Attempting 40%+ ABV beer... "Barley Brandy"

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I want to do something like this, but after all this silence im thinking it might be wiser to make wort of a somewhat reasonable fermentability, say 1.150, then try to push it past 20% with sugar additions, that way you know when the yeast craps out. Like DFH120.
 
You guys have zero faith. Pathetic.

Nothing has been ditched.

I pitched a couple tablespoons of boiled bread yeast a couple of nights ago and all of a sudden I have a little bit more airlock activity.

The boiled bread yeast is something I've seen on HBT a couple of times and the story is basically... when yeast is fermenting THAT much sugar (1200 OG), it'll toss off byproducts that reach toxic levels for the yeast (just like the alcohol will become toxic) and the yeast will die out. Supposedly, the boiled bread yeast, which is dead, will absorb these toxins and make the wort more fermentable.

i have no idea of this will actually work but I finally tried it a couple of nights ago. I'm giving the dead yeast a couple of days to do its de-toxification process and then I'm racking to a clean fermentor and adding a new slug of 099.

I'm probably the worst person to post on something like this as I'm not a serial gravity taker or beer taster like a certain someone I know who will remain nameless. It'll be done when it is done and taking gravity samples every other day does nothing but tell me something I already know... it ain't done yet.... and wastes the beer a quarter pint at a time.
 
the_bird said:
He already did. He told us 34° if it's to be drunk, 98.6° if it's to be received anally.
Click to expand...

listen, bird, just cause it has the patriots logo on it doesn't mean you should shove it up your a$$. i guess old habits die hard, eh??

this just in, dolphins sign 18 quarterbacks.....but orton is still a bronco.


yeah i'm jumping threads, you wanna fight about it!?
 
(nodding in quiet confidence)

JESUS... I GOTTA get that vid put together and posted. Even though it didn't turn out the way I wanted, there was nothing about that day that wasn't epic. Deep fat fried whole hog and 29 taps flowing.

Back to your normally scheduled program..
 
Cape if you have a thread going for your pig I have video and pictures also. And evidence if the 32 taps!
 
I had a great idea for you to obtain your barley brandy this morning. You can distill it. Yuk yuk yuk
 
Its stalled and I cant get it to budge. I trued the boules bread yeast trick and nuthin. I have pitched a few healthy slugs of 099 with Oxygen and still nothinv. I am at 1075. I still havent tried the champaign yeast so there is at least one more shot but I'm not holding out a ton of hope. It sucks because I thinkit tastes awesome so far. It just needs to keep drying out a bit.

Some one is gonna suggest beano but I can't possibly imagine fermentables being the issue. I mashed at 145 for almost two hours. It can't possibly be full of complex sugars.
 
Cape Brewing said:
Its stalled and I cant get it to budge. I trued the boules bread yeast trick and nuthin. I have pitched a few healthy slugs of 099 with Oxygen and still nothinv. I am at 1075. I still havent tried the champaign yeast so there is at least one more shot but I'm not holding out a ton of hope. It sucks because I thinkit tastes awesome so far. It just needs to keep drying out a bit.

Some one is gonna suggest beano but I can't possibly imagine fermentables being the issue. I mashed at 145 for almost two hours. I can't possibly be full of complex sugars.
Click to expand...

I can't remember without going through the whole thread....What was your OG, and what is your current ABV? You may be stuck trying something like a champagne yeast, but perhaps consider other yeasts that are good a restarting stuck ferments, such as Wyeast 3711.

Whatever yeast you consider repitching, I'd make a starter, then repitch that yeast onto a new starter with an OG above your current (say, ~1.080), then after that settles down and drops, decant of the spent starter and remove 1-2 quarts of your wort, and move that onto the starter cake...if you can get that to start, then pitch the whole thing back into your whole batch...
 
biochemedic said:
Whatever yeast you consider repitching, I'd make a starter, then repitch that yeast onto a new starter with an OG above your current (say, ~1.080), then after that settles down and drops, decant of the spent starter and remove 1-2 quarts of your wort, and move that onto the starter cake...if you can get that to start, then pitch the whole thing back into your whole batch...
Click to expand...

