To much head Space in carboy for big stout

I recently brewed up a beast of an imperial stout but during the 90 minute boil i did i lost some volume and only got about 4 gallons. There is a solid amount of open space in the better bottle im using and im worried about oxidation. Not really worried about it so much in the primary but im not sure if i should use something smaller to bulk age. I spent a lot of money on this one and i wanna make sure its great. I got a OG of 1.120 and after two weeks it was 1.040. Its also thick and damn tasty! I brewed it on the 31st and it's still slowly bubbiling away! Cheers

you could always get a 3 gallon carboy and also a one gallon growler. I'm not really sure if the 4 gallon would be ok, maybe someone more knowledgeable can chime in.

Don't worry about it - CO2 is heavier than oxygen and air and will push all of the air out of the airlock leaving a blanket of CO2 over the beer once it starts fermenting.

cyclonite said:

Don't worry about it - CO2 is heavier than oxygen and air and will push all of the air out of the airlock leaving a blanket of CO2 over the beer once it starts fermenting.

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Heh, guess I should actually read for content! You will still be fine with the head space for secondary, but another option is to just leave in primary for awhile and then bottle and age in the bottle. I personally rarely secondary anymore - leaving it in primary works great. Other than that, if you are still worried, then you could inject some CO2 into the carbon if you keg and have a tank, or add about 4-6 oz of corn sugar (boiled in a couple cups of water) and let the yeast create a CO2 blanket. But, I think is unnecessary.

I was thinking about just leaving it in primary until its done and then bottling, thats what i usually do but i spent a lot on ingredients and it tastes freaking fantastic! If i do that i shouldnt have to worry about adding extra yeast when bottling either since im going to be at about 11.5% right?

You probably don't need more yeast at bottling, but at that high alcohol content, it may be a wise idea to add fresh yeast just in case. 11.5% is going to really stress any ale strain out there. If I were you, I would use something like US-05 (cheap and clean) just to ensure you have some healthy yeast when you bottle. I've done this with a couple of big Belgians and a Barleywine to good effect - not sure it was necessary, but made me feel better! At that alcohol content, it may also take awhile to fully carbonate - best to let that baby age out awhile ;-).

Absolutely agree with cyclonite, bottle with a very small amount of yeast to carbonate. Are you kegging or bottling? If you can top your fermentation chamber with a little extra CO2 (from your kegging bottle) after checking the grav, it couldn't hurt. The yeast strain doesn't really matter, it wont have much effect on flavor as most of the yeast flavoring comes from the initial strain (unless you're souring) so go with something cheap (dry) and easy (dry), just make sure to properly re-hydrate.

Your best bet (as mentioned) is to add some co2 to the 2ndary if its an option. I would strive to use a 2ndary if its possible but not everyone will agree with me! If your going to age it in a carboy for a while not using a 2ndary shouldn't be an option. if your S.G. is still dropping then this will create enough co2. As for bottling I would also add yeast because a longer aging and high abv you may not have enough viable yeast to create co2. Good luck hope your not confused by now!

I actually used two packets of us-05 for this beer(i almost always use liquid). I was going to rehydrate them but i ended up finding out my dad has cancer right when i was doing my cool down so i just said screw it and tossed them in. Had a real strong fermentation for a few days and now its just bubbling away at about 1 bubble every 12-15 seconds. Last time i checked it was at 1.040 and that was about ten days ago or so. Tasted fantastic as well. I just dont want to ruin it. I don't keg my beer but i need to start but i would bottle this one either way. I do have a co2 tank for my kegerator but its set up for comercial kegs. Do i just sprinkle a little yeast in each bottle or put it right in bucket when i bottle. Does it make much difference if i age in the bottles instead of secondary? I figure im not going to touch them for 6 months after i bottle. this is about my 20 beer i have brewed but i have never done anything this big. Thanks for the tips!

This is just my opinion, any other are surely welcome. I would start by checking your gravity. If its around 1.020 or lower I would rack it to 2ndary thtas been purged with co2. There it can be aged for a few weeks then cold conditioned if desired. Aging in bottles under pressure does seem to bring a beer together and you cant replace that with any time in a 2ndary. I would age a few weeks at least before bottling. To add co2 just take the tube off the sanke and put it in the carboy mouth. Turn the valve or knob for a few seconds and your good. co2 is sharp and burns your nose so you'll know when you smell it. this puts a blanket between your wort and the air. As for priming mix the boiled sugar syrup water into the wort after its been racked. Stir it in gently and bottle. Cheers!

Im not getting to 1.020, hoping for 1.030 though. Farmboy have you been to the boneshaker public house? Im headed out to lincoln to see my dad end of febuary and im going to check that place out. Im actually from sierra city but have lived in AZ almost my whole life!

If you are worried about oxidation(which you should be) just go ahead and bottle it up when it is done fermenting. There is no need to bulk age it. You can age it in the bottles just fine. If you brewed it on the 31st, it should be done fermenting by now. Take a couple gravity readings and bottle it up and you should be good to go.

Ya you could just make sure ferm is finished and bottle, nothing wrong with that. some just enjoy bulk aging big beers like that. No I have not been to boneshakers but I have heard good things. I just don't make it down the hill much. tried the yard house not long ago and wasn't to impressed. I love sierra city by the way, we vacation there every year. pull a few trout out of the yuba!

Yeah my Great Grandfather built sardine lake resort if you have been there, still in the family!

Agreed with all, bulk aging is not necessary - aging in bottles works just fine and less risk of any oxidation. For the yeast, I would just create a priming solution (~ 2-4 cups of water and however much priming sugar you want to use), boil for 15 minutes, cool down to room temp, and rehydrate the yeast for about 10-15 minutes directly in the priming solution. Then pour it into bottling bucket and rack on top of it, and give it a gentle stir to mix before proceeding to bottle.

On another note, I seriously doubt you will get to 1.020 with a beer that big - you'll probably land over 1.030, which is tasty for a RIS IMHO (I think the residual sweetness balances nicely with the bitterness, roastiness, and alcohol warmth).

I would, however, leave that in primary for at least 4 weeks, which you are coming up on. I always do a minimum of 3 weeks in primary for any beer, and often let big ones go for 8 weeks. The yeast need to clean up after themselves, and they get tired in a big beer ;-).

Cheers!

With a small ale I rack as soon as the krusan drops and the sg is close to its aprox. fg. With a larger beer I would be switching that up a bit. I think he said 1.030, I said 1.020. I just meant when your at or near your fg.

well is looks like this beer is stuck. It was at 1.050 a couple weeks ago and it still is now! Not sure what to do, maybe give it a little stir? Im afraid i killed the yeast pitching to packets of us-05 withoit rehydrating in such a big beer. Any suggestions? started at 1.020 and now 1.050 is about 9.5% but it can't be done can it?