For my third batch I decided to work off of the KBS theme, and brew an oatmeal stout. My OG came in at 1.124, which I checked multiple times, and I pitched 2 sachets of (rehydrated) safale 05. I have read that safale 05 has a tolerance of 11%, but has been pushed a couple points higher per reports on this forum.
Five days into fermentation my gravity is at 1.044, which puts current abv at 10.5% (O-F x 1.31), near the yeast's tolerance. Most oatmeal stouts seem to shoot for ~1.02 - should I be thinking about something proactive (eg, more/different yeast) to avoid stalled fermentation while the consistency is a bit on the syrupy side? Is an FG this high OK, or should it creep even lower over the next week? Any advice from folks who have traveled these waters before would be very much appreciated.
Just tasted two sips of the sample, noticed aftertaste of espresso two minutes later, chocolate four minutes later. Can't wait to add oak and bourbon.
Details:
- steeped grain and 3.75 gallons water x 60 minutes @154 F
- boiled x 60 minutes adding 1 pint of espresso at the start, w/ malt extract (3.3# NW Amber, 12#NW gold)
- I sparged 2/3 of the grains, then added ~1 gallon of water to the pot, and steeped the remaining 1/3 of the grain, then let it boil down and added it to the wort rather than topping off with water.
- Aeration was vigorous.
- Yield was ~5.5 gallons, again, OG was 1.124
Next step:
ferment x 2 weeks, secondary x 2 weeks with 1oz oak chips. Oak infused bourbon (and straight bourbon) will be added to adjust taste. To be bottle conditioned for July 4th, enjoyed with cigar.
Five days into fermentation my gravity is at 1.044, which puts current abv at 10.5% (O-F x 1.31), near the yeast's tolerance. Most oatmeal stouts seem to shoot for ~1.02 - should I be thinking about something proactive (eg, more/different yeast) to avoid stalled fermentation while the consistency is a bit on the syrupy side? Is an FG this high OK, or should it creep even lower over the next week? Any advice from folks who have traveled these waters before would be very much appreciated.
Just tasted two sips of the sample, noticed aftertaste of espresso two minutes later, chocolate four minutes later. Can't wait to add oak and bourbon.
Details:
- steeped grain and 3.75 gallons water x 60 minutes @154 F
- boiled x 60 minutes adding 1 pint of espresso at the start, w/ malt extract (3.3# NW Amber, 12#NW gold)
- I sparged 2/3 of the grains, then added ~1 gallon of water to the pot, and steeped the remaining 1/3 of the grain, then let it boil down and added it to the wort rather than topping off with water.
- Aeration was vigorous.
- Yield was ~5.5 gallons, again, OG was 1.124
Next step:
ferment x 2 weeks, secondary x 2 weeks with 1oz oak chips. Oak infused bourbon (and straight bourbon) will be added to adjust taste. To be bottle conditioned for July 4th, enjoyed with cigar.