This recipe gets its name from the fact that it was originally brewed in 1998, and (coincidentally) that the OG was also 1.098!

This recipe is a little unusual... I actually did a pair of 3 gallon batches, using a parti-gyle mash.  The first runnings were used for a 3 gallon batch of Barleywine, and the second runnings for a 3 gallon batch of ESB.  Unless you intend to do a parti-gyle too, you'll need to adjust the grain bill, assuming a "normal" mash and sparge, with your extraction efficiency and batch size.  Just keep the relative proportions of the various grains the same.

If this seems confusing, and you'd like some help converting the recipe for your system, drop me a note at uchima@pobox.com; I'd be glad to give you a hand at coming up with a converted recipe.

This recipe was the first place Strong Ale, at the Chicago Beer Society's 1999 Spooky Brew competition.

• 16.75 lbs Pilsner malt
• 1 lb Cara-Vienne
• 9 oz Special B
• 4 oz roasted barley
• 2 oz Chinook pellets, 11% Alpha Acid (60 minutes)
• 0.5 oz Mt Hood pellets, 5.1% Alpha Acid (20 minutes)
• 1 oz Cascade pellets, 6.1% Alpha Acid (10 minutes)
• Wyeast 1272 (American Ale II) yeast
• 3 oz dextrose (bottle prime)

Mash-in at 150°F, hold for 80 minutes.  After that, I was still getting a very slight positive reaction on the iodine test, so I bumped it up to 154°F to speed conversion, and held it there until the iodine test was negative.

OG = 1.098, FG = 1.022

As noted above, this was a parti-gyle mash.  The first runnings were used to brew the Old '98 Barleywine (the Barleywine was essentially a no-sparge batch), and the second runnings were used for an ESB.  That is why the extraction efficiency appears to be so bad -- after collecting the wort for this Barleywine, there were still enough sugars left in the mash to brew another fairly strong beer!

Try to keep fermentation temperature around 65°F.  Use a big starter, or pitch onto the dregs of a previous batch.  Fermentation may take a while (several weeks).   Wyeast 1272 also benefits from periodic rousing (shake/swirl/slosh the fermenter to keep more of the yeast in suspension).

While quite drinkable after only a month or two in the bottle, this beer really benefits from extended aging (up to a year or more).

Second Runnings ESB Info

If you decide to try a parti-gyle like I did, here's the hopping and yeast info for the second runnings beer.  This ESB wasn't anything to write home about, but wasn't bad either.

• 1.5 oz Kent Goldings, 5% Alpha Acid (60 minutes)
• 0.5 oz Kent Goldings, 5% Alpha Acid (15 minutes)
• 0.5 oz Fuggle, 4.3% Alpha Acid (5 minutes)
• 0.5 oz Fuggle, 4.3% Alpha Acid (steep)
• Wyeast 1968 (Special London) yeast
• 3 oz dextrose (bottle prime)

OG = 1.058, FG = 1.014

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(Posted to Web March 14, 2000)