello (11/3/14)

You could still Oak it with some chips or cubes if you wanted. How's your barrel saison going? Still got some left? I've found mine was too oaky initially and now is fading a bit.
Good luck getting that Old ale yeast - its a private collection from a year ago. But if you can, awesome, it would be perfect for this. If you can't, they say Roselare is tolerant of upto 11%... 

So far we have with yeast preferences- 
Pete - Lager yeast
Josh - ?
Kt - ?
Marc - Old Ale
Marc's mate - ?

Still got room for quite a few more people if there's interest!


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## Goldenchild (11/3/14)

Hmm didnt think of oak chipping perhaps I will take 40L and oak half in a glass carboy. Thats if we don't have more takers. 
I was browsing craftbrewer lastnight and it says they still have some old ale from dec12 might need a few packets and a big starter but should still be viable. What size are we thinking anyway? 10%?


That saison is tasting great! I am still getting to the bottom of the first keg. All reports are saying it has been getting better and better.


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## Jaynus (11/3/14)

After an hour of sorting out this app I'm finally here! I'm "Marc's mate" but I go by the name of jay! I'm down for this brew and will get back tomorrow night with a yeast!


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## brockerst (11/3/14)

Count me in! 

I'll have a think about yeast selection. I want to say saison, but am too scared to.

Brock


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## silvana (12/3/14)

I'm very interested.
Looks like I might actually be able to make Aprils meeting too after living on the coast for a year.

As for yeast I'll put my hand up for 100% Brett ferment with the strain pending further research

Ben


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## pmastello (12/3/14)

Now it looks like we've got enough people to make this happen. There's still room for more people to join up though! 
I am waiting to hear back from Duane on the size of his mash tun to work out exactly how much beer we can make and how many batches it will produce, I will report back when I hear. But even if we top out, you can still get involved, helping out with the brew day and with costs and you will get a share of the beer at the end. The more the merrier.

So far we have -
Pete - Lager
Josh - ?
Kt - ?
Marc - Old Ale
Jay - ?
Brock - Saison (Don't be scared!)
Ben - Brett

Jeez, no one here likes standard Barley wine yeasts, do they?! Any volunteers for Scottish ale yeast or 1056? A Belgian yeast would be good too. Cool if you don't though, you can use a wheat beer yeast if you want!


Does anyone have ideas for a recipe? Personally I've never brewed a barley wine before, so I'm open to suggestions. I was thinking around 10%


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## Jaynus (12/3/14)

I'll have a stab at the Scottish ale yeast! 10% sounds good to me!


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## Jaynus (14/3/14)

Scrap that! Safale US-05 for me!


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## Jaynus (14/3/14)

Pete - Lager
Josh - ?
KT - ?
Marc - Old Ale
Jay - safale US-05
Brock - Saison (Don't be scared!)
Ben - Brett


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## pmastello (14/3/14)

Dry yeast is probably a good idea, much easier to buy a few packs instead of growing up a huge starter.

This is the recipe I have so far. Please have some input into this because I've never brewed a Barley wine before and I pretty much made this up. No hops yet, I was thinking of bittering to about 70-90 IBU. No idea of which hops to use. Aussie (Galaxy) or NZ hops? Or American or English. 

Group Barley Wine 
American Barley wine

*Type: *All Grain
*Batch Size (fermenter): *180.00 l *Boil Size: *200.00 l
*Boil Time: *120 min
*Brewhouse Efficiency: *60.00 % *Est Mash Efficiency *60.0 % 

*Est Original Gravity: *1.090 SG *Est Final Gravity: *1.014 SG *Estimated Alcohol by Vol: *10.0 %

*Ingredients*
*Amt*
60.00 kg Pale Malt, Traditional Ale (Joe White) (5.9 EBC) 71.4 %
15.00 kg Munich, Light (Joe White) (17.7 EBC) 17.9 %
5.00 kg Crystal (Joe White) (141.8 EBC) 6.0 % 
1.00 kg Chocolate Malt (Joe White) (750.6 EBC) 1.2 % 
1.00 kg Crystal, Dark (Joe White) (216.7 EBC) 1.2 % 
2.00 kg Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (2.0 EBC) 2.4 %

*Total Grain Weight: *84.00 kg 
*Mash Name: *Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out - Infusion 64C


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## brockerst (15/3/14)

I've never brewed a barley wine either, and only ever tasted a couple but here's some input. 

How big is the mash tun? 

The trick with this recipe is going to be to get a good balance so that different yeasts with different attenuation rates don't mean too dry or too sweet an end product. 

I think the FG and the mash temp in this recipe is a bit low and may lead to relatively dry (for a barley wine) with some yeasts. 

Hopping will be a similar issue. Different yeasts will mean different FGs. 90 IBUs is probably too much with an FG of 1.014 but would work nice with an FG of 1.024.

My vote is for American hops with a nice flavour hit. Aroma is probably a waste due to ageing. 

I'll use a Saison yeast. I plan to use the yeast cake of a small Saison rather than try and grow a huge starter. 




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## stakka82 (15/3/14)

This is a great idea, good luck guys, if I lived closer I would be in!


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## pmastello (17/3/14)

Yeah, you are right Brock, that FG is too low. That's just what Beer smith calculated, which is about 83% attenuation. I don't think we would actually get that low with a OG that high. You might if you use Belgian Saison yeast, but the rest of us will probably conk out somewhere in the 20's. But still, maybe knock the mash temp up to 66C then?

I think a higher IBU is a good thing as IBU's will drop out over time. The best I can come up with is from Fundamentals of Beer and Hop Chemistry, 2/3 of the hop bitterness in wort has a half-life in excess of 5 years, and the remaining 1/3 as a half-life of 1 year. So, if you leave a beer for 1 year, it's IBUs will have decreased to 75% of its original value. For example, an 80 IBU beer will have 60 IBUs after 1 year.

Plus this measure of 80->60 IBU is measured, rather than calculated. A lot of the IBU equations don't work so well for higher OG's or IBU's, so basically we are flying in the dark here. Maybe we can look at the IBU's on some aged commercial or Homebrewed examples. Or just pick a number. I'd vote for about 80 IBU.


As for Mash Tun size, I had a chat to Duane on the weekend, he doesn't know exactly how much malt it will take, so maybe we can cap it 7 people (160L).


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## joshuahardie (17/3/14)

I'll be using a English ale yeast, like wlp007, 1098, or even the dry safale equivalent.

I am happy with the Aussie hops, 90+ ibu.

I have done some 10% stouts before so I'll go back through my records and see what I have done in the past.

I don't know how big duanes mash tun is, but remember we can always add liquid base malt to get the gravity up


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## mr_wibble (17/3/14)

Wyeast 3463 - Forbidden Fruit, tolerance 12%


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## brockerst (17/3/14)

Ok so we might end up with a range of yeast attenuation rates of between 65% and 85%. Do we adjust for that somehow, eg finishing them off with a wine yeast? Or do we accept that this project is all about the variation between yeasts and let the cards fall where they may?

