I recently tried Blue Whale Ale from Pacific Coast Brewing Company in Oakland, California. Wow! How can I replicate this brew?

Fred Goeldi - Warren, Michigan

Pacific Coast Brewing brews with malt extract syrup as the base. They supplement the extract with specialty malts and hops, just like a homebrewer would. Pacific Coast has been brewing Blue Whale since 1988 and won a silver medal at the 1989 GABF. According to brewmaster Don Gortemiller, Blue Whale is a cross between barleywine and IPA. It is very full-bodied, due to a high finishing gravity, and it has a big hop character from dry hopping. One unusual ingredient in this beer is wood chips, which are added in the fermenter to simulate oak aging. For more information, call (510) 836-2739 or go to www.pacificcoastbrewing.com. 

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Blue Whale Ale
(5 gallons, extract with grains) OG = 1.070  FG = 1.025 to 1.030  IBUs = 70

Ingredients:
9.5 lbs. Alexander’s pale malt extract syrup
1 lb. crystal malt (120° Lovibond)
1 lb. crystal malt (40° Lovibond)
8 AAUs Nugget hops  (0.75 oz. of 12% alpha acid) (bittering)
8 AAUs Chinook hops  (0.75 oz. of 12% alpha acid) (bittering)
3.75 AAUs Willamette hops (0.75 oz. of 5% alpha acid) (flavor)
6.6 AAUs Centennial hops (0.75 oz. of 8.8% alpha acid) (flavor)
2.0 AAUs Perle hops (0.25 oz. of 8.25% alpha) (flavor)
3.25 AAUs Chinook hops (0.25 oz. of 13% alpha acid) (flavor)
1 tsp. Irish moss
2-1/2 tsp. White Labs yeast nutrient
1.75 oz. French oak chips
15.4 AAUs Centennial hops  (1.75 oz. of 8.8% alpha acid) (dry hop)
British Ale yeast (White Labs WLP005 or Wyeast 1098)  

Step by Step
Steep crushed crystal malts in 3 gallons of water at 150º F for 30 min. Remove grains, add malt syrup and bring to a boil. Add Nugget and Chinook hops, Irish moss and yeast nutrient and boil for 60 min. Add flavor hops for the last 10 min. of the boil. Strain out hops, add wort to 2 gallons cool water in a fermenter and top off with cool water to 5.5 gallons. Cool to 80º F, aerate heavily and pitch yeast starter (0.5 gal.). Allow the wort to cool to 68º to 70º F, and ferment for 10 to 14 days. Transfer wort to a secondary fermenter, and add the oak chips and Centennial hops for dry hopping. After a week, prime and bottle, then age for 4 weeks.