That's a damn fine idea
 
biochemedic said:
Whatever yeast you consider repitching, I'd make a starter, then repitch that yeast onto a new starter with an OG above your current (say, ~1.080), then after that settles down and drops, decant of the spent starter and remove 1-2 quarts of your wort, and move that onto the starter cake...if you can get that to start, then pitch the whole thing back into your whole batch...
Click to expand...

BRILLIANT! :rockin:
 
Use Lalvin Ki-1116 or EC-1118, They're tolerant to 20-25% in much harsher conditions than Champagne or 099. It restarted my Imp stout in about 6 hrs, and 099 wasn't doing anything. It's a killer yeast strain though, so only use it as an absolute last resort.
 
Cape Brewing said:
Its stalled and I cant get it to budge. I trued the boules bread yeast trick and nuthin. I have pitched a few healthy slugs of 099 with Oxygen and still nothinv. I am at 1075. I still havent tried the champaign yeast so there is at least one more shot but I'm not holding out a ton of hope. It sucks because I thinkit tastes awesome so far. It just needs to keep drying out a bit.

Some one is gonna suggest beano but I can't possibly imagine fermentables being the issue. I mashed at 145 for almost two hours. It can't possibly be full of complex sugars.
Click to expand...

try beano.
 
lastsecondapex said:
Use Lalvin Ki-1116 or EC-1118, They're tolerant to 20-25% in much harsher conditions than Champagne or 099. It restarted my Imp stout in about 6 hrs, and 099 wasn't doing anything. It's a killer yeast strain though, so only use it as an absolute last resort.
Click to expand...

I use EC-1118 here at work and it does work like a beast. Fermentations are usually done in a few days.

It leaves a slight residual sweetness in our wines. ~1-2% so it will dry your beer out. But if you ice distill this that will boost your sugars back up. Maybe backsweeten, but you will need to sterile filter.
 
Wasnt going to putch them together... And was plannin on using the 1118.

I will probably rack to another fermenter... Again... To get it off of whatever 099 that has been pitched so far and then try the 1118
 
I love the thought process and the tenacity but have to think you are oxidizing this beer with all of the futzing. What process are you using to keep transfer oxidation to a minimum?
 
lastsecondapex said:
Use Lalvin Ki-1116 or EC-1118, They're tolerant to 20-25% in much harsher conditions than Champagne or 099. It restarted my Imp stout in about 6 hrs, and 099 wasn't doing anything. It's a killer yeast strain though, so only use it as an absolute last resort.
Click to expand...

Just to clarify, those yeasts are not tolerant up to 25%. EC-1118, 18-19% maybe if you're really really good about managing your fermentation. K1V-1116 is more like 16-18%. EC-1118 also is a Champange yeast...

As for the killer yeast thing, why exactly is that an issue? If all other yeasts have crapped out, why would it matter that K1V puts out some protiens that other yeast find toxic? Also, the killer factor doesn't affect all yeast the same way...the yeast being affected has to be sensitive to that specific protien for any issues to arise.

I would personally go with something like Uvaferm-43 for restarting stuck ferments. If that doesn't help, probably nothing will.

You could always try fortifying this to help dry it out...it might be cheating, but it might be one of the only options.

Good luck!
 
Cape Brewing said:
1200. Its down to 1075 so a little over 17% abv
Click to expand...

Man... I just followed a thread where scotland did a DFH 120 clone and pushed it well past 20% with 099. He was of course nursing it along with dex the whole time. Maybe the mistake was in slugging it with all that sugar at once. Maybe you could have dried it out more if you fed your second, stronger batch in a little at a time until the yeast conked out, then called it good...

He was waiting on his brew hand and foot though, and you were cruising all over the coutryside doing all kinds of BS ;) maybe next time you'll nail it
 

Similar threads

Clint Yeastwood
Flavorful Beer for Women?
Replies
39
Views
2K
PashMaddle
PashMaddle
L
Yeast Suggestion for this Red Ale Clone Recipe
Replies
9
Views
702
beren
beren
Clint Yeastwood
My Undrinkable Beer Got Better
Replies
24
Views
2K
corkybstewart
corkybstewart
orgenomescii
Brewing like a Barbarian: Ancient Irish Descriptions of Malting & Brewing
Replies
2
Views
1K
McMullan
McMullan
Broken Crow
How do other actual brewers feel about 'Beer Flights'?
2 3
Replies
81
Views
4K
pvtpublic
pvtpublic
CornyKegs 300

Latest posts

Back
Top