A little Barley Wine help please

I'll try to give as much info as possible. Just brewed my 2nd batch ever. It was a DME kit from Brewmaster's select for English Barley Wine. Everything seems fine but after just 2 days, it seems to bee doing nothing. The first 2 days it over flowed my 1 qt blow tube all over the place. I guess my question is, Should I just let it go or should I pitch my Champainge yeast. I was planning on doing that when I racked to secondary, but should I do it now? Thanks for any help.

my barleywine kept going for weeks.
i would check your gravity with a hydrometer - then you will know if the first yeast is at its alcohol limit

Thanks Rod. If my hydrometer reads the same for 2 days, then should I pitch the second yeast or let it go for a while longer on the first yeast(windsor)?

from another website:

Yeast

Windsor Ale (Lallemand) Produces a full ... Low or no detectable diacetyl, alcohol tolerance ... to ferment to dryness with good alcohol tolerance approximately 11-12% ABV

when you check your gravity if the alcohol is approaching the limit for the windsor i would pitch the champagne yeast which are usually good up to 18%
(lavlin ec-1118)
good luck,rod

Windsor is a relatively low attenuation yeast used for brews that need a sweeter finish. I'd pitch the champagne yeast.

Thanks all. Cool site Rod!

Here's a little listening: http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/jamil.php

TBN just archived a show on English Barleywine, just listened to it this morning.

i was listening to those at werk for a while...great info!

Well my OG was 1.093. Maybe a little low? At day 4 and 5 in the primary it is at 1.040. So I pitched my red Star yeast. Then racked to secondary. Next morning still doesn't seem to be doing anything. guess just wait..........

i wouldn't have racked until it was finished...

So am I going to have a brew that doesn't reach it's potential. Will it taste bad or just not reach it's ABV or take forever to finish? And a correction, I pitched the yeast in the secondary then racked.

n/m.

you've repitched new yeast in the secondary...it should be fine. give it another month in the secondary...you should get down to 1.020 or maybe a little higher. keep us posted and ask if you're having problems, but this will probably take some time.

Thanks DB. I just don't want something awful after so much time cause I planned on it being AWOL for a while before it was good. And I shouldn't worry about no action in the airlock?

no, i didn't see any action in mine and it dropped 10 points in a little under a month. it just takes a while sometimes. i wouldn't rush into beano or anything like that until you've exhausted all your other options.

Update: It has been in the secondary for right at a month now and when I checked gravity for two days it was at 1.040. Is this bad? I kinda expected more from a kit that says 9.6 abv. When I checked my G the sample was very sweet and alcoholy(is that a word) at the same time.

That seems too high, you probably have a stuck fermentation. Try pitching some dry yeast or champagne yeast and raise the temperature up to around 70F, this should help attenuate the beer a little more. Once you get to terminal gravity let it age for at least a couple of months before bottling.

Thanks. Going to get my yeast for mead today. I'll just pick up an extra.

I have a dumb question. If I add water to my secondary and it lowers my FG, how can I have a higher ACV? I never replaced water when I racked; to make up for the volume I left behind.

never add water to your secondary. you may have one or two less beers, but you should never "make up for the volume"

In the future, you'll be much better off picking a good, fairly high-attenuation yeast to do all the fermenation rather than bringing champagne yeast to the party. You're making beer, not fizzy wine! Windsor's a great yeast, but as noted it doesn't have terribly high attenuation so it was probably a sub-optimal choice. There are some liquid English Ale yeasts that finish a little drier, or I might have even gone with Nottingham (which finishes drier, albeit also "cleaner").

Thanks DB. I heard at my LHBS today that you should always replace the volume that you lost during racking or gravity testing. I never have and I am down to about 4.5 gallons on my BW an thought that if I replaced the water it would get me to my desired FG.

It came in My kit bird. But I'm learning more and am going to make my own recipes from now on.

Well I have tried everything and can't get my SG under 1.040. It doesn't tast bad at all now.But after almost three months, I think I'll bottle now. Let the fireworks begin.:rockin: :rockin: