Hi everyone,
I was hoping to get some insight on using White Labs Super High Gravity Yeast, WLP099. I am going to be making an all grain, barleywine style beer, and for theory's sake, I want to see just how high the alcohol content can get using this yeast. So according to White Labs, here are the special instructions for the yeast:
http://www.whitelabs.com/gravity.html
I have several questions regarding this.
1. It says to pitch 3-4 times the normal amount of yeast. Is a 2 pint starter enough, or should I make multiple starters and grow the yeast? For instance, I can make a 1 pint starter with the yeast, then after 2 days add in another pint of wort, then after 2 days add another pint of wort.. and so on. Is a multiple starter approach necessary, and if so, is this technique the way to go about it? Are there consequences to doing this? Will my yeast get exhausted?
2. White Labs says to aerate the beer periodically for the first 5 days of fermentation. I have always been under the impression that once yeast is in your beer, minimize aeration. Aerate the hell out of it before the yeast goes in, but take it easy afterwards. Am I going to increase chances of oxidation if I shake the bucket for like 20 minutes every day for the first few days of fermentation?
3. It also says not to pitch all of the wort sugar at once. I feel like this can get pretty complicated. Let's say I make 5 gallons of wort with an OG of 1.100. Should I start with like three gallons and let the yeast go at it, and maybe in like 3 days add the remainder 2 gallons to the carboy? Once santized of course! What other techniques could be used? Also, will this have any effect on my hydrometer reading for FG? I'm going to assume that if my cooled, mixed wort has an OG of 1.100, then I can start with 3 gallons and add in the other 2 gallons later, that I shouldn't have any bizarre FG readings.
Lots of questions, I know. Damn engineering mind that forces me to read into everything! Would appreciate your thoughts on this!
Thanks,
Alex
I was hoping to get some insight on using White Labs Super High Gravity Yeast, WLP099. I am going to be making an all grain, barleywine style beer, and for theory's sake, I want to see just how high the alcohol content can get using this yeast. So according to White Labs, here are the special instructions for the yeast:
http://www.whitelabs.com/gravity.html
I have several questions regarding this.
1. It says to pitch 3-4 times the normal amount of yeast. Is a 2 pint starter enough, or should I make multiple starters and grow the yeast? For instance, I can make a 1 pint starter with the yeast, then after 2 days add in another pint of wort, then after 2 days add another pint of wort.. and so on. Is a multiple starter approach necessary, and if so, is this technique the way to go about it? Are there consequences to doing this? Will my yeast get exhausted?
2. White Labs says to aerate the beer periodically for the first 5 days of fermentation. I have always been under the impression that once yeast is in your beer, minimize aeration. Aerate the hell out of it before the yeast goes in, but take it easy afterwards. Am I going to increase chances of oxidation if I shake the bucket for like 20 minutes every day for the first few days of fermentation?
3. It also says not to pitch all of the wort sugar at once. I feel like this can get pretty complicated. Let's say I make 5 gallons of wort with an OG of 1.100. Should I start with like three gallons and let the yeast go at it, and maybe in like 3 days add the remainder 2 gallons to the carboy? Once santized of course! What other techniques could be used? Also, will this have any effect on my hydrometer reading for FG? I'm going to assume that if my cooled, mixed wort has an OG of 1.100, then I can start with 3 gallons and add in the other 2 gallons later, that I shouldn't have any bizarre FG readings.
Lots of questions, I know. Damn engineering mind that forces me to read into everything! Would appreciate your thoughts on this!
Thanks,
Alex