Attempting 40%+ ABV beer... "Barley Brandy"

Damn the torpedeos, full speed ahead..

Ravenshead said:

But I liked the whole rodent arse thing. It was just the thing to piss off the PETA crowd.

And talk about an attractive koozy.

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This

do you plan to bottle a few before the freeze distill, to have as utopias clone?

Cape stop withholding gravity readings

DrinksWellWithOthers said:

Shortly after the release of End of History, a Dutch brewery released a 60% ABV beer called Start the Future which sold for a fraction of the price and wasn't shoved up a rodent's arse.

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IIRC that "beer" was mostly distilled spirits with a bit of beer mixed in, pretty easy to make yourself for a few bucks.

There are no distilled spirits in any of those beers. They are beers that are made just like any other beer except they are brewed to high gravity and then freeze concentrated.

They went a lot further using the same processes I'm trying to use now.

And with the exception of a small amount of maple syrup (1 lb so far and maybe 1 more to go), there aren't even any adjuncts in the beer I'm trying to make now

Cape Brewing said:

There are no distilled spirits in any of those beers. They are beers that are made just like any other beer except they are brewed to high gravity and then freeze concentrated.

They went a lot further using the same processes I'm trying to use now.

And with the exception of a small amount of maple syrup (1 lb so far and maybe 1 more to go), there aren't even any adjuncts in the beer I'm trying to make now

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That is true for the Brewdog beers, but "Brouwerij 't Koelschip (The Coolship, after a traditional piece of brewing equipment used to cool the wort after boiling), full name Ambachtelijke Bierbrouwerij en Distilleerderij 'T KOELSCHIP, is a Dutch Brewer, based in Almere, which made a joke claim to make the world's strongest beer when they made a 60% abv beer cocktail called Start the Future from a blend of beer and whiskey."

Hmmm.... can you send me that link?

Every link I find says that the dutch brewers told folks that it isn't a beer that they shoudl really drink and that they should see it as a joke just to get one up on BrewDog but I don't see anywhere that it says they cheated and used whiskey.

I don't doubt you.... I just can't find it.

(and if I see one more effin article where some idiot refers to a coolship as a "refrigerated ship" I'm going to stab teh internets)

Went from the Wiki link above to the Dutch brewery/distiller through Google translates:

Manufacturer claims:

"START THE FUTURE: As the harshest beer Netherlands T' Schip Cool BEER WORLD'S TOUGHEST presents now the Scots a 55% beer on the market, the question was: what do we do now? It's here. START THE FUTURE 60% alc. Obilix 45% was a success, but this is even better! START THE FUTURE is like a beer OBILX product, a heavy alcoholic beverage ingredients with water, malt, hops and yeast.The beer is then processed into a product, a beer-based drink beer. START THE FUTURE is like OBILIX is a product made from 100% beer beer."

I think they distill beer in a whiskey still and call it beer. Probably not freeze concentrated.

Barley Brandy gravity update???

lower than it was yesterday. I'm not doing daily readings. I'm not going to waste all of that beer filling the hydrometer tube and dumping it. The airlock is still very slowly but surely on the 099 cake I have in there now so I think it is still chugging away.

I have another huge slug of 099 on the way and that should be here in the next couple of days. When I get that, I'll pitch it and update everyone on a gravity reading.

I cold crashed Batch 2 as it was just sitting on the US-05 and not budging. When I get the 099, I'm going to just combine both batches entirely and pitch the 099. I'll hit it with nutrients and O2 and see where that takes me.

How much gravity does 16 fl oz of maple syrup add to a gallon btw

According to Beer Tools, it'll add seven pts to four gallons.

(and that is for a lb... I actually weighed mine)

Update on progress please.

Subscribed

I just combined both batches into one large batch and good news and bad news...

The good news is that all of the back-of-the envelope calculations I've been doing look like they are pretty damn close. The bad news is it hasn't budged.

I grabbed a fair amount of new 099 over the weekend but just didn't have time to go through the whole process so I just did it.

I had cold crashed out Batch #2 (the big one that was just sitting on a 05 cake) and most of the 099 of Batch #1 had pretty much fallen out.

I combined both of them into one large fermenter gave a really solid mixing and then took a gravity... 1082... pretty much exactly where I had calculated I was last week.

I pitched a ton of fresh 099, added some yeast nutrients and gave it a healthy shot of oxygen.

On the one hand, I am encouraged because about half of the entire batch hasn't been touched by the 099 yet but on the other hand, the batch that WAS on the 099 had only come down to about 1050.... and I want the entire batch down below that.

I am going to give the entire batch a solid week and then check gravity again. In the mean time, I'm going to pick up some 1116 or 1118 champagne yeasts to try to finish it off completely. That'll be once I am 100% positive the 099 has completely crapped out.

