Throw more yeast at it?

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Cold Country Brewery

Cold Country Brewery

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Hi all, I'm making a batch that's close to Bells Hopslam, very very very hoppy beer. Being the new brewer in my I haven't gotten past the "the more alcohol the better" phase. The beg gravity was at 1110 and one week later is at 1020. The question is, would would be the good vs. bad and just putting some more yeast on it? Would it help? Would it hurt? The kit didn't call for a 2nd time. The first time I used US-05 and have Champagne yeast laying around I could use.

If it helps here's the recipe:

-6lbs Amber malt
-6lbs Gold malt syrup
-2lbs Corn sugar
-total 4 oz Cluster hops
-total 12 oz Hopburst hop blend

Dry Yeast Safale US-05 Ale Yeast


So what's the good, bad and ugly for adding another dose of dry yeast?

I used an online calculator for the alcohol content and here's what I came up with so far: (the kit called for around 9%)
9.6 Alcohol by weight
12% Alcohol by volume
Would that be correct? And what's the difference between the two?

Sorry so many questions, I'm a newbie.
 
I am no expert on brewing big beers but 1.110 down to 1.020 is around 82% attenuation, I'd say that's pretty good.
I'd hazard a guess and say it's done, especially it the kit calls for 9% and you are at 12%
the big question is how does it taste?
 
BBGunBrewery said:
Hi all, I'm making a batch that's close to Bells Hopslam, very very very hoppy beer. Being the new brewer in my I haven't gotten past the "the more alcohol the better" phase. The beg gravity was at 1110 and one week later is at 1020. The question is, would would be the good vs. bad and just putting some more yeast on it? Would it help? Would it hurt? The kit didn't call for a 2nd time. The first time I used US-05 and have Champagne yeast laying around I could use.

If it helps here's the recipe:

-6lbs Amber malt
-6lbs Gold malt syrup
-2lbs Corn sugar
-total 4 oz Cluster hops
-total 12 oz Hopburst hop blend

Dry Yeast Safale US-05 Ale Yeast


So what's the good, bad and ugly for adding another dose of dry yeast?

I used an online calculator for the alcohol content and here's what I came up with so far: (the kit called for around 9%)
9.6 Alcohol by weight
12% Alcohol by volume
Would that be correct? And what's the difference between the two?

Sorry so many questions, I'm a newbie.
Click to expand...

I would check the gravity 3 days in a row, and if it stays the same i would call it done, and not add anymore yeast, Unless you want a VERY dry beer.
 
Being extract and a big beer Id say 1.020 is probabily done. leave it for at least 3 weeks and if the gravity dosent change, bottle that bad boy.
 
Based on that recipe, your OG should have been around 1.095 with an SG that finished out around 1.024. As dzlater already stated, that is about as good as you are going to get with that yeast. I would give it two or three days if the SG has stopped dropping, then bottle or keg it. If you start futzing around with it trying to dry it out any more, you could very well make it much less drinkable.
I went through the same phase as you many years ago. And after ruining a couple of good recipes by trying to bump the ABV, I realized that an uber high alcohol level is not the goal. It is all about brewing the best beer you can. When you make the move to that point, you will be much happier with your end product.
Think about it like this: Texaco Premium may be 15% ABV, but not something you want to sit around and chug on while watching the game with your buds, right? OK, you just agreed that it is not all about the alcohol. But also the flavor and balance.... :D
 
dzlater said:
the big question is how does it taste?
Click to expand...

Tasted it before I moved it to the secondary. Had a nice alcohol note that I was looking for in this batch. I was surprised that there wasen't as much of the hop flavor I was hoping for, and a little sweeter than I expected. Will the hop flavor come out more with time?
 

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