Insane OG. I guess this is sort of what I asked for.

3 pounds of crushed grain steeped at 155 for 30
9 pounds of various DMEs 60 minute boil
1 Tub of dark LME added at 15 minute mark

hop additions at
60 Minute
30 minute
10 minute
5 minute
2 minute

5 types of hops and will be dry hopping with Citra and another.

I just finished racking this and it's 2AM so I'm VERY tired. Took a reading of the Wort AFTER adding in the water. 5 gAllons total. I aerated and then took a reading. At 73 Degrees F, the Hydrometer read 1.101...my highest brewed beer has been 1.084 so this was a HUGE jump for me.

I then pitched it with two packs of dry yeast (as suggested by my LHBS given the insane amount of extract used)

I asked for a HIGH ABV IPA and he said I might get some sort of Barleywine out of this.


Anyway, at 1.101 and two packs of yeast, I think I'm fine but that OG is just way above what I was expecting. I'm fine, right?

According to Dave's ABV Calculator, I have a maximum ABV of 13.3% at that reading. I just feel like maybe I did something wrong. Not sure.


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EDIT: Adding actual ingredients after digging through my trash. I really should start taking better notes.

3 pounds of crushed grain but I can't remember what the LHBS actually put in the bag. It was a few different things.

At Boil
Bries Pilsen Light (6lbs)
Muntons Hopped Light (3 lbs)

45 minutes into boil, added 3.3 pounds of Briess Munich LME

Hops:
centennial 8.9% at 60 minutes
columbus 30 minutes
styrian golding 1 oz 10 minute 4.5%
styrian golding 1 oz 5 minute 4.5%
Citra 1 oz at 2 minute mark

pitched with safale US-05 (2 11.5 gram bags)

I spoke to some friends about this and it looks like we're fine. The calculator I was using was assuming an FG of 1.000 which is impossible so I won't get anywhere near 13%...maybe somewhere around 10%.

It was also a concern that I didn't pitch enough yeast but I pitched two bags and an online pitching calculator said 1.6 bags should be good so I think we're alright. No idea how long this will take to complete. Guaranteed I'm going to need a blow-off tube once Krausen starts working.

Yeast isn't the issue... Barley wines tend to need some time to age a bit before they are ready to serve. You keging or bottling? I would bottle some and age it.

Dr1nkBeer said:

Yeast isn't the issue... Barley wines tend to need some time to age a bit before they are ready to serve. You keging or bottling? I would bottle some and age it.

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Thanks but, looking at the recipe, did I brew a barley wine? If so, I would imagine fermentation won't take THAT long. Plan was 2-3 weeks in 1st Carboy and then I was debating (although I know not all that necessary) transferring to a secondary and storing in the cellar to improve the clarity of it and balance things out a bit for another 2 weeks. Dry hop on the last week or so of 2nd fermentation and then keg.

I have four full kegs right now on tap so, I'd just store this one until one of those finally became empty..so just force carb and stick it in the cellar in the keg until one of my current beers runs out.

Still not sure if this is the right approach.

It doesn't really matter what style you just brewed. High ABV beers tend to require aging to improve flavor and other qualities. The harshness of the alcohol is lessened and the flavors in general smooth out. I'd give it a couple of months in the secondary.

Let your tongue be the guide. If it tastes good and you want to drink it, then do. But definitely save some for aging so you can see how it changes over time - that way you'll know what age you like the best for next time.

TyTanium said:

Let your tongue be the guide. If it tastes good and you want to drink it, then do. But definitely save some for aging so you can see how it changes over time - that way you'll know what age you like the best for next time.

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Roger there. You're always helpful, Ty. I'll see how it goes and maybe post an update here in a few weeks with FG and some of the steps I took. This will still be a big beer so hoping things turn out alright.

Cool, always glad to help! How much Citra in the dry hop, and what will you be pairing it with?

Kitchen sink beers can turn out amazing, however that one sounds like it could be a huge FG cloying mess as all that extract likely won't attenuate all that well. But as a previous poster said, if you like very malty and hoppy beers, you should be in luck.