We may need to increase OG if we want an average of 10% to perhaps 1.1.

My first instinct is to go Australian hops too, but what would you use? I don't trust galaxy as a bitterer.

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## joshuahardie (18/3/14)

Have you tried topaz? Nice hop, heaps of AA

I think go for a generic recipe, and let the yeasts speak for themselves.


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## mr_wibble (18/3/14)

Aussie hops ... VIC Secret?

I don't use high-alpha hops usually, so have no experience/opinion on these.

Aside: Wikipedia says Summer has "light apricot and melon fruit notes", that might work really well in a wheat beer.

I'm not much of a hop-head, so being bereft of other ideas: Fuggles?


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## joshuahardie (18/3/14)

Vic secret would be good. Havn't used that before
for the initial bittering charge, I would not be getting too concerned about the hop type, I would be going just for AA.

With a beer that is likely to be so malt dominant, Id be happy with anything,

I am sure it has been said, but I think we are going to need a starting gravity of 1.100

and like I said before, I am not opposed to topping up with liquid pale extract to get to the gravity, and some sugar to help reach FG even if I feed it 3/4 the way through fermentation.


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## joshuahardie (18/3/14)

Gingerbrew said:


> Dry yeast is probably a good idea, much easier to buy a few packs instead of growing up a huge starter.
> 
> This is the recipe I have so far. Please have some input into this because I've never brewed a Barley wine before and I pretty much made this up. No hops yet, I was thinking of bittering to about 70-90 IBU. No idea of which hops to use. Aussie (Galaxy) or NZ hops? Or American or English.
> 
> ...


Good start on the recipe Pete.
My feeling is that the dark crystal is not needed, given the choc malt? anyway it is a discussion point.

as a contrast I have recipes for other barleywines
stone old guardian which has pale and crystal only
nogne100 which has pale, wheat and choc only.

I have no care about colour or anything like that, but more looking at it from a KISS perspective.

Also, do we have a date penciled in. I can do midweek if needed.


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## pmastello (18/3/14)

[SIZE=10.5pt]Yeah, simplifying the recipe is not a bad idea to let the yeasts showoff a bit more. Something similar to the Old Guardian?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Bump up the Pale to 97% with 3% Dark Crystal? Or 3% Choc? I don't think wheat would offer much. Maybe some Munich? And we will shoot for 1.100, if we go too far under, adding some sugar mid way through the ferment is a great idea for a gravity bump.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Malt extract is definitely in the contingency plan. I was thinking of using DME though, as using bittered/hopped liquid extracts may be tricky. Can we get unhopped liquid extract easily?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]As for hops, I’ve never used Vic secret, but I would be really hesitant to use it for bittering as it has a huge co-humulone percentage (51-56%) which is not good. All of the high AA% aussie hops have high co-humolone, great for aroma but not so good for bittering.Maybe a dedicated American Bittering hop like Horizon or Warrior? Or maybe go NZ hops like Pacfic Jade? How about we dump a heap of Galaxy in at the end for a flavour and Aroma punch (S&W pacific ale-barley wine [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]J[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt])? We can use a heap as most of it will drop out as we age it.[/SIZE]


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## joshuahardie (18/3/14)

I don't have a concrete idea on a recipe, i was just throwing a few ideas out there.

I am fine with your base of pale and munich, and the crystal/choc for colour/flavour i would not be going more than those 4 malts.

Lets see what others say.

unhopped wort is very easy to come by, every HBS would have it. coopers make, light, amber, pils, wheat
Good rule of thumb is, if the tin comes with yeast, it is hopped.


thanks for the tips on the hops, I am not massivly aware of the bittering / aroma numbers.


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## pmastello (18/3/14)

Final(?) list of yeasts - Pretty good selection I reckon! 

Pete - Lager
Josh - English (007, 1098 or Dry)
KT - Wyeast 3463 - Forbidden Fruit (Nice choice!) 
Marc - Old Ale
Jay - safale US-05
Brock - Saison 
Ben - Brett


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## joshuahardie (18/3/14)

Pete - Lager
Josh - WhiteLabs WLP007 Dry English Ale
KT - Wyeast 3463 - Forbidden Fruit (Nice choice!) 
Marc - Old Ale
Jay - safale US-05
Brock - Saison 
Ben - Brett


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## pmastello (18/3/14)

http://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/central-coast-brewers-barley-wine


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## brockerst (18/3/14)

If we're keeping the recipe simple, how about

Marris Otter 95 %
Crystal 5%

Simcoe is a good smooth bitterer. Whatever hop we choose, we'll probably need at least 1kg.


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## brockerst (18/3/14)

Ah, I missed your recipe before posting Pete. Looks good.

One issue though, I assume we'll be no-chilling. That much galaxy at 10min might be dangerous. 

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## pmastello (18/3/14)

Yeah, you're spot on about the no-chilling and problems with Galaxy. I meant it to be a 1min-knockout addition, but put it in for 10mins as a rough equivalence for bitterness calculations. 

We'll need shedloads of hops. If we go with warrior, we can get a pound from Nikobrew for $13.20 plus shipping. Does anyone have any plans to buy some other hops from the US (my freezer is chockers..)? Save on shipping and you can get upto 2kg pretty cheaply. Galaxy we could get through Craftbrewer or possibly Duane.


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## mr_wibble (18/3/14)

I'd be happier if we got everything (possible) through Duane - we're using his equipment after all.


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## joshuahardie (19/3/14)

Mr Wibble said:


> I'd be happier if we got everything (possible) through Duane - we're using his equipment after all.


I think that is the appropriate thing to do.


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## pmastello (19/3/14)

I think we should also include Duane in the swap of beers too, so he can get a share of the beers as well.


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## silvana (19/3/14)

[SIZE=10pt]Thumbing through the Barley Wine classic beer styles book, they make reference for using no more than 15% specialty grain and 2% dark/roasted grains. I would put Munich[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]in the specialty category for a beer this big also, I guess it depends on how long we plan to boil also. Boiling for longer can really intensify the flavours of the specialty malts and add a lot of colour. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Bittering hops – Warrior sounds good[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Aroma and flavour all Oz hops sound good, no experience with any of the hops mentioned so I will[/SIZE]


[SIZE=10pt]My Idea[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]OG 1.100[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]IBU 90-100 [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]2-3hr boil[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]85% Pale malt[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]10% Munich[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]5% Crystal ?? blend of light and dark[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Give or take on those percentages, although I do love the simplicity of brokersts recipe if we want to go the Marris Otter option.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I brewed Jamil's English Barley Wine about 6 months ago, still haven’t cracked the keg yet. Aprils meeting sounds just like the reason. I’ll bring it[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]and the classic styles book as well for discussion.[/SIZE]


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## joshuahardie (19/3/14)

Did i see from the other thread that this will be on May 15 - being a Thursday?

