High ABV Recipe, Really High

[SpaceManBrew]

Im new here, and semi new to brewing. Been hanging off my fathers shirt tails when it comes to brewing for quite a while, and now that he has slowed his brewing I need to make something awesome before all the beer runs out.

I have been getting into the higher abv brews lately, mostly above 11%. But when you buy them its really costly. (ie Palo Santo Marron - 200$ for 5 gal).

I came across one really high abv recipe, which is a 120 clone, but not sure how good it is going to turn out. Has anyone tried brewing at around 20%? If so, recommendations on recipes and all that great stuff?! I would really like to hit above 20%.

 

[lutherslagers]

IMHO this is tricky, especially for a new brewer. To hit that type of ABV, 20+%, you're looking at multiple yeast pitches. For example, I might pitch 008 because I like the ester profile, but I need to take readings and around halfway through my desired attenuation I'd pitch another starters worth. Once I saw that slow down I'd take a gravity reading and be ready to pitch a wine yeast to get to 20%.

11% is not as tricky, but you'll need a lot of yeast. I'd probably make a smaller beer first, something in the 1.040 range and then pitch that yeast into the beer you want to be 11%. It's advisable, but not necessary, to rinse/wash the yeast before re-pitching.

Others may have advise to a quicker approach.

 

[Calder]

Get some experience before attempting anything above about 9%, and even that can be difficult. You get into problems with fermentability of wort, osmotic pressure, yeast health, and that's just to get the yeast going.

Many people end up with a very sweet beer their first time at a high gravity beer (talking about around 12% now). They spend a lot of money on the ingredients and end up with a very sweet product; and because of their investment they have to like it.

Start small, there is a wonderful world of flavors out there, and you can drink more when the alcohol is a little lower.

 

[smiller]

I agree with luther..there are a lot of yeast considerations when brewing that high ABV. Also, you'd probably have to add sugar throughout fermentation, and from what I understand it's a very involved process, especially for a new brewer...Here is a thread with the recipe that someone used for a 120 min clone, and as you will see, there is a lot going on. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/dfh-120-minute-clone-259314/