Hope it turns out how you want. Keep us posted.

adamjackson said:

I spoke to some friends about this and it looks like we're fine. The calculator I was using was assuming an FG of 1.000 which is impossible so I won't get anywhere near 13%...maybe somewhere around 10%.

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For what it's worth, I had a 1.01 OG on an IIPA and it ended up at 12.1% ABV with an FG of 1.010.


However given your recipe I would anticipate more like 1.020 FG putting it into barleywine territory rather than IIPA.

weirdboy said:

For what it's worth, I had a 1.01 OG on an IIPA and it ended up at 12.1% ABV with an FG of 1.010.


However given your recipe I would anticipate more like 1.020 FG putting it into barleywine territory rather than IIPA.

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Echoed by the LHBS employee when I asked that we do more DME. "Looks like you're brewing a barleywine" Is there any way to get the FG lower than 1.020? Any way to sort of coax it along to that level?

TyTanium said:

Cool, always glad to help! How much Citra in the dry hop, and what will you be pairing it with?

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Citra because it's my favorite and I'm torn between Columbus or Cascade. I have time to decide though.

adamjackson said:

Echoed by the LHBS employee when I asked that we do more DME. "Looks like you're brewing a barleywine" Is there any way to get the FG lower than 1.020? Any way to sort of coax it along to that level?




Citra because it's my favorite and I'm torn between Columbus or Cascade. I have time to decide though.

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You can try to dry it out adding some kind of sugar, (I´m thinking honey) that will get you down a couple of points but it´s really hard to know how many. Some people will say add champagne yeast but I´ve never done that and I don´t know if it is a good idea.
It is your beer so do whatever you feel doing with it. If it was mine I´ll just leave it and let it finish where it finishes. I definitly bottle this instead of kegging, it may need some time to mellow and the aging it´s faster in bottles than in a keg.

Options for lower than 1.020:
Sugar (ferments 100%), different bug (Belgian yeast, bacteria, etc), raise temp (yeast picks up activity)...

With a 1.100 beer, 1.020 might be just about right. Very different from a 1.040 beer finishing at 1.020. You'll have to taste it and see. I wouldn't add sugar or a different yeast. I would definitely recommend raising the temp a few degrees at the end of fermentation to help the yeast finish up. It's possible it may not even get down to 1020, depending on the extract age & quality...just let it ride and see what happens. Again, trust your taste; with your beer cellar & knowledge you'll know if something's not right.

Re: hops---can't go wrong with either option! I would go Cascade, simply because I'd keep the Columbus for bittering (better bittering hop than Cacade), but I love Columbus dry hop. Both great.

TyTanium said:

Options for lower than 1.020:
Sugar (ferments 100%), different bug (Belgian yeast, bacteria, etc), raise temp (yeast picks up activity)...

With a 1.100 beer, 1.020 might be just about right. Very different from a 1.040 beer finishing at 1.020. You'll have to taste it and see. I wouldn't add sugar or a different yeast. I would definitely recommend raising the temp a few degrees at the end of fermentation to help the yeast finish up. It's possible it may not even get down to 1020, depending on the extract age & quality...just let it ride and see what happens. Again, trust your taste; with your beer cellar & knowledge you'll know if something's not right.

Re: hops---can't go wrong with either option! I would go Cascade, simply because I'd keep the Columbus for bittering (better bittering hop than Cacade), but I love Columbus dry hop. Both great.

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Always helpful. Thanks man!

Cellar is at 62 now. Will raise to 68 when fermentations slows? Or higher?

68 is great as fermentation slows. Higher won't hurt, but 68 is great. I usually just pull mine out of my fermentation chamber and leave it at the ambient house temp, anywhere from 68 - 72 ish.

UPDATE:

OG 1.101
FG 1.029

9.6% ABV at about 8 days in. All activity has stopped. I'll take another FG tomorrow and Sunday. If it remains the same, time to transfer to a secondary for dry-hopping and to reduce the amount of trub.


That's pretty damn big but I was sort of hoping for more. Of course, I might get more activity.

Will update this thread until the final product comes out. Thanks guys!