I am cool with that, but I am just checking


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## pmastello (19/3/14)

joshuahardie said:


> Did i see from the other thread that this will be on May 15 - being a Thursday?
> 
> I am cool with that, but I am just checking


No, do it on a weekend. But probably around that time, if not a bit sooner.
After the April meetup though - Do you or anyone else have date preferences?
I've also had a chat with George, the butcher next door to Duanes. He want to get some ribs or something to smoke out the back of the shop when we do it.


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## brockerst (20/3/14)

If Duane can't get warrior, I'm sure he'll have something we can use. Magnum, super alpha, Simcoe or target are all options. Doesn't really matter what it is as long as it is high AA and low co-humulone. Any flavour that hasn't disappeared after an hour long boil will be well and truly masked by everything else. Just need to get the big IBUs. 

In terms of a date, it's going to be a big day so will need to be a weekend. 

Milling about 3 sacks of grain. 
Mashing in. 
2 hour mash
Potentially a slow sparge due to thick mash
2 hour boil

I wouldn't be surprised if it took 8 hours.

I have kids sports Saturday mornings but that can be flexible. 

Something to consider is do we do it when the shop is open? Perhaps some promotion. Or are we more likely to scare customers away?


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## mr_wibble (20/3/14)

brockerst said:


> Milling about 3 sacks of grain.
> Mashing in.
> 2 hour mash
> Potentially a slow sparge due to thick mash
> ...


We better start early then.


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## pmastello (20/3/14)

brockerst said:


> If Duane can't get warrior, I'm sure he'll have something we can use. Magnum, super alpha, Simcoe or target are all options. Doesn't really matter what it is as long as it is high AA and low co-humulone. Any flavour that hasn't disappeared after an hour long boil will be well and truly masked by everything else. Just need to get the big IBUs.
> 
> In terms of a date, it's going to be a big day so will need to be a weekend.
> .......
> ...


We need Duane in here to help us out. What high alpha hops can he get in, What date would he prefer?


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## Jaynus (20/3/14)

I'm pretty flexible with the weekends just need to know about a week before so I can get the Saturday off!


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## pmastello (22/3/14)

Also, I've got probably 500g of stupidly unmarked American hops in my freezer. I packed them down into vacuum bags and stupidly forgot to label them. No idea of AA% but they are all probably Columbus, Centennial or Simcoe. There may also be some Saaz or Hallertau in there too. We could chuck them all in at knockout if everyone was cool with it? A bit risky not knowing though.


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## mr_wibble (24/3/14)

Gingerbrew said:


> We could chuck them all in at knockout if everyone was cool with it? A bit risky not knowing though.


I'm a bit risk-adverse after 80 kilos of malt, and 8 hours 

500g is a lot of hops! Is barley wine meant to have a hop aroma?

I guess after _X_ years of ageing, it will have diminished anyway.


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## brockerst (25/3/14)

Pete, sounds perfect for a group IIPA.

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## pmastello (25/3/14)

Alright, no mystery hops then!


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## pmastello (27/3/14)

Hey Everyone,
I had a chat with Duane yesterday about what ingredients he can get get in for us for the BW. 
Galaxy for finishing hops will be no problems. 
Bittering hops were a bit more difficult. He can only order in hops in minimum of 2 or 5kg amounts and he didn't want to order that much of any of the good bittering hops as they don't sell very well. The best he could do was Pride of Ringwood :huh: He was more than happy for us to order the bittering hops online from somewhere like http://www.hopdealzaustralia.com/#!product/prd1/1108373831/warrior

Malt shouldn't be a problem, but his mash tun size would be. Its limited to about 140L, which was the biggest beer he's done and it was pretty full apparently. Boiling large volumes shouldn't be a problem though.
So @ 2l/1kg malt = 2.65 liters per kg malt, 140L capacity = 52kg Malt, about half what we need. 

Duane can also order bulk LME. 28kg packs - 
Light - $110
Amber - $120
Wheat - $125

Coincidentally, 52kg of malt at 60% efficiency, plus 28kg of LME into 175L = 1.100! :super: 
http://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/central-coast-brewers-barley-wine


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## pmastello (27/3/14)

As for when, Duane suggested late in May would be preferable. He's going away in early May, later in the month would be preferable. 
Saturday is fine with him too. We will make it a recruiting day for the club too with a BBQ out the back and some beers. Should be a fun day 

Any preferences - 17th, 24th or 31st May?


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## Jaynus (27/3/14)

Any one of those dates will be ok by me I just need notice to take it off work!


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## mr_wibble (27/3/14)

Dates are ok for me ... Mother's day is May 11 this year.
No doubt _something_ will come up though, but I'll have to miss it.

Edit: Maybe the first two for me, I think there's a family birthday end-of-May (one of the in-laws)


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## joshuahardie (27/3/14)

Any of those dates are fine, because of kids saturday sport, I won't be available until 1pm, but that is fine, I'd say that will be somewhere around the sparge.

as for the bittering hops, I am fine for us to source them once we get a recipe nailed down, I wonder if he has access to isohop, or if that is a waste of effort. Six Stings may be able to supply us if we sweet talk them? not sure.

The LME bag sounds like the way to go.


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## brockerst (27/3/14)

I too will probably be a late starter because of kids sports. The 24th is my preference. I can be there from 10am on that date.


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## joshuahardie (28/3/14)

I got hold of my Whitelabs 007 Dry English yesterday.

Ill brew a basic pale ale just before the barleywine brew day, to ensure I have a truckload of yeast.

Bring it on.


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## pmastello (31/3/14)

Alright, sounds like 24th May is the best for everyone, with the 17th being our plan-B. I'll try and get there as soon as Duane opens up to start the milling. 
I'll try and get there early for the milling of the grain, but it's going to suck doing that much grain, so any others that can help out would be appreciated. 
If you can't make it till later, thats great, because the early starters will probably be looking to hand over the brewing by then and grab some lunch, etc. 

I think we just get Warrior from Hopdealz (Aussie hop place, run by one of the AHB members) rather than mucking around with Isohop. Stick with what we know for this beer.

If you are not using dry yeast, I think the pitching onto a low gravity beer's yeast cake is the best way to go with this beer, as Josh is doing. Otherwise you'll need a 5L starter with extremely fresh yeast on a stirplate. Good luck to Ben doing 100%Brett. I've got no idea what to do there. 

So are we happy with this recipe? http://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/central-coast-brewers-barley-wine
I've knocked down the Munich and Galaxy (Which is actually a 1min addition, not 10).


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## joshuahardie (31/3/14)

Recipe looks good, nice brown barleywine.

Is the malt extract Duane gets in, liquid or dry. 
I assumed dry, but the recipe says liquid. No difference to me, just making sure the calculations are correct.

The Warrior idea is good too. seeing it comes in a 450g bag, just adjust the recipe to suit.


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## pmastello (31/3/14)

Liquid. 28kg tin of it.


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## brockerst (31/3/14)

I'm happy to lock down this recipe. I understand the malts we use will differ slightly. I'd also be open to using a mix of light/medium/dark for the crystal.


