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Author Topic: Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback  (Read 1634 times)

Offline Kokusho

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Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback
« on: June 05, 2020, 12:22:10 pm »
I'm fairly new to beer brewing. I have made a couple of the kits, but that is about it. I have been brewing mead for a couple years now, so I'm not a completely new to brewing.

My plan is to make 1 gallon of boil in the bag to start and then try a 5 gallon batch if it turns out well.

I based it off of an english barley wine and here is what I have so far for 1 gallon.

3.5 LB Maris Otter
1 lb of honey boiled for an hour (won't add until after
3 oz Crystal mahogany ireks (from original, but can't get it locally and not sure if I need or if there is a sub.)

Here are the hops additions from the original recipe, but not sure if there is a better option.
90 min boil with 0.15 oz target at start
15 mins of boil with 0.28 challanger and 0.28 Northdown

If my calculations are correct I should get an OG somewhere around 1.110.

Main questions are;
  • not sure if the crystal is needed
  • Hops choice

I generally don't go for the super hoppy beers, and hops are probably my weakest area on knowledge.

Offline denny

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Re: Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2020, 12:59:46 pm »
I'd say use the crystal, but it doesn't have to be that one.  Find a description and look for a suitable sub
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

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Offline Slowbrew

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Re: Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2020, 02:24:36 pm »
Just a guess based on the spec sheets but Briess Caramel Vienne 20L looks close to me.

Paul
Where the heck are we going?  And what's with this hand basket?

Offline Kokusho

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Re: Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2020, 03:56:56 pm »
I'd say use the crystal, but it doesn't have to be that one.  Find a description and look for a suitable sub

Thank you, I'm still sorting the information on what does what.

Just a guess based on the spec sheets but Briess Caramel Vienne 20L looks close to me.

Paul

Thanks, it looks like my local shop has this one. I see what you mean it does look pretty close in the specs.

Offline Kokusho

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Re: Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2020, 10:18:23 am »
OK so I decided to give this a go.
Here is what I ended up doing for the 1 gallon batch (ended up with closer to 1.5 gallon):
Raised temp of water to 165 and added 4lb maris otter and 0.5lb crystal 20L in a bag.
Covered and left off heat for 60 mins, ending temp 154.
Removed grains and strained back into the wort.
raise temp to boil and added 0.2 oz target for 90 mins
Added 0.3oz challanger and 0.3oz for last 15 min.
Cooled to room temp and strained into fermenter and added safale S-04
OG was 1.102

The fermentation started going strong within an hour.

I'll update in case anyone is curious as I go. Thanks again denny and Slowbrew.

Offline joe_meadmaker

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Re: Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2020, 04:54:45 pm »
I'll update in case anyone is curious as I go. Thanks again denny and Slowbrew.

Please do.  I'm interested in hearing how things go.

Is the honey you're going to use of any particular variety?

Offline Kokusho

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Re: Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2020, 08:55:36 am »
I used Desert Creek - Raw Honey I got from amazon. It is a wildflower honey, but has a bit stronger flavor that others I have used. I was thinking about using some buckwheat honey for it, but boiling a buckwheat honey seemed wrong in someways. I make a lot of meads, so I usually have a variety of meads on hand. I wanted to going with something with a bit of a robust flavor to begin with in hopes that it helps to bring out that flavor a bit.

From my understanding these often need some time after fermenting to really shine. I'll be checking it this weekend and probably racking it as long as it has gone through most if not all of the sugars and tasting at that time. This thing started up in about and hour and went bonkers withing an hour of that.

Offline Kokusho

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Re: Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2020, 08:17:34 pm »
Finally bottled this last night. The taste was very pleasant already. The caramelized honey flavor profile didn't come out quite as much as I was hoping.

It has a nice blend of hops and grains with a good amount of body. Overall I'd say very drinkable already. I have it bottle conditioning now and plan to wait at least a month before trying a bottle. I'll post another update then.

Offline joe_meadmaker

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Re: Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2020, 09:28:29 pm »
Glad to hear it's going well.  What was your final gravity?

And definitely give it some time.  I've done quite a few beers with honey.  After going through fermentation, those honey flavors just take a while to come through.  I've found that a couple months can do wonders.

This statement of yours is spot on.  :)

From my understanding these often need some time after fermenting to really shine.

Offline Kokusho

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Re: Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback
« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2020, 09:58:57 pm »
Doh, I didn't take one when I bottled like a doofus, that or I just forgot to write it down. The last reading I had was 1.030, and I don't think there was much if any after that.

The calculation from brewfather estimates 1.025, and that is probably where it was if I had to guess.

Offline Kokusho

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Re: Barley Wine Bochet recipe, need some feedback
« Reply #10 on: September 06, 2020, 01:55:07 pm »
Had the first bottle last night and it was delicious.
It had a rich full body flavor that starts not quite sweet and finishes with light hops and just enough bittering to keep it from being too rich.

This is definitely worth making in a larger batch. If there was anything I would change, I would like it a little cleaner brighter flavor. Maybe boost the bittering just a touch.

For the style, it's great. I just think a single bottle will be quite enough at a time.