WLP 500 - 82.5% attenuation?

So I recently brewed my own verson of a Belgian strong Ale, and the OG was 1.080. I just checked it today after about 2 weeks and it is down to 1.014! I was looking for below 1.020, but am very happy with 1.014. Probably cause I used 2 lbs of homemade invert sugar and mashed fairly low, but what the heck! Thats like 8.5% ABV. Can't wait to bottle in another 2 weeks, and try it maybe 6 weeks from now. Damn these belgians take a lot of time!

On another note, I am washing the yeast and hope to make a lower ABV beer, so that it is ready sooner. Anybody have a good dubbel recipe (already perused the recipe section!) with some Special B and invert sugar? Thanks!

Jason

I wouldn't recommend repitching that yeast as tempting as that be. Any starting gravity over about 1.050 is stressful to the yeast and a 1.080 is REALLY stressing them out. They are pooped out, tired and slightly toxic.

Also save yourself the time and hassle of making invert sugar. Just use regular old table sugar, your yeast are quite capable of inverting it themselves (they make the enzyme invertase).

GT

Part of the reason to add sugar in this style is to get the final gravity down. It makes such a large beer light and drinkable. Anytime you add sugar, expect your attenuation to be much higher than normal.

Yeah that was what I was going for, lighter-bodied with a nice ABV...I have never heard of not washing yeast if the beer was over 1.050. What do others think?

Jason

It's generally not a good idea to repitch yeast from a high gravity brew. The yeast get stressed and won't necessarily ferment the same. You can still try it, though.

Jayfro21 said:

Yeah that was what I was going for, lighter-bodied with a nice ABV...I have never heard of not washing yeast if the beer was over 1.050. What do others think?
Jason

Click to expand...

I've heard its not the best idea also, for the reasons listed above. I've done it, and the beer was good, but it may have been much better using healthier yeast. I may just be imagining this, but I thought I heard you could make a normal/low grav. starter and get a healthy yeasy pitch from formerly 'stressed' yeast from a high-grav batch. I'm not sure it makes the most sense to me, but I think I heard that it was possible and better than using yeast directly from a high gravity batch.