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## silvana (1/4/14)

24th sounds good to me. I should be able to be there early.
I'm pretty happy with that recipe also.

I'm starting to chicken out on the 100% Brett. 
Research is indicating a pretty long lead up for making a starter for a beer this big 
and a pretty slow fermentation also. Could be waiting months for this to completely finish out.

What's the plan with exchanging bottles? I was thinking of splitting my cube into two 
10L batches (different yeasts one Brett, one ?) but I want to make sure there are enough 
bottles to go around.

Ben


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## mr_wibble (1/4/14)

We're doing 330ml bottles right ?

I don't think I could manage much, if anything, after a longneck of barley wine.


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## brockerst (1/4/14)

I like the smaller bottles. Even if you wanted a second bottle (to share) you could have a different type. 

If we swap a 6 pack between each of us, there should be a bit more than a double share of our own to keep.

Is Duane going to ferment a batch to share?


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## pmastello (1/4/14)

No, Duane isn't going to ferment his own batch - there will only be 7 batches made. 

Smaller bottles are the go for sure. If we do a 6 pack to each person plus Duane, 0.375 x 6 x 7 = 15.75L given away, meaning you will get at least 5-6L for yourself. More if you use 330mL bottles. Hmm, Do I really want 5L of Lager yeast barley wine?Maybe a Wyeast 1762 Belgian II or 1728 Scottish Ale instead... Decisions decisions


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## silvana (1/4/14)

Sounds goods to me,

In that case I will have to commit to one yeast. 
I might make up a small extract batch and pitch brett and based on how that goes deicide if Im ready to commit to 20L of barely wine.
If not, I'm thinking of 3522 Belgian Ardenes or a Brittish yeast not being done already.


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## joshuahardie (1/4/14)

3522 Belgian Ardenes is a awesome yeast. My fav Belgian strain


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## joshuahardie (1/4/14)

3522 Belgian Ardenes is a awesome yeast. My fav Belgian strain


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## pmastello (1/4/14)

I may also change to Scottish ale then. More suited to a Barley Wine. 

Pete - Scottish Ale (WY1728)
Josh - Dry English Ale (Whitelabs 007)
KT - Wyeast 3463 - Forbidden Fruit 
Marc - Old Ale
Jay - safale US-05
Brock - Belgian saison 
Ben - Ardennes or English


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## pmastello (23/4/14)

Hey Guys,
Turns out the 24th of May isn't good for Duane, as he is on holidays.
Any preferences for the weekend's either side of that? 17th May or 31st?


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## mr_wibble (23/4/14)

I'm easy.


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## Jaynus (24/4/14)

17th!


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## silvana (24/4/14)

17th will be much better for me


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## pmastello (28/4/14)

Looks like it's the 17th then. 
I've started growing my yeast this weekend - Brewed up a low gravity Helles to ferment for the next few weeks. I should have a great big yeast cake ready for the brewday on the 17th.

Anyone else started? I figure everyone is aware, but no harm in saying it - You will need lots of yeast to ferment this beer. Please don't chuck in a single pack of liquid yeast and think that will work


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## joshuahardie (28/4/14)

bugger that is the weekend of the AHB pub crawl.

I'll have to miss the crawl, as this was organised was before then.


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## mr_wibble (28/4/14)

I've pre-ordered a stir-plate from Digital Homebrew, but it wont get here until May.

I was planning on making a 2 litre starter - that should be enough... right ?

-kt


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## Goldenchild (30/4/14)

I am at a bucks that weekend i will have to pick up my cube from Duanes another day. 
I will pass some money onto Jay to cover costs. Do we have a Guestimate on that?

My packets of wyeast old ale arrived last week with a date from way back in 2012. Do you think i will need to make a starter?


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## pmastello (1/5/14)

goldenchild said:


> I am at a bucks that weekend i will have to pick up my cube from Duanes another day.
> I will pass some money onto Jay to cover costs. Do we have a Guestimate on that?
> 
> My packets of wyeast old ale arrived last week with a date from way back in 2012. Do you think i will need to make a starter?


Nah, just chuck one pack in, I reckon it'll be right. :unsure: 
As for costs, I'll catch up with Duane on the weekend and work out the total cost for everyone.

KT, I can lend you my stirplate and flask if you want. I can drop it off at Duanes on Saturday morning or at your place if its not too far out of the way.
2L simple starter with one pack won't be enough, stir plate will help, but you may need to do two steps.
This will give you an idea of how much you need http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html


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## mr_wibble (1/5/14)

I don't really understand Mr Malty.

How do I calculate an O2 infused wort, with a O2 infused stir-plate starter?

I plugged in: 1.09 OG, 25 litres, and a 50% viability.
(is 25 litres correct? 180/7 == 25ish)

I figured I would need to do a multi-step starter. But 4 litres, geeze :blink:


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## joshuahardie (1/5/14)

It would not be 4 litres of yeast
would be a 4 litre starter that may produce 500ml of yeast.

this is one of those times that creating a normal 1050 beer and fermenting it out, then pitching onto the yeast cake is the easy way to go.

Heck, I am just going to do a kit brown ale to get me the yeast i need and the bonus is i get some beer out of it too.


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## mr_wibble (1/5/14)

Yeah, maybe that's the way to go.


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## mr_wibble (4/5/14)

Right, I knocked up a Belgian Pale ale today ... but only after I cleaned the algae out of my HLT (first brew since Jan).
I think I started at 6:30 am, and didn't finish until 14:00. I think I might need to not leave the brewing vessels outside in the weather.

Used bottled oxygen on the wort for the first time too, hope I didn't stuff it up too much ... the fricken pipe kept wanting to spring-form back out of the wort. 
I might have to make a +5 Wand of Oxygenation with some small diameter stainless pipe I have.

cheers,
-kt


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## pmastello (5/5/14)

Nice one. that reminds me I need to buy a new O2 bottle...


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## Wilkensone (5/5/14)

Gingerbrew said:


> Nice one. that reminds me I need to buy a new O2 bottle...


Whats the damage on O2 bottles? Can they be swapped out etc the same as CO2?


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## mr_wibble (5/5/14)

Disposable bottles.

$55 at Marks -
Bottle only - http://www.ubrew.com.au/web/showproduct.asp?prodid=857
Oxygenation kit - http://www.ubrew.com.au/web/showproductlist.asp?catid=9&subcatid=13

It should last at least 100 brews (did someone say 200?)

EDIT: Posted wrong link


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## pmastello (5/5/14)

I didn't get anywhere near 100. More like 20-30. Maybe I was overoxygenating? I don't think so, but maybe. 
Also, I use these http://www.gasweld.com.au/1811420-bernzomatic.html


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## mr_wibble (5/5/14)

Yeah I dunno.

I saw one demonstrated on a brewing course at Monday2Sunday.

James had it screwed in to a t-piece on the exit from the plate chiller to the fermenter.
It was only bubbling very slightly.

