Brü It Yourself | Bigfoot County BBA Black Barleywine

Author: Jordan Folks

I don’t tend to like hyped-up, gimmicky, over-the-top craft beer styles like Milkshake IPA and smoothie sours; however, rich, indulgent, imperial strength dark beers are a guilty pleasure of mine. Whether aged in a spirit barrel or dosed with ingredients more commonly associated with dessert, there’s just something about these sweet behemoths I love. Given their higher original and starting gravities, so-called Pastry Stout is more reminiscent of a thick and boozy chocolate drink than a traditional beer.

Of the few great purveyors of this novel style, my favorite in Anchorage Brewing Company out of Anchorage, Alaska, whose offerings often sell for upwards for $100 per wax-topped bottle. I’ve never had the gall to pay this price, but I was lucky enough to visit Anchorage Brewing back in August of 2023, and their barrel aged imperial strength dark beers were some of the best I’ve ever had – expertly crafted and an absolute joy to drink.

As wonderful as everything I sampled was, what impressed me the most were what they referred to as “Black Barleywines,” which had the color and mouthfeel of a big, barrel-aged Pastry Stout with a surprisingly restrained roast character. When I learned these beers were made with just Marris Otter malt and Sinamar, I immediately began planning a batch to brew myself.

| Making Bigfoot County BBA Black Barleywine |

With the information I received from Anchorage Brewing about their Black Barleywine, I pieced together a recipe I felt would result in a similarly characterful beer. Huge thanks to F.H. Steinbart for hooking me up with the malt for this batch!

Bigfoot County BBA Black Barleywine

Since big beers like this one require a huge amount of grain, I opted to conduct two separate mashes that would be combined into a single boil. After collecting identical volumes of water in separate Clawhammer Supply electric units, adjusting them to my desired mineral profile, and heating them up, I incorporated the grains and set the controller to maintain 148°F/64°C. This qualified as the thickest mash I’ve ever attempted.

When the 90 mash rest was complete, I removed the grains then transferred both batches of sweet wort to an old kettle for temporary storage.

I then collected some remnant wort and made a vitality starter with 4 pouches of Imperial Yeast A31 Tartan.

After cleaning out my Clawhammer Supply kettles, I added the combined 8 gallons/30 liters of 1.075 SG wort to one of them and began heating them up. I then measured out the kettle hop additions.

I then performed an extended boil with the goal of condensing the wort, and after 3 hours, the 4 gallons/15 liters of remaining wort was at a whopping 1.123 SG.

But I wasn’t done yet! It was at this point I set a 60 minute timer and began making the additions listed in the recipe including Brewers Crystals, which purportedly mimic the fermentation profile of barley extract.

Once the boil was finished, I quickly chilled the wort with my JaDeD Brewing Ss Coil Hydra before adding 4 oz/118 mL of Sinamar.

A refractometer reading of the chilled wort showed the OG was quite literally off the charts.

To get an accurate OG, I diluted a sample of wort with 50% water then took another refractometer reading that I doubled, which indicated the wort was at 1.144 OG. With the now 3.5 gallons/13 liters of chilled wort in a sanitized fermentation keg, I dosed it with pure oxygen before pitching the vitality starter.

Following 10 days of fermentation at 66°F/19°C, signs of activity were absent, so I took a hydrometer measurement showing the beer was at 1.030 FG. While the standard calculation puts this beer at 15% ABV, using a calculator design for high strength beer has it closer to 18% ABV.

At this point, I cold crashed the beer overnight then transferred it to a 3 gallon/11 liter keg. After 4 weeks of cold conditioning, I added a bourbon-soaked oak Infusion Spiral directly to the beer before purging the headspace and resealing the lid.

The beer was left to mingle with the oak for 2 weeks in my 60°F/16°C basement before making a final transfer to another CO2 purged 3 gallon/11 liter serving keg that was placed on gas in my keezer. After another 2 weeks, this hefty Black Barleywine was nicely carbonated and ready to drink.

| IMPRESSIONS |

As much fun as travelling is on its own, it’s even more thrilling when the destination involves good beer, which was certainly the case with my latest trip to Alaska where I was introduced to their bourbon barrel aged Black Barleywine. I’m a fan of big beers and have sampled many versions of Barleywine over the years, but this was the first time I’d seen one that was so dark, to the point it almost resembled an Imperial Stout but without the intense roast character.

To my sense, Bigfoot County BBA Black Barleywine hit all the marks I was aiming for, leading with a luscious combination of chocolate fudge and bourbon with notes of vanilla and maple syrup. The fermentation character was quite clean despite the beer’s nearly 18% ABV, which was on full display with each sip, though it left no impression of alcohol heat. There was minimal perceptible hop character, but the bitterness was just enough to keep the sweetness from being overly cloying, which I feel the oak contributed to as well.

While not technically “bourbon barrel aged,” I refer to this beer as such based on my original aspirations, and I feel the bourbon-soaked Infusion Spiral did a great job of emulating those characteristics. All in all, I felt this was an incredible beer, and those I shared it with seemed to agree. To increase the dessert aspects, dosing this beer with adjuncts like vanilla, marshmallows, or even a sweet breakfast cereal (for those so inclined) would likely work very well.

If you have thoughts about this recipe or experience making something similar, please feel free to share in the comments section below!

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