Highest ABV All Grain you've brewed

I recently brewed a big barleywine with an OG of 1.128. I was hoping to make something for competition, but this one had the most attenuation that I've ever produced.

I mashed at 148 degrees...pitched onto a fresh PacMan yeast cake....added 3 times the normal amount of yeast nutrient. Then 3 days later I pitched a 1.5L of a WLP099 starter. Each day for the first 5 days I oxygenated with O2 for at least a minute.

Today is the 11th day of fermentation and it is at 1.002. I'm thinking that it might go down to .095.

I'd really like to hear from any of you that have brewed a 15% + beer. Now that I'm at 16.6%, I'm curious about pushing further.

Thanks to HBT and all of you for helping me make better beers.

I did a 18% a few years ago. I followed the guidelines laid out in a BYO magazine for brewing extremely high gravity beers. Here's the article... I ended up with 18%, but this guy apparently got 21%!

http://byo.com/stories/techniques/article/indices/9-all-grain-brewing/51-21-alcohol-all-grain-beer

Very Cool....do you remember your OG and FG ?

I had just read that BYO article before posting and found it interesting. I don't think I'd want to use any Beano though. Did you ?

I did a 14% Imp Stout 2 years ago and I still have some in a keg. The problem with brewing stuff that high is you have to drink it haha.

A 1.128 OG barleywine with a FG of 1.002? That sucker is going to be almost undrinkable. Are you sure that 1.002 reading is correct? That is over 98% attenuation. Even mashing at 148 would leave some dextrins in the wort with a grain bill that big. How much sugar did you use?

I got one to 13.8% recently. I hoped for further attenuation but the beer stopped short at 1.030 which is perfectly fine since this is a really roasty and bitter imperial stout. I think that's about as far as I really want to go if not just a % or two higher. I regularly brew 9-11% beers and my norm is closer to 7%. Going over 15%abv takes some serious yeast power.

MachineShopBrewing said:

A 1.128 OG barleywine with a FG of 1.002? That sucker is going to be almost undrinkable. Are you sure that 1.002 reading is correct? That is over 98% attenuation. Even mashing at 148 would leave some dextrins in the wort with a grain bill that big. How much sugar did you use?

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Seriously. That beer is going to so thin that it'll be...weird. I thought my Barleywine was light bodied with a FG of 1.018 (down from 1.121 for ~14% if I recall correctly)

98% attenuation?

my largest AG was my barleywine 1.096... sitting in oak right now and it went in at 1.022 - did that after only 3 days... i hope it stays there or goes no lower than 1.020.

old_tx_kbb said:

I recently brewed a big barleywine with an OG of 1.128. I was hoping to make something for competition, but this one had the most attenuation that I've ever produced.

I mashed at 148 degrees...pitched onto a fresh PacMan yeast cake....added 3 times the normal amount of yeast nutrient. Then 3 days later I pitched a 1.5L of a WLP099 starter. Each day for the first 5 days I oxygenated with O2 for at least a minute.

Today is the 11th day of fermentation and it is at 1.002. I'm thinking that it might go down to .095.

I'd really like to hear from any of you that have brewed a 15% + beer. Now that I'm at 16.6%, I'm curious about pushing further.

Thanks to HBT and all of you for helping me make better beers.

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I know some people don't care at all about BJCP guidelines but when you're talking about a finishing gravity that is 20 points off ... it's almost like you have to call it something other than a barleywine? Like, I dunno... jet fuel? :/

Honestly I was hoping for an FG 1.018 or 1.016...but it is what it is. I'm suprised during my taste tests that it doesn't taste thin at all....it tastes fantastic! Out of the 28.5 pounds of fermentables, I used 1.75 lbs of corn sugar. Actually the alcohol heat has almost died down. Within the recipe I also used some cherrywood smoked malt and a few other specialty malts....some crystal....some munich.....some special B.

I was hoping it would be competition worthy, but it's not, and I'm well aware of that. I still have to dry hop it, and I think I'll oak it as well. This is a lot different than brewing a 1.060 or a 1.80 OG beer. It's made me very curious about a1.150 or even a 2.000 starting gravity. With correct fermentation temperatures, a huge starter of WLP099, a fresh Pacman Yeast cake, lot's of pure O2 for 5 days and regular feeding of sugar, I wonder if I can brew a 25% brew of whatever you'd want to call it.

I've made many beers that are pretty far outside of the BJCP guidelines and many within the guidelines. I'm afraid I'll just have to hold my nose and drink some of it it next year and the year after.....and the year after that. I kinda hope it goes to 0.995 like some meads.

Thanks for all the input....I enjoy hearing from you all.

I hit 11% once on a Stout. Didn't care for it, it was to 'hot'. I think it was techniques issues. I still have some in bottles, it is about 15 months old now. Really hasn't gotten any better over time.

Around 7-8% is my limit these days, just on preference.

I hit 11% once on a Stout. Didn't care for it, it was to 'hot'.

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Yeah, the key to the higher ABV beers is to have locked down control on fermentation, esp. temperature. You can get up to 12-14% and not have a hot flavor if you pitch enough yeast and keep the temp under control.

1.069 for my Christmas Dubbel. I am not a huge fan of excessively high alcohol beers.