Edit: Ah that bottle you linked to is 40 grams, but Mark's are 136 grams.
(that's close to 100 brews on the 30-per end)

Edit2: apostrophe police


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## joshuahardie (12/5/14)

So my 20L yeast starter is bubbling away nicely (brown ale) how are we looking for this weekend.

Recipe and ingredients finalised?

How much do we owe duane for the gear?


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## pmastello (13/5/14)

My helles is pretty much finished now, just cleaning up. I'll leave it on the yeast till the barleywine is ready to pitch. I'm planning on just chucking the wort straight onto the yeast cake - no washing, etc. I figure any of the carryover flavours from a helles will be no existant in the Barley Wine. 

Slight change of recipe - I was ordering the bittering hops from Hop Dealz, however he contacted me after ordering to say they had run out of Warrior. I decided to go with Magnum instead - High alpha, low co-humulone. Should do the job nicely.
As for costs, I've emailed Duane for a list of how much it all came to, but from what I can work out (estimates only) -

Pale Malt - $90
Liquid malt extract - $150
Munich - $20
Crystal $10

Magnum - $38.55
Galaxy - ?

Extras
Gas bottle refill - $20
Fresh wort cube - $10 each (Or bring your own)

About $46 per person, plus $10 if you need a cube.


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## joshuahardie (13/5/14)

Sounds like a plan,
As I said before, I won't be able to get there until noonish, after I have finished up with the kids sport.

Sounds like I would be getting there somewhere near the end of the sparge?


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## pmastello (13/5/14)

As for a plan for the day, Duane has agreed to open up a bit earlier for us at 8am. I plan on getting there then and start milling the 50odd kg of malt :unsure: I could certainly use at least one persons help with this as I am sure it will get old fast. 
A few people have morning commitments with kids sport etc, that's cool. Turn up when you can. I'm sure the early risers will be happy to hand over the reigns by 12ish to the latecomers. With what I can only imagine would be a long sparge and 2 hour boil, I would imagine being cleaned up and finished by mid afternoon.

I will also be hitting up George for some Ribs to smoke on Duanes smoker, so lunch will be provided. Please bring a few extra bucks for lunch.


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## mr_wibble (13/5/14)

I'm planning on getting there early, 8 _should_ be do-able.

I don't know if I'll have any mini-brewers along with me.


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## brockerst (13/5/14)

I should be there at about 9. 

My 20L starter is chugging along nicely.


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## Jaynus (14/5/14)

I'll be there early, what can I bring?


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## pmastello (15/5/14)

Jaynus said:


> I'll be there early, what can I bring?


What goes with smoked Pork Ribs? Bring that. We can get bread from the bakery across the road. Maybe salad?


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## silvana (15/5/14)

I can bring a coleslaw, always a good match with smoked pork.
I'll be there around 9 or so. Hopefully earlier.


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## Jaynus (16/5/14)

I don't think I'll have time to make a salad but Coles is only around the corner! But what does go with it is IPA!


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## Jaynus (3/6/14)

How's everyone's fermenting going?


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## pmastello (3/6/14)

Mine dropped about 30 points in the first 3-4 days and I haven't really checked it since. Probably due for me to have a look and raise the temp a few degrees to get it finished off completely.
How about you Jay? Is anyone up to bottling yet?


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## mr_wibble (3/6/14)

I think mine is finished, it's been over three weeks, but I still haven't gotten around to bottling it. Been bloody flat out with work.

What's the score with the swap, how many 330ml bottles do we need? 

For the entire batch it's: 20,000 / 330 -> 60 bottles

Do you guys reckon we will need to add a bit more yeast when priming ?

cheers,
-kt


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## Jaynus (3/6/14)

Yeah mine looks good! I think it's all done! Might bottle over the weekend or next week sometime, smells delicious already it's going to be amazing!


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## mr_wibble (3/6/14)

I'm at 1.016, that's 9.82% abv.
It smells rather quite nice actually, and tastes great.

I expect once it grows up a bit, it will taste even better.

I've now read a bunch of stuff about adding a small amount of yeast when bottling, a couple of people even suggesting champagne yeast.
But at Beer & wine Journal, Chris Colby said not to use a bottling yeast more alcohol tolerant than your beer yeast.

So now I'm in a quandary.

The beer is still quite cloudy, so plenty of yeasties should still be in suspension.

Advice?

-kt


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## mr_wibble (4/6/14)

Ok, we need 42 bottles for the swap (7 of us + Duane) - obviously you don't need to swap with yourself 
This is about all of my 330ml bottles anyway. 

I'll have to do the rest of the batch in 500ml. 
I guess if I split a 500ml with SWMBO, that's the same as a glass of wine, so not a problem - more worried about wastage.

I was going to get a batch of custom bottle-caps made for it, but I was too cheap and/or left it too late for the postage (at https://www.bottlemark.com )
But here's my design for a white-background cap:






I think it looks OK, maybe for next year.

cheers,
-kt




Edit: Added the mockup image


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## mr_wibble (4/6/14)

Ah, so what was the final recipe ?
(for my records)


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## joshuahardie (4/6/14)

Mr Wibble said:


> I've now read a bunch of stuff about adding a small amount of yeast when bottling, a couple of people even suggesting champagne yeast.
> But at Beer & wine Journal, Chris Colby said not to use a bottling yeast more alcohol tolerant than your beer yeast.
> 
> So now I'm in a quandary.
> ...


My feeling is that you will not need a bottling yeast. Seeing that you will be priming with sugar the yeast should have no trouble getting through that simple food source. Also at 9.8% you still have a fair amount of room to move before the yeast hits its limit of alcohol tolerance.


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## joshuahardie (4/6/14)

Oh and BTW, I have been too busy / lazy to put mine down.

I really hope to be able to get to it tomorrow.


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## mr_wibble (4/6/14)

Ok, I've been thinking about this all night.

The beer is only 3 weeks (plus a bit) old, so even though it's relatively high alcohol, it should still have some active yeasts.
Most of the barleywines I read about had been batch-conditioning in secondary fermenters for months.

Thus I conclude, perhaps incorrectly, that it should be OK to bottle without adding more yeast.


Edit: I only 1/2 wrote this post before stopping for breakfast, good this Josh has read my mind and agreed with me


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## pmastello (4/6/14)

Yeah, I would agree with Josh. The High tolerance yeasts like forbidden fruit won't need any additional yeast. 

However, my lager yeast only has a listed tolerance of 9%, so I am pushing it to its max with our 9-10% beer. I will be adding some more yeast tonight (Some rehydrated US05 which has a tolerance of 12%). I am intentionally adding it before it finished to get the yeast working before it runs out of juice.


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## brockerst (5/6/14)

I bottled yesterday at 1.013. Was steady for a couple of days and wanted to keep the yeast on a roll and not give in. I primed very lightly. Tastewise it is very intense alcohol, esters and bitterness as you'd expect. Should be a nice complex beer once it smooths out with age.


