Bigs Barley Wine Recipe

Bigs Barley Wine Recipe

Makes one gallon,

1 lb. Whole or Cracked Barley

1 lb. Golden Raisins

2-1/2 lb. Sugar

Zest and juice of 2 Lemons, OR 4 tsp. acid blend

Zest and juice of 2-3 Oranges (optional)

1/2 tsp. Tannin

1 Campden tablet, Crushed

Amylase, to help convert starches to sugar (prevent starch haze)

Montrachet Yeast

Toast the barley (optional) on a cookie sheet in a 375-400 degree oven for about ten minutes. Stir the grain every few minutes. Cool. Put the barley in a large stainless steel pot, cover with water and soak overnight. Do the same with the raisins.

The next day, place the barley and raisins in a food processor, pulse till well chopped.  Put the barley and raisins in a grain bag and place into the primary fermenter. Then add the sugar and pour over hot (not necessarily boiling) water.

Add the juice of the lemons or citric acid. Also add the juice of the oranges (if using them). When cool, add the tannin, yeast nutrient, Amylase and crushed Campden tablet. Cover and leave for 24 hours, then add the yeast. Cover closely and leave for 8 days, stirring daily, then strain into a fermentation vessel with airlock. Siphon off into bottles when clear adding 1-crushed Campden tablet beforehand. Ready to drink in about six months.

Bigs Barley Wine

Whisky is all the rage right now and I thought it only appropriate to feature a grain in my next wine. More specifically, Barley. If I could only age the wine in used Whiskey Barrels we would really have something, that is if you like whiskey. I've never made Barley wine, so I thought it only fitting to make a straight recipe and see what it's like before adding unnecessary flavorings.

It's a fairly straight forward wine to make. No fussing with fruit. Just soak the grains, chop them with raisins and add to a grain bag. Put the lot into a fermentation bucket and add the rest of the ingredients. The only special ingredient you need is Amylase, which helps prevent a starch haze and helps break down the sugars in the grains. If you are interested in the recipe I'll post it here soon.

If you are interested in the recipe, you'll find it here.