Can alcohol kill yeast? US-05

[RMitch]

I'm brewing a small-batch big beer (OG: 1.150 or so) with US-05. I didn't forsee brewing such a big beer, but it kind of turned out like that.

Fermentation started slow, went on slowly, and ended after probably only 16-hours from first bubble to last bubble. Did the alcohol kill my yeast?

This is my first time primarying in the carboy, there was a decent 1-finger of krausen "head", which then dissolved into clumps of yeast on top of wort.

 

[Wyrmwood]

i'm brewing a small-batch big beer (og: 1.150 or so) with us-05. I didn't forsee brewing such a big beer, but it kind of turned out like that.

Fermentation started slow, went on slowly, and ended after probably only 16-hours from first bubble to last bubble. Did the alcohol kill my yeast?

This is my first time primarying in the carboy, there was a decent 1-finger of krausen "head", which then dissolved into clumps of yeast on top of wort.

fg?

 

[RMitch]

I just put it in the primary on the 27th. Not sure yet.

 

[D0ug]

I don't think the us-05 is going to be able to convert enough sugar to bring the specific gravity down to the range of a typical beer, say 1.028-1.008ish.

1.150-1.030= 0.120
0.120 * 131= 15.72% abv; that just seems like a lot to ask from the US-05.

You might need to do an additional pitch with something more alcohol tolerant to get the FG down.

And then be prepared to wait....

IMO

 

[AmandaK]

Yes, alcohol can kill yeast. However, can we have some measurements so we can all speculate?

 

[Boleslaus]

I'm not sure if you're yeast produced enough alcohol during the first 24 hours to die, but US-05 definitely cannot bring that down to a normal FG as D0ug pointed out. Most likely the yeast was stressed when you added it to such a high OG wort. Did you use a starter?

Either the abv is already up around 10% and they died or they got too stressed and stopped fermenting. Most likely though you will have to add a different yeast that can tolerate higher alcohol levels, like a belgian yeast.

 

[the_bird]

You've got to baby the yeast to get them to work as you want at that high a starting gravity. What were your procedures? Starter? O2? Anything?

 

[Revvy]

If all you are doing is going by the fact that your airlock is not bubbling, then all you know is that your arilock isn't bubbling..not what your beer is actually doing. Airlocks are vents, to release excess co2, NOT magic fermentation gauges....if it's not bubbling it more that likely just doesn't need to bubble, NOT that you killed your yeast. The only way to know is with a grav reading.

You said this is a small batch, are we talking 2.5 gallons? If that's the case and you used a full packet of yeast then you more than likely overpitched or pitched the perfect amount of yeast to do the job. I've done huge half batches of beer with o5 and never had an issue.

Go with a hydro reading before you do anything else. Don't forget, fermentation slows down...so of course less co2 is being off gassed...but that's what yeast does. It doesn't mean there's a problem.

 

[RMitch]

Turns out I read the hydro wrong, so its not as big of a beer as I thought. It was only about 1.080. I confused the balling number with the potential abv. (cliffs: n00b) So perhaps it is still working properly.

I rehydrated the yeast, thats about it.

Its about 3.5 gallons...I only used about 3/4s of the packet.

 

[D0ug]

I've done huge half batches of beer with o5 and never had an issue.

Good to know, I'll have to keep that in mind for the future. What is the highest abv you've seen 05 go Revvy?

Go with a hydro reading before you do anything else. Don't forget, fermentation slows down...so of course less co2 is being off gassed...but that's what yeast does. It doesn't mean there's a problem.

Always good advice, And a taste of the hydro sample never hurts

 

[Ravenshead]

US-05 will chew through 1080 with no problem. What FG are you looking for? I.e. what's the recipe?

 

[RMitch]

Its an IPA, found the recipe on here, called "Fresh Squeezed IPA".

Only problem now is I have a 3.5 gal batch in a 5-gal carboy. My turkey baster is too short to extract samples. Have to find something else to use. Haha.

 

[Ravenshead]

Beer thief from your LBHS.

What FG were you trying for? I recently did a 1088ish RIS with the equivalent of US-05 and it went down to 1019. It's a pretty tough yeast and you should be good if you were trying for an IIPA. An IPA may come out a bit sweet.

 

[Boleslaus]

Beer thief from your LBHS.

What FG were you trying for? I recently did a 1088ish RIS with the equivalent of US-05 and it went down to 1019. It's a pretty tough yeast and you should be good if you were trying for an IIPA. An IPA may come out a bit sweet.

Just curious, why would an IPA turn out sweet? Just because it won't ferment down low enough?

 

[RMitch]

Just curious, why would an IPA turn out sweet? Just because it won't ferment down low enough?

Theoretically. But I'm not sure how he is saying that an IIPA will turn out decent while an IPA will be sweet. I think he meant, "dry", unless I'm just confused.

 

[mc_eric]

Theoretically. But I'm not sure how he is saying that an IIPA will turn out decent while an IPA will be sweet. I think he meant, "dry", unless I'm just confused.

I think he was saying that a IIPA would have the IBUs to balance the sweetness, while a "standard" IPA probably wouldn't.

 

[Sparky]

I'm brewing a small-batch big beer (OG: 1.150 or so) with US-05.

I am making an American Barleywine at OG of 1.15 and used (3) packs of US-05. Set consistently at 68F, with blow-off tube. It is consistently doing a fantastic job, very steady.

 

[Ravenshead]

I think he was saying that a IIPA would have the IBUs to balance the sweetness, while a "standard" IPA probably wouldn't.

That's exactly what I meant. When formulating a pale ale type, I usually worry about having enough malt to hold up the IBUs. In this case though, the concern appears to be the opposite.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Post the recipe exactly as you brewed it.

 

[JonM]

Its an IPA, found the recipe on here, called "Fresh Squeezed IPA".

Only problem now is I have a 3.5 gal batch in a 5-gal carboy. My turkey baster is too short to extract samples. Have to find something else to use. Haha.

I do the same thing all the time. Just siphon out a sample with some sanitized vinyl tubing - you know, once you get the siphon going, put it into your hydro tube and let 'er go. (It fills up really fast)

 

[malkore]

I think he was saying that a IIPA would have the IBUs to balance the sweetness, while a "standard" IPA probably wouldn't.

that was my interpretation....the balance will be off, giving it more residual sweetness than the hops can bitter to balance.


Also, just pitch the whole sachet and ALWAYS...ALWAYS rehydrate your dry yeast. Fermentis has pretty explicit instructions even for their yeasts.

its hard for a yeast to hydrate and wake up in any wort over 1.060. stress leads to off flavors, which may never fade.

what are you gonna do with 2.5 grams of US-05 anyhow? plus its opened now so its sorta contaminated.