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## stakka82 (5/6/14)

You guys are getting some good attenuation there. I've not brewed one but I hear it's common for barleywines to stop between 1020-1030


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## mr_wibble (5/6/14)

stakka82 said:


> You guys are getting some good attenuation there. I've not brewed one but I hear it's common for barleywines to stop between 1020-1030


That's 'cause we made it with _extra_ love.


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## mr_wibble (5/6/14)

I press-ganged my crack team of mini-brewers into helping with the bottling this morning.
Filled every bottle I owned, took 3 hours including the initial washing... must build a bottle washer.





Broke two bottles hitting the bottle-capper thing with a lump of wood - the kitchen really does smell like a brewery now, but in a good way.

The fermenter is awfully crusty, summoning up the enthusiasm to clean it, and the exploded kräusen out of the fermentation chesty.

I was listening to a Basic Brewing Podcast on Barleywine this morning on the way to a meeting. 
Chris Colby said that you don't need such extended conditioning if you had a really good ferment... which is good, 'cause I really want to taste this.


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## pmastello (5/6/14)

Don't drink too much too quick KT, one of the goals of a Barleywine is to taste the differences as it ages, you'll be regretting it if you get to 2 years down the track and you've got a fantastic, complex beer with only 1 stubby left.


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## joshuahardie (5/6/14)

Ok well I have only pitched mine today.

OG was 1088

I split the batch 
10l of White labs 007 Dry English
10l of Fermentis T58 dried blegian

fingers crossed for a good ferment


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## Goldenchild (6/6/14)

Guys i still havent picked up my cube!! Seriously slacking I know but i havent been back on the coast since before the brew day.

Really hoping to get an old ale down in the next few weeks and shift it to a keg to age and chuck the BW on the cake.

From reading up on my yeast selection I won't be bottling for upto a year after putting it down to allow the full cake of brett to get to business and do its thing. 
Saying this I understand most of you would like to do the trade before then and I am fine with sitting out on that.
Perhaps in a year when I do bottle I can post on here and trade a few bottles with those interested.


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## pmastello (11/6/14)

Marc, I don't know about the rest of the guys, but I'd be happy to wait out the year and get my hands on a 6pack of your old ale version. 

As for my beer, I got my hands on CBC-1 Cask & Bottle Conditioned Beer Yeast, a dry yeast especially designed to referment high gravity ales for Cask and bottle conditioning. Perfect.
I added that a few days ago and took a gravity reading at 1.020. Probably a bit lower than I would have liked for pitching my second strain but it should be ok. I'll give it a week at 15C to completely finish out, then I'll bottle it.


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## Jaynus (11/6/14)

Pete do you know if Duane has that yeast available? Sounds perfect!


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## pmastello (11/6/14)

Hey Jay, 
No I don't think Duane has it. I got mine from Mark at Newcastle. 
If you used US05, you don't need to worry about adding more yeast, it can do it on its own. It's only because my yeast was at its alcohol tolerance of 9% that I needed to pitch more yeast. US05 has an alcohol tolerance of 12%


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## Jaynus (11/6/14)

Ok sweet, might have to bottle this weekend!


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## pmastello (16/6/14)

Has anyone got any spare stubby bottles? I've been collecting as many as I can but am still quite short on bottles to stick this thing in. I would have it in bottles by now if I had enough, but its still sitting around in the fermenter until I can get more bottles.


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## mr_wibble (16/6/14)

You can buy bottles at Dan Murphy's - they're 1.75 each in a pack of 24, but you need to wash the VB out of them.

Actually, I wonder if you can get them at the council recyclers ?
Or a local pub ?


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## Jaynus (16/6/14)

How many do you need Pete? I might be able to spare a carton of 330s?


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## joshuahardie (16/6/14)

Looks like I have stalled out at 1022, which seems to be a fair bit higher than you guys
Still will be a 9.2% beer after secondary fermentation.

Taste seems quite good

The Belgian yeast is very spicy, with a pronounced belgian phenolic
The English yeast is a little hot with alcohol, but within range of the style


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## pmastello (17/6/14)

I spent last night scavenging and consolidating my bottle collection and I think I have a solution. 
I have enough bottles so everyone will get 4x330mL stubbies, 1x 500mL or Pint bottle and 1x Champagne bottle or longneck for a special occasion/sharing. 
Does anyone have a issue with that?

I'm with you Josh, last I checked I was sitting around 1.023. It certainly seemed finished, but I've since added new yeast for bottling and have given it an extra week if it needs to attenuate further and I don't get overcarbed barley wine.


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## mr_wibble (17/6/14)

I think the champagne bottle is a good idea.

I toyed with the idea of filling a 2.5 litre champagne bottle to keep for years and years. 
But alas, i was too miserly to spring for a whole packet of plastic "corks".


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## pmastello (17/6/14)

Champagne bottle with bottlecaps - Unless anyone has a corker I could borrow?


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## mr_wibble (17/6/14)

Do you use just normal-sized caps?

i thought you had to have special cap for them, and a bigger "bell".
I hope so, otherwise I've been recycling Potter's bottles whereas I should have been keeping them.


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## joshuahardie (17/6/14)

No you need a larger bell, and larger caps.
Not hard to find, and those bottles are great to use as they are so thick


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## joshuahardie (17/6/14)

No you need a larger bell, and larger caps.
Not hard to find, and those bottles are great to use as they are so thick


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## pmastello (17/6/14)

Yeah I've got the bigger bell and caps for it. It was a pain to get and seemed outrageously expensive for a small piece of metal but great to have once you've got it. I put my yearly big/anniversary beers in them and it looks great


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## Jaynus (19/6/14)

Sounds fine Pete!


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## Jaynus (21/6/14)

If any of you guys know of anyone who has a working keg fridge they no longer want (which I strongly doubt) let me know as after this weekend I'm sure to be well over bottling beer!


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## mr_wibble (23/6/14)

Jaynus said:


> If any of you guys know of anyone who has a working keg fridge they no longer want (which I strongly doubt) let me know as after this weekend I'm sure to be well over bottling beer!


You can typically get a small chest freezer 2nd-hand for ~$50 on gumtree.
Here's three of them within 20km of the CCoast ~
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/belmont-north/fridges-freezers/mistral-bar-freezer/1049920098
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/ourimbah/fridges-freezers/freezer/1049874868 EDIT: This one is no good, it has freezer elements as shelves.
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/carey-bay/fridges-freezers/chest-freezer/1049851188

A wire-in temperature controller will be $20-50 depending on where you buy it.


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## Jaynus (23/6/14)

Thanks buddy!


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## pmastello (24/6/14)

Mr Wibble said:


> You can typically get a small chest freezer


Small? Give it 6 months and you'll need room for 10 kegs. Just don't let the Mrs know you can make soda water with kegs, because that's one tap you'll never see again.

