I have an Imperial Stout that's been in primary since 3 weeks ago or so...gravity seems stable, and I was planning on racking to secondary and adding oak chips that have been soaking in a single malt speyside scotch since the day I started the fermentation. I was planning on letting the whole mess stay in secondary until around Thanksgiving or so, then bottling and I figured I'd see if they were ready to hand out around Christmas or so (I think they'd make great Christmas presents).
My question is: Will the yeast survive all that alcohol for that long and still be able to carb in the bottles? I mean, this is going to be in the neighblorhood of 9-10% I'm guessing and it's going to have been sitting for 4 months in secondary/bottles by the time it's done. Do the yeast just go dormant and then wake up when you give them fresh sugar? for carbing? Thanks.
My question is: Will the yeast survive all that alcohol for that long and still be able to carb in the bottles? I mean, this is going to be in the neighblorhood of 9-10% I'm guessing and it's going to have been sitting for 4 months in secondary/bottles by the time it's done. Do the yeast just go dormant and then wake up when you give them fresh sugar? for carbing? Thanks.