Bottling High ABV beers

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jakesz28

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I'm wondering what most of you do when bottling a higher alcohol beer? I have been purchasing the higher alcohol kits and adding a little extra fermintables to the kits. The 3 kits I brewed so far had a 9.3 # of extract and I have added an extra pound or so to each of them. I only bottles the power porter so far and it turned out great. I don't think it will last long before it is gone.
It had 9.3 pounds of extract and I added 1 pound of brown sugar and some honey to it. The OG I think was 1.080 but that was taking while the temp of the wort was still around 80* so that may have been a little low on the reading.
It carbed in about 4 weeks but after looking on here it seems some people force carbonate in a keg before bottling. Is this needed with a beer in a 10-12% abv?
The Hop head double IPA I have in the secondary right now was a 9.3 pounds of extract and I added 1 pound of muntons plain light extract and 1 pound of corn sugar. The OG was around 1.085 on that batch too. Maybe a little more if the temp was lower it was tested at 78*.

Dont want to have a problem with them carbonating so I need to know if I should add extra yeast at bottling or if I have to get the stuff to start kegging sooner then I wanted too.
 
You can carbonate a big beer without using CO2 and kegs. It just might take longer than a lower ABV brew.

I bottled up a 9.7% ABV brew (porter turned barleywine, my final extract brew) and it was carbonated in 3-4 weeks.

For correcting the hydrometer readings, use the sheet that came with it... It's not a large modifier per step... So that 1.085 might have been 1.087 with the adjustment.

I would measure the priming sugar by weight for the brews and then let them sit at 70F for at least 3-4 weeks before chilling one and checking it. Chill it for at least 4-7 days before opening it up.

With what you're doing to the recipes, you could have some off flavors that need time to be eliminated/softened. I would leave them on the yeast for as long as possible, since that will speed up that process.

With all that extract you're using, I would suggest looking into either partial mash, or all grain brewing. You'll get your cost per batch lower, plus the brews typically come out better (depending on who you ask) and the colors are lighter (unless you're adding extract late in the boil, which means more work)... With all grain, you also have tighter control over how much body the brew has. You can mash lower to get a lighter body, or higher to get a fuller body. You don't need to add pounds of corn sugar to try and get the FG lower.

With the BIAB method, you can get into either partial mash, or all grain for minimal cost. Although with the big brews you're wanting to make, a good size MLT (converted cooler) would probably be a good idea. Plus, a propane burner for full batch size boils.
 
It will go just fine and have enough remaining yeast for carbonation.
 
Golddiggie said:
You can carbonate a big beer without using CO2 and kegs. It just might take longer than a lower ABV brew.

I bottled up a 9.7% ABV brew (porter turned barleywine, my final extract brew) and it was carbonated in 3-4 weeks.

For correcting the hydrometer readings, use the sheet that came with it... It's not a large modifier per step... So that 1.085 might have been 1.087 with the adjustment.

I would measure the priming sugar by weight for the brews and then let them sit at 70F for at least 3-4 weeks before chilling one and checking it. Chill it for at least 4-7 days before opening it up.

With what you're doing to the recipes, you could have some off flavors that need time to be eliminated/softened. I would leave them on the yeast for as long as possible, since that will speed up that process.

With all that extract you're using, I would suggest looking into either partial mash, or all grain brewing. You'll get your cost per batch lower, plus the brews typically come out better (depending on who you ask) and the colors are lighter (unless you're adding extract late in the boil, which means more work)... With all grain, you also have tighter control over how much body the brew has. You can mash lower to get a lighter body, or higher to get a fuller body. You don't need to add pounds of corn sugar to try and get the FG lower.

With the BIAB method, you can get into either partial mash, or all grain for minimal cost. Although with the big brews you're wanting to make, a good size MLT (converted cooler) would probably be a good idea. Plus, a propane burner for full batch size boils.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info.
I have left them on the yeast cake longer then the instructions called for. I wanted to rush it or I would have left them there longer. The power porter was on the cake for 2 weeks and then in the secondary 1 week. The double IPA was in the primary 3 weeks and I'm leaving it in the secondary for 2 weeks.
On the double IPA, I did do a late addition of 6 pounds of the extract and the DME.
I would like to try the all grain in the future but I need to read up and find the best set up to use so I'm only buying the equipment once. I do have a turkey fryer, so I have a good burner to start with.
 

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