Anyway, back to the barley wine- after much procrastination, I finally bottled mine last night. I can see why you're looking for a keg setup Jay, bottling sucks. At least with 4 weeks on the yeast, it should definitely should be finished. Let's just hope it carbs up OK. How many volumes did you guys go for? I had a taste of it and its quite good! Very little alcohol, lots of malt, huge bitterness, and no unpleasant burnt flavours. I'll try and do a proper tasting in a few weeks when I check for proper carbonation before the swap. That bitterness should fade over a year or two. Should be a great beer for the next few years!


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## mr_wibble (24/6/14)

Gingerbrew said:


> Small? Give it 6 months and you'll need room for 10 kegs. Just don't let the Mrs know you can make soda water with kegs, because that's one tap you'll never see again.


Geeze, you must have been sneaking around my house, that's *exactly* the situation.
Except I already have room for 8 kegs, and I *need* more.

How many beer fridges have all you guys got? Maybe I could present a case for getting another.

"but... but... all the other kids have 3 keg fridges too"


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## Jaynus (24/6/14)

Haha seriously KT do you really have 8 kegs running? That sounds a lot like heaven!


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## pmastello (24/6/14)

I think KT has lost a few kegs to the kids and wife with soft drink. 
One bit of advice when designing a keg fridge, is not too many taps. The more taps, the more cleaning and replacing of lines you'll need to do. I can fit 6 kegs in my keezer, but only have 3 taps - 2 for beer and 1 for sodawater, which doesn't need cleaning as often.

I've got 2 fermenting fridges and a keezer. Only the keezer is running at the moment due to me not having power in the back shed - Is anyone here an electrician or know a good one in Newcastle? I need to run a new submain power supply out to the brewshed.


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## mr_wibble (24/6/14)

Jaynus said:


> Haha seriously KT do you really have 8 kegs running?


No, and Gingerbrew is correct - I have 5 taps left after the kids channel 
Currently on tap: Water, Belgian Pale Ale, Smokey Robust Porter, Munich Dunkel, Hoppy & Bitter Pale Ale, and Brown Porter.

I used to have 1x soda water and 1x kids ginger beer, but then I figured the kids could put ginger cordial into soda water.

I didn't really plan on doing a keg-thingy this big, but the first 2nd-hand freezer to cross my path was *shrug* 8x kegs big
and it got out of hand from there.

It's not allowed inside the house though. 

The cleaning isn't so bad. Last time it took me about 3/4 hour to flush the lines, and the first 15 minutes of that was getting the cleaner and rinse water ready. (into kegs to be pushed through the lines with CO2)
Inside the chest it is a fricken huge tangle of lines though.

It's pretty cool just go outside and _tinker with_. Taste a few beers, see how they're ageing, ooh that's a bit over-carbed, burp the keg. etc.


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## Jaynus (24/6/14)

Yowser!


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## Jaynus (26/6/14)

Would anyone be interested in a Sunday lunch and beers soon at the grain store in newi?


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## Weizguy (26/6/14)

Mr Wibble said:


> Geeze, you must have been sneaking around my house, that's *exactly* the situation.
> Except I already have room for 8 kegs, and I *need* more.
> 
> How many beer fridges have all you guys got? Maybe I could present a case for getting another.
> ...


 A bit off-topic I suppose, but I'm in Newie (north a bit), and I have lots of fridges. I got a couple replaced due to a flooding incident here, so I now have:

1 normal size fridge/kegerator + a small kegerator (that you can have for $125, if you want, with gas line/beer line and door tap, and drip tray).
also 2 ferment/lagering fridges
a keg cold storage fridge,
a yeast culture/ beer bottles fridge
a large 500 litre keg freezer (in the conversion stage), +
a smaller 300 odd litre freezer too
oh, and a dead fridge, fits 2 fermentors and suited for Winter ale fermenting with a heat pad inside.
3 temp controllers.

*So 7 fridges and 2 freezers all up*


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## mr_wibble (26/6/14)

Jaynus said:


> Would anyone be interested in a Sunday lunch and beers soon at the grain store in newi?


Did you have any particular Sunday in mind ?

Sounds good to me.


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## pmastello (26/6/14)

Im in! The grain store is only a 20min walk from home!
Should we start this on another thread so other people can see it?


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## Jaynus (26/6/14)

Cheers les but I have a fridge lined up and I just have to set her up! 

No Sunday in particular KT just seeing if anyone was keen, it's got good food and great beers! 

I knew you would be in Pete, if I were that close I would be there every weekend!


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## brockerst (28/6/14)

I'm in. Keen to check out this particular establishment. Sundays are good.

I'll open the bidding with 27/07.

Flexible though, most Sundays are free.


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## pmastello (28/6/14)

The 27th is the next Sunday I have free, so that works for me. Does everyone want to meet at my house, I'll have my new pizza oven ready so we can have lunch, then head off to the Grain store and maybe hop factory?


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## Jaynus (29/6/14)

I have a bucks weekend in the hunter valley that weekend, but apart from that I'm easy!


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## joshuahardie (1/7/14)

Well I did my bottling yesterday

I didn't really yield as much as I thought I should of, but I got 8 x 6 packs out of it

Refresh my memory how many is involved in the swap, I hope it is not more than 8

I remember talk of a swap on the 13th of July. Did that occur or are we waiting for them to mature more before a swap.


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## pmastello (1/7/14)

Nope, you're all good Josh. There's 7 in the swap, plus Duane who's not particularly interested in strong barley wines and doesn't want to be involved in the swap. Also Marc's beer won't be ready for at least a year as he's aging it on Brett, so he's also out of the swap for now but may trade a few when it's ready to go. So all you need to bring to the swap is 5 six packs. Maybe a few extra for Duane too to thank him for the use of his gear.
Yeah, the meet at Dicks place on the 13th is still going ahead. We may as well do the swap then- not much point waiting till their aged before swapping, is there?


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## joshuahardie (4/7/14)

Is Dick on this forum?

I need to get hold of him and his address.
I am away at a mountain bike race this saturday, and will still be in transit of the way home on Sunday.

I was thinking I could drop my beers to him on friday and collect my share on sunday night / monday.


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## brockerst (4/7/14)

I have a swimming carnival on the 13th at Woy Woy and have to go straight from there to bunnings lake haven to help with a preschool fundraising bbq. I'll make a detour to Dick's to make the swaps. Will probably be around 3:30-4:00pm.


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## silvana (6/7/14)

So I went to bottle mine today and am very sad to say it is a phenolic mess.
Think mildly burnt plastic mixed with a some diesel.
There is no way I can share this so I will regretfully pull out of the swap.

I'll bring some along Sunday though I would recommend very small tastings.


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## pmastello (7/7/14)

Sad to hear that Yogi. Mine is in a similar boat, but not quite as bad.
On my first tasting I am getting some autolysis flavours - vegemitey and trub flavours. I will try another one in a few days to see if it was a one off or if its through the whole batch. Maybe it will age out? Probably not though.


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## silvana (7/7/14)

Yeap sure sucks. Especially as I cleaned and sanitised what felt like a 1000 bottles before I tasted it.
I'm going to chuck a bunch of oak and maybe some Brett dregs at it just because I have them although there really is no hope for mine.