For such a big OG I would have made a nice size (2 liter) starter & definitely let this one sit for a month or two in secondary. Raising the temp to 74 ish degrees after primary fermentation clears up should help things a bit. I was going to say I hope you dont ferment it too hot or be ready for a booze-ester-bomb. But 62 is excellent! Hope it turns out great, post back with the results.

P.S. Nice blog man! You are a hardcore trader.

adamjackson said:

UPDATE:

OG 1.101
FG 1.029

9.6% ABV at about 8 days in. All activity has stopped. I'll take another FG tomorrow and Sunday. If it remains the same, time to transfer to a secondary for dry-hopping and to reduce the amount of trub.


That's pretty damn big but I was sort of hoping for more. Of course, I might get more activity.

Will update this thread until the final product comes out. Thanks guys!

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If you haven't already, since primary ferm is done, bring it up to room temp (~68-70) and swirl the fermenter a bit. This can encourage yeast back up into suspension to chew more.

You could try pitching some WLP099 super high gravity yeast- a starter at high krausen will probably be able to pull some more gravity out of that beer. You may be bumping up against the alcohol tolerance of your dry yeast rather than the limit of the fermentables.

daksin said:

You could try pitching some WLP099 super high gravity yeast- a starter at high krausen will probably be able to pull some more gravity out of that beer. You may be bumping up against the alcohol tolerance of your dry yeast rather than the limit of the fermentables.

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This is probably true, but I figured it was worth a shot to warm and swirl. Champagne yeast is another option.

Okay. Thanks guys. I'll move the carboy to another part of my house..a closet that sits around 70 due to a room with a lot of windows (closet is pitch dark though). Should I swirl, raise temp, pitch more yeast in primary? Or move to secondary, do the same things and also add the dry hops?

hoptualBrew said:

For such a big OG I would have made a nice size (2 liter) starter & definitely let this one sit for a month or two in secondary. Raising the temp to 74 ish degrees after primary fermentation clears up should help things a bit. I was going to say I hope you dont ferment it too hot or be ready for a booze-ester-bomb. But 62 is excellent! Hope it turns out great, post back with the results.

P.S. Nice blog man! You are a hardcore trader.

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I trade TOO much. I was doing a lot more trading. Now, I'm doing 4-5 a month max.

adamjackson said:

Okay. Thanks guys. I'll move the carboy to another part of my house..a closet that sits around 70 due to a room with a lot of windows (closet is pitch dark though). Should I swirl, raise temp, pitch more yeast in primary? Or move to secondary, do the same things and also add the dry hops?

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Swirl, raise to 70, and give it a good three days, check grav

Thanks! I'll move it tomorrow to the other
Closet. This was an expensive ingredients bill so I want to get the most out of it.

I have a 1.10 beer that I did in Feb. It is still in secondary - gonna bottle sometime in the next couple weeks. I would go 3 weeks primary or so, then 2-4 months in secondary for sure. Time will be your friend on this one.

One question . . . . . It sort of seems like you brewed this first and now you are trying to figure out what it is. Why didn't you know what style you were brewing first, and then brew it? Guess I am just not sure how you were "surprised."

Braufessor said:

I have a 1.10 beer that I did in Feb. It is still in secondary - gonna bottle sometime in the next couple weeks. I would go 3 weeks primary or so, then 2-4 months in secondary for sure. Time will be your friend on this one.

One question . . . . . It sort of seems like you brewed this first and now you are trying to figure out what it is. Why didn't you know what style you were brewing first, and then brew it? Guess I am just not sure how you were "surprised."

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Wow. Okay, noted on that. Couldn't I just move it to the keg to free up carboys and purge Oxygen and then keep the keg at cellar temp (62) for 3 months? Would the same thing happen or does my secondary have to be a proper fermenter?

---

For the question, I went to the LHBS and asked what I needed for a super high ABV Imperial IPA like around 9-10% with loads of citra.

Then I said, "let's add another 3 pounds of DME. is that fine?" He said, now I'm starting to border on a barleywine. So, it's either going to be a big IPA or a barleywine.

If I keep it in a secondary for 3 months though, my hops are pretty much gonna be gone. I dont' want that at all but fresh, will it be WAY too sweet? (see Sierra Nevada Bigfoot fresh) or will it be very hoppy and boozy?

