Eisbock w/out Keg

So I'm starting to draft my Eis-Quad recipe, and I'm trying to figure out the best process for the freezing. Do you think this method would work:

Brew a 5 gallon Quad with a high OG. Ferment with high gravity yeast, and let sit for about a month.

Then rack to a bucket, and put in the freezer. Every 12 hours or so, collect the ice from the top.

Aim to get the resultant liquid down to ≈3-3.5 gallons.

Create a good starter, then repitch the same yeast in a carboy.

Let sit for 10 days.

Prime, and bottle.

Why not use a bottling bucket and drain it from the spigot? Wait about 12-24 hours for it to get a good freeze then drain the liquid into a vessel.

I don't know that I would re-pitch. If you've already fermented it out there isn't anything left for the yeast. You should still have enough yeast left to prime it.

I would also consider a cold crash before freezing it. This will pull everything out of suspension. That way when you use the spigot you will still have yeast.

Be sure that you monitor your initial fermentation temperature. If you let things get out of control you will have too many fuseal alcohols. When you condense it they will dominate your beer.

Just my $0.02. I'm looking to do an Eisbock based off of a Dopplebock this year.

Thanks for the suggestion: sounds like a better idea. Do you think I would have enough living yeast after the freeze? I would hate to kill them all.

You could also use 2L soda bottles.

You will kill the yeast, especially if you end up doing multiple passes in the freezer. You'll need to add more yeast and priming sugar to carb.

I have done the whole eis thing using a milk jug. You just flip the jug over and let the liquid pour out into another container and then ditch the ice left in the jug.

I got up around 20-25% ABV, but that turned a gallon into about two pints. I did several passes to get that high. You end up losing a lot of alcohol along the way though...

ReverseApacheMaster said:

You will kill the yeast, especially if you end up doing multiple passes in the freezer. You'll need to add more yeast and priming sugar to carb.

I have done the whole eis thing using a milk jug. You just flip the jug over and let the liquid pour out into another container and then ditch the ice left in the jug.

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Did you ferment in the gallon jug as well? Plastic? It doesn't seem like the sort of plastic I would trust letting beer ferment in for a month.

So to clarify your process: after freezing, you add more yeast with the priming sugar? How much yeast? And doesn't that leave a lot of sediment in the bottom of the bottle?

rinhaak said:

Did you ferment in the gallon jug as well? Plastic? It doesn't seem like the sort of plastic I would trust letting beer ferment in for a month.

So to clarify your process: after freezing, you add more yeast with the priming sugar? How much yeast? And doesn't that leave a lot of sediment in the bottom of the bottle?

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No I fermented in a 4L glass jug and then transferred it to the milk jug when it was done fermenting so it could go in the freezer.

The time I followed this process I did not carbonate what I made. However, if I were making beer, I would let the liquid sit in secondary for a few weeks after the freezing process to let it drop clear. I found once the liquid became thicker it had a hard time dropping out all the yeast and remaining sediment. (That may or may not be an issue depending on how concentrated you go.)

Then I would bottle with a little dry yeast or clean yeast slurry and priming sugar. It shouldn't make too much sediment as long as you're not going overboard. By letting to clarify before you bottle you'll eliminate some of the sediment before it gets to the bottling bucket. You could probably add half a teaspoon of dry yeast (or slurry) to the bottling bucket as long as you make sure it gets mixed in very well so all the bottles get yeast. Alternatively, you could add a little yeast to each bottle before capping.

ReverseApacheMaster said:

Alternatively, you could add a little yeast to each bottle before capping.

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Thanks! One last question: how much yeast would you recommend adding to each (12oz) bottle? I am thinking Champagne yeast is probably best. I make ginger ale often with adding champagne yeast directly to each bottle, but I find that it often gets over carbonated.

Assuming it gets mixed well, do you think perhaps half a packet of yeast mixed into the entire batch would be sufficient?