Regarding Yeast Cell Counts and Bottling

With bottling, we're more or less dependent on some yeast remaining in the beer to ferment the sugar and carbonate our stuff. So I'm wondering...

...I have a brew that uses a highly flocculating yeast (Whitbread). It stays in the primary for four weeks (first 2 weeks primary fermentation, remaining two weeks "secondary" fermentation with fruit). It then goes into a secondary for a week. After all this settling time, are there still yeast floating in the brew in significant enough numbers to perform a proper carbonation?

Even more curious, what about barley wines that go through extended secondary times before bottling? Would these need to be inoculated with bottling yeast at bottling time?

Even with a highly flocculating yeast and a time in secondary, there is still plenty of yeast in suspension to carbonate and condition your beer. Even cold-crashing will leave enough in suspension to do their jobs.

Moving to your second question, any remaining yeast in a big burly barleywine will be stressed and may not do their jobs. Repitching is often necessary.

Pretty much the only way to not have yeast in suspension at bottling time is if you filtered it out.

Got it. I figured that was more or less the case. It's helpful to know about the barley wine, though. Generally, what are the cut offs in terms of alcohol content and/or secondary time before repitching becomes a necessity? Any ideas regarding how much yeast to pitch? I ask because at some point down the line, I'd like to do a barley wine.

Any thoughts?

Pelikan said:

Got it. I figured that was more or less the case. It's helpful to know about the barley wine, though. Generally, what are the cut offs in terms of alcohol content and/or secondary time before repitching becomes a necessity? Any ideas regarding how much yeast to pitch? I ask because at some point down the line, I'd like to do a barley wine.

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It really depends on the specific yeast strain that fermented the barleywine- specifically, its alcohol tolerances (which are noted on the package or manufacturer's website).

Regarding repitching rates, I'm afraid I can't offer much in terms of practical numbers as I haven't yet brewed a barleywine myself.