I guess I'll wait another week and taste some when taking an FG reading.

Yes - the keg could act as a perfectly fine secondary. I am planning on bottling mine, so that is why I put it in a "proper" secondary. I stockpile beer in kegs all the time and treat that as secondary.

As to the taste, I think you will just have to wait and see. You are right, I think you would lose hop aroma in a long secondary - but you should not lose the hop bitterness. Also, since it will be kegged, you could try it earlier on, when you want. If it is not what you had hoped for - know that you can sit on it for several months, try it again. If the flavor is better after more time, but you are missing the hop aroma you desire, perhaps you could dry hop it with a muslin bag right in the keg when it is time to serve it.

I guess, I would say that the keg will give you flexibility to see how it matures which is good. Just keep in mind that it is a very big beer for a short turnaround and if it is not what you want after a few weeks, try being patient with it to see if it does not get better over time.

Absolutely right. Great points! I agree with kegging..then I can try it at a month or a year..all that is really tied up is a corny keg. Thanks man!

Took another reading. 5 days after the last. ABV has dropped from 1.029 to 1.021. I'm gonna keep it in there for a while.

According to calculator of OG of 1.101 to FG of 1.021..current ABV is 10.5%. I would imagine that the yeast is going to slow down a lot. Should I throw in that champagne yeast to finish things up further? Oh and I had moved it from the cellar at 62 to my closet at 70. Which certainly helped.


Also, I took a 2 ounce taste. It's VERY sweet, VERY boozy and clarity is pretty hazy with a foggy bright orange appearance. The alcohol burns pretty good on my tongue. Sweetness is classic to a fresh barleywine. Looks like this one for sure needs to be bottled.

Awesome, 1.021 is fantastic for a 1.101 beer. I would NOT add champagne yeast, at least not yet. Age will help with everything you've mentioned. Let it condition in bulk for at least a month (bulk conditioning is faster than in bottles, IME). 70 degrees is great. If after a few months it still tastes too sweet to you, then you can try other options, but personally I'd leave it.

TyTanium said:

Awesome, 1.021 is fantastic for a 1.101 beer. I would NOT add champagne yeast, at least not yet. Age will help with everything you've mentioned. Let it condition in bulk for at least a month (bulk conditioning is faster than in bottles, IME). 70 degrees is great. If after a few months it still tastes too sweet to you, then you can try other options, but personally I'd leave it.

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Glad I'm in line with your advice Ty. Yeah, 70 is what's showing on the thermometer on the side of the carboy. It tastes really nice but I was just listing off all of the cons to the beer. Guess I'll bottle this one some time in August. Will continue to share here photos in a month or so.

I tried my pseudo-dubbel last night, 8 days since brewing, coming in at 1.004 after SG of 1.068 using WLP400 repitch. Was fantastic, sweet, bubblegum, hot alcohol, but I know that carbonation will make it all balance out.

Needless to say, I cold-crashed it already :rockin:

Just kicked my Nugget Empire IIPA last night, too. 8.5%...I think I'm falling in love with big beers.

UPDATE: I waited a week and it's been a full 10 days since my last reading. FG is unchanged. I don't think it's "stuck" but 10.5% is smaller than I was expecting yet sort of perfect.

PROBLEM: I just noticed that probably for the last 3 days, the carboy has been above 70..more like 75-80 degrees. I freaked out a bit and the sample I took today well I tried some and I'm getting this very astringent funkiness that wasn't there on the last reading.

Crap.

So, as promised though, I'm going to move it to a keg, purge O2 and leave it in the cellar for a while at 62 Degrees to let things finalize. Just siphon it straight to keg and filter out almost all trub. Currently, it's in the beer fridge cold crashing so I'll transfer it tomorrow night.

Hoping I didn't "ruin" things but, only time will tell so I'm just gonna continue as planned and probably tap it in a few weeks to see how things are going and test if the flavor is balancing out.

Probably just hot alcohol taste. My dubbel is in the 8% range but finished very dry. It tastes similar to liquor to me uncarbonated. Give it time to age. Big beers/barleywines need that (except IIPA's )