Project: Mephistopheles

[dannypo]

Thanks for posting this. I am planning on a super high gravity barleywine soon and your experiences are invaluable.

As for carbonating it, I would just let it age in a corny. And when its ready force carb and fill with a beergun or a CPF. I gave up trying to bottle condition anything that is going to age longer than a few months.

 

[Evan!]

Thanks for posting this. I am planning on a super high gravity barleywine soon and your experiences are invaluable.

As for carbonating it, I would just let it age in a corny. And when its ready force carb and fill with a beergun or a CPF. I gave up trying to bottle condition anything that is going to age longer than a few months.

Glad to help. When this thing is done, I'll post a compendium of tips.

I would just keg the fugger, but...only thing is...I don't really have the capacity or know-how to keg yet.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Evan,

How exactly will you calculate the completed abv? I've never done a multi-stepped fermentation for a brew like this before, so I'm wondering how you end up with an abv estimate after you've added xxx lbs of fermentables after you took an OG reading affter your boil. Is there some magic formula that you're using for this, because I'm thinking of brewing a rediculous IIPA soon myself.

Thanks,

-OB

 

[Evan!]

Evan,

How exactly will you calculate the completed abv? I've never done a multi-stepped fermentation for a brew like this before, so I'm wondering how you end up with an abv estimate after you've added xxx lbs of fermentables after you took an OG reading affter your boil. Is there some magic formula that you're using for this, because I'm thinking of brewing a rediculous IIPA soon myself.

Thanks,

-OB

All in ProMash. The program allows you to adjust up or down the efficiency until you get what your OG actually was. So, for this recipe, what I did was just delete the sugar additions from my grain bill, then punch the efficiency up until I reach 1.122 (my original OG). From there, I added sugar back in (non-grain sugars don't depend on the efficiency multiplier for their value, they stay constant) until I reached 1.147. That's how I figured out how much sugar I'd need to add.

 

[Evan!]

UPDATE:

I just took a sample, as the fermentation is winding down for good. SG is currently at 1.040, or about 14.5% ABV. My target is 1.029. I'm not really all that concerned with hitting that exactly, though...from what I understand, Avery's ABV varies from year to year as well. But it's not done yet, and I expect to end up in the mid 30's. I mean, right now I sit at 70% attenuation...not too shabby.

The sample tastes awesome, too. Viscuous, hoppy, bitter, roasty, and the alcohol isn't terribly overpowering. YEEEhaw. Brewing ROCKS!:rockin:

 

[Ryanh1801]

My concern now is that, since it's such a huge beer, I know it needs aging. However, what I keep running into with aged beers is that, once I bottle them, they're hard to carbonate. Too much yeast falls out over time, I guess. And with this one, adding dry yeast at bottling time won't help, because I'll need a alc-tolerant strain like the WLP099. So I'm contemplating a normal time in the carboy---2 or 3 weeks---before bottling, then just letting the aging process take place in the bottles. That way I can be more sure of proper carbonation. Thoughts?

I have the same problem , I am planing on keeping my barleywine in my carboy for a few more months, just not sure what im gonna do when it comes to bottling time, I might just buy some more yeast, Ill pay 7 more bucks, for insurance on that expensive of a batch. It seems I have read beer ages allot better in bulk than in bottles, not sure how big a difference it is though.

 

[SW Brewer]

If it sits that long, all the yeast will have dropped out by then. Northernbrewer says to pitch with the same yeast you originally used at bottling time. I plan to do this with my IIPA from their kit.

Greg

 

[Evan!]

If it sits that long, all the yeast will have dropped out by then. Northernbrewer says to pitch with the same yeast you originally used at bottling time. I plan to do this with my IIPA from their kit.

Greg

That's not necessarily true. It takes a VERY long time for "all the yeast to drop out". I had a wheat doppelbock aging for 3 months in secondary. I bottled it with some DME. The DME never got fermented, leaving me with no carbonation, so I figured it was the yeast. So, to test that, I added some carb tabs. Keep in mind that this is 10 months after the brew date and 7 months after bottling.

After a week, they were fully carbonated.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

When I make my next big beer, I will definitely bottle instead of kegging. This will be a beer that gets better with age... and I would like to stash a few bottles away for 5 or 6 years down the road.

 

[Evan!]

Bottled it last night after 2 weeks of oak chips and EKG dryhopping. Tastes like wine...port maybe. God it's so good! I ended up, at the end of the day, going from 1.145 to 1.037. I'd like to have gotten even lower, but it is what it is. Now I just hope it carbonates...keeping my fingers crossed for that ol' WLP099.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

Bottled it last night after 2 weeks of oak chips and EKG dryhopping. Tastes like wine...port maybe. God it's so good! I ended up, at the end of the day, going from 1.145 to 1.037. I'd like to have gotten even lower, but it is what it is. Now I just hope it carbonates...keeping my fingers crossed for that ol' WLP099.

That's badass Evan. You are officially my hero. :rockin:

 

[Evan!]

I'll be sure to send a bottle your way, then, now that you're back in the states. Even if it is Tejas.

 

[Evan!]

I also bottled my Rochefort 10 clone last night. We'll see what it's like once it's carbed and cold, but I daresay I hit the nail pretty close to the head on this one. The 5 weeks or so of lagering really helped it, I think. I sure love that Rochefort yeast.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

My rochefort started fermenting less than 2 hours after I put it in the fermenter. I made a HUGE starter and hit about 85% efficiency. It smells absolutely fantastic this morning and I'll be sure to shoot a bottle of it to you.

 

[Evan!]

No doubt...I LOVE that Abbey II. It smells better than any yeast I've smelled. Oh, if only I could get ahold of Fantome's strain...bwah ha ha! I tried harvesting from their bottles, no dice. Sucks.