On the really bright side though... I tried it and I'm really happy with it. IT is obviously way too sweet still but even through the sweetness, I was really happy with what I have so far.

At this rate... I MIGHT have to only freeze concentrate around half of it and save the other half as just a U clone (assuming it continues to dry out)

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

amylase enzyme?

Half of the wort hasnt had a drop of 099 in it yet and the ABV is a bit over 16% so I am not surprised at all the 05 crapped out. I am pretty impressed by the 05 actually. I am not worried about the overal batch yet. If I go another week and it isnt moving, I'll start at least thinking about that but I am no where near that point yet.

Pretty solid airlock activity so... I may be in good shape here. We'll see.

Cape Brewing said:

Pretty solid airlock activity so... I may be in good shape here. We'll see.

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How much o2 are you having to hit it with now?

Probably winging it.

I am... I dont have any way of precisely measuring O2 levels so I am just giving it a "healthy shot" now and again.

And by "healthy shot", I mean four or five minutes if .5 psi pure O2 through a stone.

subscribing to this one, love where your heads at

i was goibng through some of your picturs,what do you do for a day job?

Cape Brewing said:

Half of the wort hasnt had a drop of 099 in it yet and the ABV is a bit over 16% so I am not surprised at all the 05 crapped out. I am pretty impressed by the 05 actually. I am not worried about the overal batch yet. If I go another week and it isnt moving, I'll start at least thinking about that but I am no where near that point yet.

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You could also throw in a tablespoon of boiled bread yeast. It absorbs the toxins made by the yeast when they're in a high alcohol environment. I got the suggestion from sacc's Utopias clone and did it with mine. I put it in after I hit 12% and it worked great.

Update please!

Painfully slow. It is VERY slowly ticking down but is only down to about 1078.

I might actually try the boiled bread yeast as was suggested... I have a feeling there is something in the beer as a natural by-product of fermentation that is knocking the yeast out (other than the ABV).

The yeast should be tolerant to a significantly higher ABV and the yeast has had all sorts of nutrients and O2. I am thinking there might jusy already be so many compounds that are toxic to yeast as a result of all of the fermentation that has place that the yeast is stalling out.

I also havent tried any champagne yeast yet.

Careful trying the champagne yeast route. As you probably know it can't easily ferment maltitriose if at all. Plus some wine yeasts kill other yeasts. So you're 25% tolerant wlp099 can get killed off, leaving you with a high FG, wasted yeast and wasted effort.

The 099 is stalled out as it is and really fermenting anymore. I am goignto try a few more things and the champagne yeast will the last man into battle

I haven't read through all the posts, so I'm sorry if this has been mentioned already, but have you tried beano yet?

Given the really low temp and extra long mash schedule, I can't imagine it is a fermentable sugar problem. Beano will simply break down any complex sugars into simple ones so that the yeast has something to eat. I can't possibly imagine thay being the issue with a gravity of 1078 and the mash schedule this wort went through.

And when this is all said an done, I would want those complex sugars there. I would think destroying them would only make matters worse.

Cape,

Not sure if it would be the right time to do this, but if the fear is that the yeast are strained and not doing their job properly would it make sense to use a fining agent to get as much out as possible and pitch another real healthy starter to take their place? I am guessing you have some other options at this point, but if the beer is not too big for these yeast, it could be they are exhausted. Converting sugar to alcohol is no easy task. I know converting alcohol to pee tires me out.

I just tried that... And still not really moving. That's why I am thinking that there are just too many toxins that have been thrown off as a result of the fermentation that has taken place so far. Yeasties toss off a lot of stuff that is fine for you and me but makes the environment toxis to themselves (e.g. Alcohol).

I really don't think it is a fermentable sugar problem and I have been pitching large amount of healthy yeast with nutrient suppliments and O2. The 099 should handle the ABV no problem so I keep coming back to "bad stuff" being in solution for the yeast. I don't know what else it could be.

How warm are you fermenting? Since the yeast is already past the growth phase, you should be able to ramp up temperatures without creating a lot of off-flavors. My understanding is that all of the fusels are formed when you ferment hot, early, and of course a lot of Belgians finish out dry because they let them ferment really warm. If you're still fermenting at normal ale temperatures, I'd let it warm up (maybe up to 80°?) before doing anything else.

Degas, cold crash, and repitch?

subscribing, just need to know how this turns out. let me know if you need help with step 5 & 6!

You tried yeast energizer?

It may be a shot in the dark, but send an e-mail to white labs and ask them if they have any advice.
http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/HBquestions_2.html
Or call them
Tel: (303) 530-0469
Chris White's extension is 102

motobrewer said:

amylase enzyme?

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what's my name? he's the map!