I have my 100th batch coming up in the next month or so and I wanted to do something I have never done before. Something strong that I will package and let age for an extended period, only drinking a few bottles every year. If all goes well, I am thinking about making it a tradition - brewing one big batch once a year, so that over time I will have a nice collection of beers from various years. I’m not much into imperial stouts - I enjoy them, just not enough to want to make one myself. I think I have settled on doing a Wheat Wine - it’s something you don’t see a lot of, and it sounds a little more like my type of beer.
Here is the recipe I have come up with - I have never done anything this strong, so please let me know if you see any potential issues:
Yeast:
I’m not sure what I want to use here, I figure I will pitch on top of the yeast cake of whatever I make prior to this (probably S-04 or US-05, or I’m even thinking WLP644)
I added the sugar because my mash tun will not hold any more grain and water and I am hoping it will help the beer finish lower. The BRU-1 hops are a newer variety; I just finished off a keg of wheat beer made with them this past weekend and they tasted great, citrusy with a clean bitterness.
I understand the goal of the sugar but 21% is just way too much IMO. If you’re worried about mash tun space why not use some DME in place of some of the sugar?
I went back and forth on that - ultimately deciding that I wanted to try to help it finish in the 1.010-1.020 range so it doesn’t come across as too sweet. Maybe I’ll just split the difference and do half sugar, half DME.
I would advise staying away from DME in a big beer like this; it’s just not fermentable enough. While I don’t think 20% sugar is that big of a deal (I’ve gone even higher in Belgians), you can probably get away with 10% or less. I’ve taken a 100% Maris Otter beer from 1.142 down to 1.024 without any sugar.
The keys are a long, low-temperature mash, pitching a crap-ton of yeast that have been acclimated to a bit of alcohol, and hit it with some extra oxygen about 12-18 hours after pitching. I’d mash at 145ish for 90 minutes or more. I’d brew a 1.060ish beer as a starter, then use the entire yeast cake.
Honestly, 1.100 isn’t a terribly big beer all things considered. Most yeasts should do just fine if you manage everything else well. To be honest, my favorite barleywine that I’ve brewed used WY1762. Good luck, and congrats on your 100th batch.
Cool! A few years back I brewed up a collaboration Rye wine with a brew buddy of mine. Started at 1.100 and finished out nicely at 1.017. Nice and dry yet had a huge, full, oily body from all of the rye malt. Also included a healthy portion of Demerara sugar to help dry it out.