But yeah, doesn't it smell awesome? Good luck...and I highly recommend some cold aging in secondary if you can.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

Oh, I will, it's at 68-69 right now, moving it to my colder room where it will be at about 60-62 in a few weeks when I put it in secondary. Figure I'll leave in primary for 3 weeks.

 

[fightguy]

You are my hero Evan. I wish I had a clue when it came to making my own beers. Most of this thread is like Greek to me, but hopefully someday I will be able to make something like this on my own

BRAVO EVAN!

Oh, and if you happen to have an extra bottle of it laying around, don't hesitate to shoot me a PM

 

[Evan!]

Thanks for the complements, fightguy...I'd never be at this point if it weren't for this forum and the awesome bunch of people that are always willing to help. Get yourself ProMash or brewsmith...then get Complete Joy of Homebrewing...then get Designing Great Beers. And just stick around here. You'll be crafting your own recipes in no time.

BTW, I tried my first bottle the other night. A slight hiss when I opened the bottle, but no carbonation yet. I'm still optimistic. But even without carbonation, the stuff tastes transcendental. Like an aged port. It kicks your ass with all that alcohol, tho.

I'll keep you in mind when these things finish carbonating, brother.

 

[Ryanh1801]

A slight hiss is better than nothing at all, I finally got around to bottling my Barley wine last week after 4 months in the secondary, im kind of nervous about carbonation. Sounds like a great beer, sounds like something I might have to make in the near future.

 

[Evan!]

Yeah, and it was definitely from CO2 and not just atmospheric differentiation...I could see that little bit of cloudiness in the bottle after I popped it.

Good luck if you do it, Ryan.

I have a barleywine in bottle that refuses to carbonate. I'm seriously pissed. I've added carb tabs, still nothing. I think I'm gonna have to open each one and add dry yeast, then recap.

 

[jbreiding]

ok so the question that has everyone on the edge of their seats...

how close to the original beer does it taste? how well did you do with your cloning attempt? anything you would change in your recipe?

 

[Evan!]

ok so the question that has everyone on the edge of their seats...

how close to the original beer does it taste? how well did you do with your cloning attempt? anything you would change in your recipe?

I can't really tell yet, because it's not carbonated...and it's still relatively young. I just bottled it like 2 weeks from tomorrow. So give it time, and I'll let you know how close I came when it's really drinking right.

 

[shunoshi]

So, it's been several weeks since your last post, have you tried another bottle of this fantastic creation yet? Is it hitting near the original mark? Will you send me a bottle to confirm this?

Just curious as this sounded like a very big project that was worth the attention.

 

[Evan!]

So, it's been several weeks since your last post, have you tried another bottle of this fantastic creation yet? Is it hitting near the original mark? Will you send me a bottle to confirm this?

Just curious as this sounded like a very big project that was worth the attention.

Had a bottle on Tuesday night. It's still not very carbonated, but then Avery's version isn't terribly carbonated either. It's very young. This needs age. Yeah, it's truly amazing beer, though...everything came together on this one. It hides the 15% abv well, which is either a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. The complexity and depth is very impressive...lots of the expected dried fruit, molasses and coffee notes. The oak really did a great job of bringing it together, too. It's still pretty harsh, though, and like I said, needs age.

I'm not sure how close it is to the original...pretty close I guess. I'll need to do a side-by-side once it's aged, and let you know.

And yeah, I'm always open for swaps.

 

[Silentnoiz]

Sorry to dig up really old threads, but this is one of my favorite beers, and I'd like to try to brew it, and learn from any who have blazed a trail.

Evan - how did this ultimately turn out? And what would you change if you brewed it again?

Has anyone else brewed this?

 

[blizzard]

I brewed this up in November and it needed some age but I haven't tried it in months. I kegged it to make sure it would carbonate and I bottled half and then added oak to the other half. I sampled it at bottling and it was good, but SUPER boozy. From what I remember (notebook isn't in front of me right now) I calculated 18% ABV and I don't even know if that is possible. I was thinking of doing a side by side. I don't expect to have a clone, but I am interesting in comparing and contrasting. Anyways, I'll probably update here or the other thread once I give it a try. Have to wait until the weather isn't in the 90s!

 

[ManOwaR]

Wanted to bring this back to life.

I made an attempt with the recipe posted here. OG came out at 1.132 and on racking to secondary it had hit 1.011. I was quite surprised it had gotten down that low.

I made a few modifications -

firstly I added all the DME as my first mid-fermentation addition. I didn't want the yeast going after the simple sugars and pooping out.

Secondly I swapped one pound of dextrose for turbinado. (Since it comes in two pound boxes). So in total I added 3 pounds of DME, 4 pounds of turbinado, and 2 pounds of dextrose over the second week.

Lastly, I made a batch of Belgian pale ale as a giant starter and racked the wort on top of the 3787 yeast cake. Then hit it with pure O2 for 2 minutes. I did not need to oxygenate a second time.

I tasted the hydrometer sample and it certainly has all that lovely dark fruit character that I'm looking for, but it's very boozy. The one thing I love about Meph is that it's got a certain sugary heat to it. I detect that but it's not as huge as in the real thing.

I'm going to let it sit for a few months at least then keg/carb and counter pressure fill into bottles.

Ive got an ounce of boiled American oak sitting in bourbon, but I'm on the fence about adding it.

 

[blizzard]

Sounds good!

I Oaked 1/2 to 2/3 if my batch and added red wine (Zinfandel) to half of the oaked portion. Good stuff. I recommend it.

 

[Silentnoiz]

I'm going to let it sit for a few months at least then keg/carb and counter pressure fill into bottles.

Ive got an ounce of boiled American oak sitting in bourbon, but I'm on the fence about adding it.

How did this turn out? And did you end up using any of the oak with it?