Love a balanced and smooth big beer. I average between 1.086 for my Belgians and 1.096 for the IIPA's. Just brewed a Belgian Wit and it took effort to keep it down to 1.054. SWMBO just stated that she can't drink the store bought stuff anymore after drinking what we make....although the Firestone Brewery is right down the street.

1.131 OG starting gravity on my chocolate stout 3 weeks back, its chillin at 1.025 right now. Did a Quad that was 1.110 and an stout that was 1.120 last fall, neither were 'hot' or boozy

lastsecondapex:

If you don't mind, would you share what yeasts and yeast handling techniques were you using for your big brews?

"Yeah, the key to the higher ABV beers is to have locked down control on fermentation, esp. temperature. You can get up to 12-14% and not have a hot flavor if you pitch enough yeast and keep the temp under control." Machine Shop Brewing

That's it in a nutshell. Brewed a 1.094 Tripel last Sun. which is still bubbling away a week later.

old_tx_kbb said:

lastsecondapex:

If you don't mind, would you share what yeasts and yeast handling techniques were you using for your big brews?

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For the stouts, regular Wyeast Irish Ale yeast and a warm fermentation (about 78 degrees), make sure you aerate the wort though...

The quad was a ramped up blend of Wyeast Trappist and White Labs Abbey Ale II (pitched at 90 degrees and fermented at 75)- I like the mild fruity esters and it seems to take away a lot of the astringent alcohol burn. The quad finished at 1.016 with no banana smell or character

"If you don't mind, would you share what yeasts and yeast handling techniques were you using for your big brews?" old tex

For the Belgians I alternate between Wyeast 1214 and 3787...I prefer 1214 while the wife prefers 3787. I mash at 144-146. I start out fermenting at about 62-64 degrees and ramp it up slowly from there. For 6 gal batches I use a 3-4 liter starter and aerate well. I used to add the sugar in phases but now add it all during the boil...

Next will be a brew with both 1214 and 3787.....

For the IIPA and big PA I use Wyeast 1056 or 1272. Aerate well, pitch the right amount of yeast, and starting out low and raising the temp has been working out well for me. I mash as low as I think I can get away with while retaining the body I want for each brew...depends on grain bill etc.

I recently made a 12% IPA. It was a little hot in the first couple of weeks after packaging, but has smoothed out significantly since then.

OP, are you sure your hydrometer isn't broken? I had a tiny, tiny crack once and didn't notice it until I started getting a couple of weird readings like the one you've had.

Heaviest beer I did (completed) was a IIPA at 9% ABV. Went from 1.090 to 1.021 on Wyeast 1056. I have a barley wine fermenting right now with a 1.096 OG with WLP013. I over pitched by quite a bit and fermentation took off like a rocket and blew the airlock off my carboy.

I haven't seen the need to push the envelope... yet, since I brewed the barley wine with my grandparent in-laws in mind (heavy wine drinkers), so I lightened the maltiness with amber rock sugar and kept the alcohol somewhat reasonable. I was shooting for 1.106, but had efficiency issues.

I brewed an Old Rasputin clone and it was spot on. I'm really a fan of those types of stouts (Mmm Abyss) and not the super roasted barley bombs. It was a 1.085 or so, think I'm going to try and bump it up to 1.100 and see how it is.

old_tx_kbb said:

It's made me very curious about a1.150 or even a 2.000 starting gravity. With correct fermentation temperatures, a huge starter of WLP099, a fresh Pacman Yeast cake, lot's of pure O2 for 5 days and regular feeding of sugar, I wonder if I can brew a 25% brew of whatever you'd want to call it.

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2.0 wouldn't be remotely possible; even a 90% sugar solution is only an SG of ~1.48 and I doubt you could boil that successfully. I did brew a beer with a 1.201 OG that ended up at about 23% ABV.

I'd second the suggestion to check your hydrometer. 80% attenuation on a beer this big just doesn't seem likely, even for Brett, let alone a standard ale yeast.

1.150 -> 1.027 = 16.3%

My 100th batch I am going to shoot for 1.240 OG, hoping to put me above 20%, then plan on adding sucrose to push the yeast to it's absolute limit. We'll see how that goes..

old_tx_kbb said:

Honestly I was hoping for an FG 1.018 or 1.016...but it is what it is. I'm suprised during my taste tests that it doesn't taste thin at all....it tastes fantastic! Out of the 28.5 pounds of fermentables, I used 1.75 lbs of corn sugar. Actually the alcohol heat has almost died down. Within the recipe I also used some cherrywood smoked malt and a few other specialty malts....some crystal....some munich.....some special B.

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I have a hard time believing that an 11 day old ~17% ABV beer with an FG of 1.002 doesn't taste very thin and very hot. That kind of attenuation so quickly is also unlikely, especially with the crystal and other specialty malts in there. When's the last time you calibrated your hydrometer? FWIW I once had the paper inside one of my hydrometers slip down and start giving me readings that were way low.

My highest is 12% (1.117 down to 1.030). It did have some DME in it though. I'm perfectly happy with the numbers. I was going for 12% since it is my 12-21-12 End of the World beer! It is an imperial stout that'll be aged with bourbon soaked oak.