So I transferred the beer to secondary, and took another hydrometer reading. The gravity dropped from 1.100 to 1.010! I don't know if I've ever had such an efficient fermentation. And once I put the airlock on the secondary, it bubbled for another 24 hours. I'm guessing it'll be over 12% ABV when it's finished.
I also tasted the beer, and got another surprise. Despite such a dramatic change in gravity, I didn't note any harsh ethyl flavor. The sweetness is still there, though it's mellowed considerably. It's still a bit pithy for my taste, but that's mellowed some too. In any case, it doesn't taste like any barleywine I've ever had. (Doesn't look like one either. It's got a delicate honey color, cloudy but light.)
I double checked my hydrometer in plain water, just to make sure it wasn't messed up, and it reads right. I'm still bewildered as to why the fermentation was so efficient, and why there isn't more of an ethyl harshness with such a drastic gravity change. Is there something in the honey, or tangerines, that goosed the yeast to greater heights? Or was it the yeast itself--a dried British strain I've never used before?
In any case, I'm planning on measuring the gravity again in two weeks, and then--assuming the fermentation has finished--priming and bottling. I'll definitely be putting a lot of the bottles aside for aging. I'm excited to see what time does to it!
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