how much washed yeast to belgian strong ale during bottling

I used the washing method in the half pint canning jars 2 months ago and finished aging my belgian strong ale. I want to add some yeast during the bottling process and am wondering how much to use? The half pint jars range from quarter inch to half inch of solids on the bottom. I opened the 1/4 inch jar and drained off most of the liquid and shook it up. I'm wondering if it really matters how much of this solution I use while bottling a 5 gallon batch..

I will be doing the same in about 6 weeks. Anyone with good advice? I would think just a small amount is needed but this is a guess.

I use dry yeast. It will be more healthy and cleaner than washed yeast. You will only need 1/4 to 1/3 pack. You will have less sediment in the bottles too. The bottle conditioning yeast has no noticeable impact on the flavor profile.

Is adding bottle conditioning yeast advisable for strong belgians? I ask because I will be bottling one in a few weeks.

Conroe said:

I use dry yeast. It will be more healthy and cleaner than washed yeast. You will only need 1/4 to 1/3 pack. You will have less sediment in the bottles too. The bottle conditioning yeast has no noticeable impact on the flavor profile.

Click to expand...

I understand that it won't have any impact on the flavor but my concern is that it could attenuate more than the yeast used for fermenting.

You will only need approximately 1g of dried yeast (this is according to how Sierra Nevada bottle conditions their Pale Ale) , or about 8 mls of pure liquid yeast slurry.

heywolfie1015 said:

Is adding bottle conditioning yeast advisable for strong belgians? I ask because I will be bottling one in a few weeks.

Click to expand...

I don't think you need it for all Belgians but the Belgian I made was cold crashed for 8 weeks which drops all the yeast out of suspension.

PseudoChef said:

You will only need approximately 1g of dried yeast (this is according to how Sierra Nevada bottle conditions their Pale Ale) , or about 8 mls of pure liquid yeast slurry.

Click to expand...

I'm assuming that's for a 5 gallon batch, right?

EvilGnome6 said:

I'm assuming that's for a 5 gallon batch, right?

Click to expand...

Yes, completely forgot about that part!

What dry yeast are you using? Or does it really matter, since it does not appear to affect flavor too much.

What dry yeast are you using? Or does it really matter, since it does not appear to affect flavor too much.

I use T-58 because it forms a nice solid sediment. Nottingham and S-33 are good too for the same reason.

Conroe said:

I use dry yeast. It will be more healthy and cleaner than washed yeast. You will only need 1/4 to 1/3 pack. You will have less sediment in the bottles too. The bottle conditioning yeast has no noticeable impact on the flavor profile.

Click to expand...

I disagree... I think using the same yeast that was collected during primary fermentation is going to give you the same results. I just wondered if it really matters how much you use? I'm guess you will just get more sediment using more yeast. It's going to eat up what sugar you used to bottle and the alcohol content isn't going to change much. My Belgium was almost 10 percent, so I choose to add more yeast. Plus I'm in Denver and elevation plays a factor. I just wanted a good carb. So the question I posed remains, does it matter how much washed yeast you use during bottling? 8ml is a good bet?

I've seen bottle conditioning rates in a pdf for T-58 and it's 2.5 g/hl to 5 g/hl. Not very much.

I did a 1.090 Belgian Strong ale and didn't add any more yeast, and it still carbed up fine...It just took 3 months to do so, but since the beer needed over 6 months to lose the hot alcohol taste, the length of time it took to carb up didn't really matter.....

Revvy said:

I did a 1.090 Belgian Strong ale and didn't add any more yeast, and it still carbed up fine...It just took 3 months to do so, but since the beer needed over 6 months to lose the hot alcohol taste, the length of time it took to carb up didn't really matter.....

Click to expand...

I bottled a 1.089 Belgian Dark Strong Ale over 2 months ago and it is barely showing any signs of carbonation. It's a little frustrating because it would taste really great if it had carbed up properly. I'm going to add some fresh yeast to a 1.095 batch I'm bottling next weekend.

How big of a starter should I make to collect 8 - 10 ml of healthy slurry? I'll be using yeast washed from the primary but I want to propagate some fresh yeast for bottling. Doing a full 1L starter seems like overkill to collect so little. I'll be using a stir plate, BTW.

So after 2 weeks post bottling I have a super nice carb, with tiny nitro like bubbles that last till the last sip. I used the whole slurry of 1 pint jar for a 5 gallon batch. I aged the 5 gallons in the secondary for 6 weeks at 5000ft elevation. I didn't measure the slurry at the bottom of the pint jar, but it was about 1/4 inch or more that was utilized. I mixed the washed yeast with my priming sugar about an hour before adding it to my green beer. This was a 9% belgian btw. The washed yeast was from the primary of the same batch. I didn't try bottling any of beer without adding yeast so I can't compare, but I know my imperial stout I brewed a few months before took 2 months to get the same carb and it was 9.5% alcohol. Next time I will keep a small portion and bottle without added yeast to see if there is a big difference.