Old Froglegs Barleywine

Story: This barleywine was the first beer I brewed after my son was born in April 2013. It was also the first beer I ever brewed that was this big. I brewed it to have something special to save for future milestones in his life: birthdays, holidays, and so on. I plan to save at least one bottle for Lucian’s 21st birthday, so it needed to be cellar-ready and improve with age as much as possible.

Maris Otter was chosen as the base for its nutty flavor. Munich malt was included for melanoidin, and Crystal 60L and Crystal 150L were included for  caramel and dark fruit notes. The piloncillo adds a rich molasses flavor and dries out the beer to keep it from finishing out cloyingly sweet; it can be found at ethnic groceries or the Latin section of the supermarket. Jaggery would probably be a reasonable substitute, maybe even dark candi sugar or turbinado. Any high-alpha hops would do, as their purpose is exclusively bittering.

The name was inspired by one of the first nicknames we ever gave our son, when he was less than a day old. As a newborn, he kept his legs crossed pretty much constantly.

Style: 19C American Barleywine

Grist:

• 19 lbs Maris Otter
• 3 lbs Munich (light)
• 8 oz Crystal 60L
• 8 oz Crystal 150L

Hops:

• 1.75 oz Warrior (16% AA) @ 60 minutes
• 1 oz Galena (12.8% AA) @ 60 minutes

Other:

• 1 lb piloncillo, cone crushed and added to boil

Yeast: Safale US-05 (28.75 grams)

Mash Temp: 149°F

OG: 1.114

FG: 1.023

IBU: 105.3

SRM: 18

ABV: 12.2%