7 Seas Brewing Company: Wheelchair Barleywine clone

7 Seas Brewing Company: Wheelchair Barleywine

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.107   FG = 1.026
IBU = 38   SRM = 22   ABV = 12%

“Brewed slightly differently each year, but typically aged a minimum of eight months, these Barley Wines display a reddish-brown hue and exhibit prominent notes of ripe pit fruit, brown sugar, toffee, and a full-bodied, malty mouthfeel.”

Ingredients

17 lbs. (7.7 kg) Maris Otter pale ale malt
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) British carastan malt (34 °L)
13 oz. (0.37 kg) Belgian Special B malt (120 °L)
5.7 AAU Glacier hop pellets (60 min.)
(1 oz./28 g at 5.7% alpha acids)
5.7 AAU Glacier hop pellets (40 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 5.7% alpha acids)
3.6 AAU East Kent Golding hop pellets (20 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 4.75% alpha acids)
2.4 AAU East Kent Golding hop pellets (5 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 4.75% alpha acids)
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) clover honey (10 min.)
1⁄2 tsp. Irish moss (30 min.)
1⁄2 tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast or Safale US-05 yeast
3⁄4 cup (150 g) dextrose (if priming)

Step by Step

Mix all of the crushed grains with 6.7 gallons (25 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) water to stabilize at 151 °F (66 °C). This is a medium-thin mash using 1.4 quarts. (1.3 L) of strike water per pound (0.45 kg) of grain. This is designed to help achieve maximum fermentability. The lower mash temperature also serves to create a more fermentable wort. Mash for 60 minutes then slowly sparge with 175 °F (79 °C) water.

Collect approximately 7.5 gallons (28 L) of wort runoff to boil for three hours. While you are boiling the wort, add the hops, Irish moss, yeast nutrient, and honey as the schedule indicates. After the boil is complete, cool the wort to 75 °F (24 °C) and transfer to your fermenter. Pitch the yeast and aerate the wort heavily. Allow the beer to cool to 68 °F (20 °C) and then hold at that temperature until fermentation is complete. Gently transfer to a carboy, avoiding any splashing to prevent aerating the beer. Allow the beer to condition for an additional week. Prime and bottle condition or keg and force carbonate to 2.2 volumes CO2. Allow the beer to age six more weeks (or longer) to fully develop the flavors.

Extract with grains option:

Substitute the pale ale malt in the all-grain recipe with 9.9 lbs. (4.5 kg) Muntons light malt extract (Maris Otter if possible), 9 oz. (0.25 kg) light dried malt extract, and 1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) Maris Otter pale ale malt. Steep the milled grain in 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of water at 151 °F (66 °C) for 30 minutes. Remove grains from the wort and rinse with 2 quarts (2 L) of hot water. Boil for 30 minutes. Add the liquid and dried malt extracts and boil for 60 more minutes. Follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.