1.145 OG and opinions

[danfalcone]

Good morning all, first post here, but have been following for quite some time. I am an experienced home brewer, and took my first crack at a big boy stout this past weekend. Long story short, OG was 1.145 at the beginning. I made a triple stepped starter using wyeast 1056 and a cup of DME each time. After cooling I oxygenated the wort with pure O2 and a diffusion stone for 1 minute, did it again and hour later, and gain 24 hours later. Fermentation started very quickly and was going very strong. I hit it again with oxygen 24 hours in to give it more cell wall strength, and it was down to 1.085 36 hours in. I checked gravity last night where it was 5 days in and it was down to 1.055. I still have airlock activity which is good because my target terminal gravity is 1.040-1.045. My question is, should I pitch some WL 099 high gravity to finish the job? or wait a week and see what the 1056 can do? Any opinions/recommendations are welcome. Thanks and cheers!

 

[Hello]

I know you said you were an experienced home brewer so perhaps this is my own ignorance, but why in the world would you oxygenate your beer 24 hours after pitching yeast? Aren't you running the risk of oxidizing your beer and guaranteeing off flavors?

Either way, no, I don't know why you would pitch new yeast when fermentation is not quite done. Also, I know you're experienced but can you leave the beer alone? Opening it also can cause it oxidize, no? I would personally oxygenate for about 2-3 minutes, pitch yeast and leave the poor guy alone for at least 7 days. Longer for that beer.

Yeast Calc says that if you did a 1 liter starter and stepped it up 3 times without a stir plate then you under pitched by about 130 billion cells. I just guessed that you did 1L starters each time based on what you wrote.

Either way, still baffled on the oxygen after 1 hour then 24 hours so I'm going to go read but as for the question, no...do not pitch. Just walk away for another 4-5 days and take a reading.

 

[broadbill]

I know you said you were an experienced home brewer so perhaps this is my own ignorance, but why in the world would you oxygenate your beer 24 hours after pitching yeast? Aren't you running the risk of oxidizing your beer and guaranteeing off flavors?

No, it is not unheard of to oxygenate 12-24 hours on large beers such as this. The idea is that you are supporting a large reproductive phase by the yeast.

In situations where brewers are "feeding" super-large beers (ABV ~20%) with fermentables and extra yeast over time (2-3 weeks, see threads on here about cloning DFH 120IPA), oxygen addition can be done even at 2-3 weeks out.

Long story short, when there are reproductively active yeast, oxygen addition may be warranted.

 

[broadbill]

OP, I would let the 1056 do its thing before you decide. Also keep in mind that yeast alcohol tolerance is around 11-12%, so you are going to have problems when your beer ferments to that point.

Next time you do this high OG wort, you may want to consider "feeding" strategies to hit a certain FG instead of the conventional fermentation scheme.

 

[progmac]

i think for these kinds of beers it makes the most sense to treat them like you would a wine or a mead. staggered nutrients, multiple rounds of o2, and even degassing. this is not the kind of beer you "leave alone" if you want to achieve a reasonable degree of attenuation. however, now that you're at the 65%+ mark of attenuation, i think you are past the point of direct intervention. let us know how it comes out!

i have had s-05 over 15%, i have seen others reach 20% or more. so the yeast is capable if it is handled well

think about your plan for bottle conditioning. that yeast will die fast at your final abv. consider either bottling quickly or pitching fresh yeast at that time, or just force carbing

 

[moti_mo]

A terminal gravity of 1.040 - 1.045? That sounds ridiculously sweet to me, even given the huge abv. I've shot for a ~1.025 terminal gravity before on a really big beer, but finishing as high as 1.045 seems like a really cloying beer. Are there commercial examples that you've had that have that high of a terminal gravity? Maybe I've had one and didn't know it...

 

[danfalcone]

OP, I would let the 1056 do its thing before you decide. Also keep in mind that yeast alcohol tolerance is around 11-12%, so you are going to have problems when your beer ferments to that point.

Next time you do this high OG wort, you may want to consider "feeding" strategies to hit a certain FG instead of the conventional fermentation scheme.

Thanks for the feedback...By my calculations current ABV is around 11.75% give or take a few hundredths.. Also I forgot to mention my starter was on a stir plate. My current thought process was to wait a full week and see if I still haver airlock activity... right now I do so there is obviously still something going on in there. Once that ceases I think I will add the WLP099 after making a 1 liter starter with it, and see if they can finish the job.

 

[DSorenson]

Long story short, when there are reproductively active yeast, oxygen addition may be warranted.

Don't you need more oxygen when you're actively reproducing?

Am I right, fellas?

High five!

My current thought process was to wait a full week and see if I still haver airlock activity... right now I do so there is obviously still something going on in there. Once that ceases I think I will add the WLP099 after making a 1 liter starter with it, and see if they can finish the job.

Unfortunately airlock activity only means gas is being released and doesn't tell us what the yeast are doing. You can pretty much bet that stuff is going on in there.

Impressive OG- I wait to see what becomes of this.

 

[danfalcone]

Don't you need more oxygen when you're actively reproducing?

Am I right, fellas?

High five!




Unfortunately airlock activity only means gas is being released and doesn't tell us what the yeast are doing. You can pretty much bet that stuff is going on in there.

Impressive OG- I wait to see what becomes of this.

Keep in mind I mashed this is 156 degrees for 90 minutes, was all grain with no extract or sugar additions and had 8 gallons of 1.095 wort preboil.. Boiled it down in 3 hours to 5 gallons of 1.145 wort. I really would like to see this get to 1.040 from its current 1.055.

 

[Rambleon]

What was the recipe?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[danfalcone]

What was the recipe?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

OG: 1.145
FG: ?
Yeast: Wyeast 1056 stepped up 3 times on 1 cup DME each time.
Mash Temp: 156 for 90 minutes
Boil Time: 3.5 hrs

Grain Bill

Marris Otter- 30 lbs
Belgian Special B – 2 lbs
Midnight Wheat- 1 lb
Caramunich I- 1 lb
Dark Chocolate Malt- 2 lbs
Debittered Roasted Barley – 1 lb
Flaked Oats- 2 lbs
Chocolate Wheat/Rye Malt- 2 lb
Pale Chocolate Malt- 2 lb

Hop Additions

Chinook 3 oz. (60 minutes)
Willimatte 3 oz. (30 minutes)
Williamette 3 oz. (10 minutes)

 

[GrogNerd]

my pumpkin barleywine had an OG of 1.125 and I got it down to 1.004 (yes, 96% apparent attenuation and 14.6% ABV) using WLP007 and some post-pitching aeration plus sugar, nutrient and yeast additions

recipe is from last fall's issue of Zymurgy. Recipe was for an Imperial Pumpkin, mine obviously over-attenuated into barleywine

instructions included

add honey at end of boil
add oxygen 24 hours after pitch
add maple syrup and yeast nutrient on day 4
add 1 lb sugar and additional yeast on day 6 (I substituted a 11oz jar of Lyles Golden Syrup)
add 1 lb sugar on day 8

gravity was 1.018 when I added that last lb of sugar, 3 days later it bottomed out at 1.004

NO issue with oxidation so far. it's super dry, some alcohol warmth, but not fusel and even tho the spice character has faded a bit in the last 5 or 6 months, I think I did use too much spice considering how dry it is.