Repitch yeast before bottling Imperial Stout after 6 month secondary?

Hi,

I have a Russian Imperial Stout I am about to rack to a secondary; og = 1.073 fg =1.010. I plan to keep it in the secondary until the summer & then bottle condition. I haven't worked with high gravity brews before or such long secondary times, so I am wondering if I should add some more yeast a few days before priming and bottling. Any suggestion on the amount yeast to use for a 5 gallon batch & the type of yeast to use? I originally used an 11g pack of Nottingham dry ale yeast. I have read that a champagne yeast may work well too, or maybe no repitching of yeast is required.

Thanks,
nre

1.073 is not real big. A few grams of Nottingham mixed in the bottling bucket will do fine.

Don't use champagne yeast. It is liable to ferment out the beer further.

I wouldn't add anything, it should have plenty of yeast. If you are real concerned, stick with the same yeast you fermented with and add about half a pack.

I would just because I've never had something sit that long. I've seen other posts where people suggest getting a slug of the settled yeast off the bottom during siphoning and another that suggest using a flocculent yeast added to the bucket for conditioning/priming.

I brewed an Imperial Stout w/ OG of 1.087 this past May 15th. It sat in secondary until November 8th. I used Pacman yeast for this batch.

So when I racked to bottles I didn't think to repitch yeast. When I bottled I only left them in a mid-60˚ temp for two weeks. The first bottle I opened in early December was not carbonated well. So then I worried if I had enough yeast to produce carbonation.

I brought all the bottles back out to the cellar and let them sit a mid-60˚ environment for another month. Last I tried these beers were carbonated nicely.

My lesson seem to suggest that repitch isn't absolutely necessary as long as you let your bottles condition long enough in the right temperature. On the other hand if you're in a rush I'd pitch a bit of that nottingham.

thanks,
nre