High Alpha Brewing at a Low-Yield Time

A week ago today, I decided to brew a Triple IPA. I did not think much about the coming shortage of hops, I had a bunch stock-piled in the freezer from beers I meant to (but never did) make. Now, one week later the time has come to move the beer to the secondary fermenter and dry-hop it.

Then I realized the strains I had settled on for my recipe were in short supply. After doing some scrounging around at home brew shops and online I eventually was able to get my hands on some Columbus, Chinook, and Centennial hops. All is well with the world again. Here's a summary of what the currently nameless hop-bomb is composed of:


Fermentables:

• American 2-row barley malt
• Cara-pils Malt
• Caramel 40 malt
• Corn sugar

Hops:

• Mash Hop: Amarillo
• Full Wort Hops: Chinook, Amarillo
• Bittering Hop: Chinook
• Flavor Hops: Centennial, Columbus
• Aroma Hops: Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial
• Dry Hops: Amarillo, Cascade, Columbus

Yeasts:

• WLP001 California Ale (5 gallons)
• WLP007 Dry English Ale (5 gallons)
  

Original Gravity: 1.072
IBU: 214
Color:

Expected ABV: 7-8%


Today, I'm going to brew a mammoth Barleywine using of the Triple IPA yeast cake. Barleywine is a style I have never brewed before, largely because my love of this style is a recent revelation. I am aiming for a grapefruity, citrus, bittersweet beer that improves as it warms. Rouge Old Crustacean, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, and Great Divide Old Ruffian are my inspiration. Here's some background on the monstrosity that will be keeping me warm through the Oklahoma winter:

Name: The Ancient One

Fermentables:

• American 2-row barley malt
• Munich malt
• Cara-pils malt
• Caramel 60 malt
• Caramel 120 malt
  

Hops:

• Bittering Hop: Chinook
• Flavor Hop: Centennial
  
• Aroma Hops: Centennial, Cascade
  
• Dry Hop: Centennial

Yeasts:

• WLP001 California Ale (5 gallons)
• WLP007 Dry English Ale (5 gallons)
  

Anticipated Original Gravity: 1.110-1.120
IBU: 96
Color:

Expected ABV: 11-14%