final gravity for big barleywines?

[Caffinehog]

I'm making a barleywine. What kind of final gravities do you usually get for such a beverage?
I'm also using all dark malt, so it will be higher than even a normal barleywine, but I don't know how much higher. Does anyone know what kinds of numbers I can expect?

[Tweek]

how much malt are you using? and what is the gravity value of the malt?

[S.F.B.]

The normal range for a barley wine is 1.024-1.032. Your results will depend on fermentable sugars in you wort. I just did one that was 1.118 to start and FG was 1.026.

[Caffinehog]

My starting OG was 1.125, and it was all dark malt. Not light, not amber, but DARK.

[Beerconnoisseur]

...the resulting OG will also depend on the attenuation % of the yeast strain you use. The barleywine I just finished typically has an OG of 1.080-1.090 (I measured 1.066, but that could be waaay off), while my FG was 1.024. The yeast I used was White Labs California Ale, which has an attenuation of 73-80%.

[paul84043]

I agree with the above post...
Barleywines will vary greatly based on many variables.

Mine started life at 1.095 and ended up at 1.030. I even repitched and waited another month.....no change at all...

It's sweet, but smooth and getting better as it ages.

[brewmonkey]

I like mine to finish out at about 1.025 +/- .003 to give it some body, but mine also begin life somewhere around 1.125-.130.

[fretlessman71]

How long does it normally take to brew one of these big bad boys? Probably moving in May, and don't want unfinished wort to be travelling with us... also, would like to have something ready for the winter months next year!

[brewmonkey]

Primary for mine is usually 7-10 days followed by at least 4-6 weeks in secondary before it moves to package. Once it is packaged it can sit for some time due to the higher alcohol content. It will continue to age and mellow out (hopefully) in the keg/bottle. So you figure 8 weeks from brew day to package possibly quicker if you go for a lower gravity.

[S.F.B.]

Fret, if you start it now it can be in the bottle before you move. Mine took 10 days in the primary. I will probably bottle between January 30 and February 15. That puts it at 6 weeks in secondary.

[paul84043]

Mine was about two weeks in the primary, and many, many moons in the secondary. Some people will let it sin in the secondary for a long time, 2 to 4 months is probably average.
Then definitely count on several more months on the shelf, these NEED to age.
I have some barleywine from Uinta Brewing Company's last years batch, it's still pretty beefy and could probably sit for years on the shelf and still be just fine.

[Caffinehog]

Originally posted by paul84043
Some people will let it sin in the secondary for a long time, 2 to 4 months is probably average.

Then they make it repent.

[toneyc]

Originally posted by Caffinehog My starting OG was 1.125, and it was all dark malt. Not light, not amber, but DARK.

OK, I've been waiting for someone else to ask this so I wouldn't sound TOO silly, but no one else has, so....

What does light vs dark malt have to do with the fermentablility? If anything, I would figure that dark malt would be less fermentable because of carmelized sugars. Someone en-light-en me, please.

:)
Toney.

[Caffinehog]

Exactly. If I was using light, I would know I have a long way to go!