Ben


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## mr_wibble (7/7/14)

Bloody hell, I'm not game to try mine now.

Then I can swap it in good faith, and hope for the best... h34r:


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## gone brewing (7/7/14)

joshuahardie said:


> Is Dick on this forum?
> 
> I need to get hold of him and his address.
> I am away at a mountain bike race this saturday, and will still be in transit of the way home on Sunday.
> ...


No problem at all Josh. pm sent with details.


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## Goldenchild (7/7/14)

I finally dropped mine onto the yeast cake last night.
6hrs later woke up and walked into the brew room and almost fainted.
The co2 had escaped the ferment fridge and was slowly filling the room with the delicious smelling gas 
This was the last thing I wanted to see at 5am when I am off to work for the week.
Needless to say my barley wine is now in open ferment.


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## Jaynus (8/7/14)

Well mine tastes amazing, hopefully yours will change in time Ben! I think mine is going to be really sweet. When and where is this swap going down?


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## mr_wibble (9/7/14)

We did a taste-test last night ... a bit young, but quite good nonetheless.

Malt, raisin, smoke, toffee, mild bitterness, noticeable alcohol. 
( Where the hell did that smokey flavour come from? )


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## pmastello (9/7/14)

I have a hunch that some of the off flavors, smokieness, phenols etc we are getting may be related to the burning of the malt extract. Or maybe thats me trying to blame my bad beer on something out of my control! 
Hopefully we can all have a taste of each barley wine at Dick's and identify what was a bad ferment and some common characteristics.


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## pmastello (10/7/14)

On a second tasting, mines actually alright, possibly even good. I think the huge bitterness had me a bit confused in my palate? 
Hopefully with a year or so of age, the bitterness will fall out quite a bit.
I am really keen to have a taste of everyone's different beers with different yeast.
My lager yeast is very neutral, little sulfury lager character too - closer to a cold fermented American ale than anything else.I am also happy that for a 9% beer, drinking it warm still has no strong alcohol smell or taste, you notice the alcohol only after finishing a stubbie. Lots of bitterness, but where did all that Galaxy go? Almost no hop aroma for me, but perhaps the big maltyness is obscuring it. The aroma does still have the yeasty autolysis/trub smell to it though.
Overall, its quite a neutral barley wine, aside from its high bitterness. I think mine will go down as the control for everyone elses yeasts, so you can separate out what's from the yeast and whats from the recipe. Age will hopefully take mine from something kinda bland and simple, to something a bit more interesting.


Jay, Are you going to come to Dick's place for the meet and swap on Sunday?


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## Jaynus (11/7/14)

Yeah I can make it, what time and where?


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## mr_wibble (11/7/14)

Gingerbrew said:


> I have a hunch that some of the off flavors, smokieness, phenols etc we are getting may be related to the burning of the malt extract.


I like the smokey character.


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## Jaynus (11/7/14)

I love smokey too! But there is such a thing as too smokey!


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## joshuahardie (11/7/14)

Not such thing as too much smoke 

I dropped my 5 six packs off to Dick's yesterday, I tried my beers on Wednesday night and they are not carbonated yet. I gave them a bit of a shake, but I still think it will be a few weeks before they are ready to be tried.

Having said that, what I did try was very uninspiring. I cna't put my finger on why is it so one dimentional, but I just hope it was just excess sweetness from the carbonation sugar that has get to be fermented properly


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## brockerst (12/7/14)

Unfortunately I'm not going to make it tomorrow.

Jay - Can I drop them to you for you to make the swaps for me?


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## silvana (13/7/14)

Sorry guys, sick wife and baby rules me out for today. 
Catch up next time.

Ben


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## n87 (13/7/14)

Yogi Beer said:


> Sorry guys, sick wife and baby rules me out for today.
> Catch up next time.
> 
> Ben


i think i ended up with your share.
swing me a PM to organise pickup


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## brockerst (19/7/14)

I have left my swaps at Duane's shop for everyone to pick up when you're there next.

How did the tastings go?


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## pmastello (4/8/14)

Hey Guys, Has everyone got their share of the beers now? Ben did you get yours from n87? 

There was talk about a trip to Newy for some beers at the grain store & Hop factory some time - I've setup a new thread here http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/81893-newcastle-pub-crawl/


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## n87 (4/8/14)

apparently Ben has had a bad case of the man flu, his share is still keeping my shelves looking healthy


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## joshuahardie (4/8/14)

I am pretty sure I have to get some beers off ben.

Ill figure it out.

I have already cracked a few of the barleywines, and i think you guys have done a steller job


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## silvana (6/8/14)

Cheers Pete, lining up getting my beers from n87 this weekend. Very serious man flu last week!

I will give my Barley Wine another taste this weekend and make the final call to dump or share. I bottled one stubbie and the carbonation seems to hide the phenolic I was getting when it was still, in the fermenter.
If I do dump it are you guys happy with a mixed 6 pack of my beers in its place?


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## Jaynus (6/8/14)

Ben if the carbonation is hiding the flavor then don't stress about it, I'm more than happy for a 6 pack of your barley wine! Let us be the judge!


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## pmastello (6/8/14)

Yeah im keen to try yours ben, no matter what it tastes like.
I tried yours last night KT - well done! It was great! Reminded me of a chimay blue or other Belgian dark strong.


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## mr_wibble (7/8/14)

Gingerbrew said:


> I tried yours last night KT - well done! It was great! Reminded me of a chimay blue or other Belgian dark strong.


Oooh, I'll have to try one myself then.
Found it screaming "I'm too young!" on the first (and only) taste test ... guess it's a couple of months old now.


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## Jaynus (7/8/14)

Pete yours was good, definitely has a smokey hint, carbonation was good. I had one of mine and it needs more carbonation but still sweet and smooth!


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## pmastello (7/8/14)

Thanks Jay. I haven't tried mine in about a month, but glad to hear its holding up. I thought it was a bit plain when I tried it. May have to chill one down in the next few weeks to see what's changed. 

Any other takers on the Newcastle trip? Jay, I know you were keen...


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## Jaynus (11/8/14)

Yeah I'm keen! This Sunday??


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## pmastello (11/8/14)

Next Sunday -the 24th


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## Jaynus (13/8/14)

I'll double check but I think it will be fine!


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## Jaynus (17/8/14)

I'm all good for the 24th! Lock me in!


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## mr_wibble (17/4/15)

I tasted one of mine last weekend.

It was nice, quite smooth, subtle smokey flavour 
Sweet-ish, but not cloying.

So what's that then, 11 months old.


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## joshuahardie (17/4/15)

so much for saving them
mine are all gone.....


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## Goldenchild (1/5/15)

I still have a naturally gassed keg sitting around and 5L in a demijohn on oak which has a nice pellicle from the brett . Hoping to one day this year getting around to bottling both! Will post on here and drop some bottles off at Duanes for sharing/trading? if anyone has any left then when that day arises... No promises it will actually be this year though haha.


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