US-05 for imperial stout?

[odie]

Got a recipe I wanna do. 12% maple stout and it calls for a single pack of 05 yeast. Fermentis web site says 9-11 for this yeast. Anybody get any higher with it? And how so?

 

[Shackleford_rusty]

One packet for an over 1. 100 gravity is laughable. 2 or 3 would be more along the lines if pitching dry, but i see they say a starter is needed. Idk what there thinking is on that.
FWIW i just completed an imperial 1.116 with S05 finished at 1.025, i did 4 rounds of stepping up starters (1qt each) no oxygen introduced or anything fancy, just a giant pitch.

 

[odie]

Doesn’t a huge starter affect the total volume and also dilute the OG?

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Doesn’t a huge starter affect the total volume and also dilute the OG?

After the starter is finished fermenting, let it sit for a day to settle out. Dump the liquid and only pitch the slurry in the bottom of the starter flask. Yes, you lose a little bit that was still in suspension.

By doing this, you also get rid of most of the off flavors generated in the starter, rather than adding it to your beer.

 

[odie]

Never done a starter. Is it basically an alternative to pitching 2-3 or more packs? I guess cheaper to grow extra yeast than use a bunch of packs?

 

[Shackleford_rusty]

After the starter is finished fermenting, let it sit for a day to settle out. Dump the liquid and only pitch the slurry in the bottom of the starter flask. Yes, you lose a little bit that was still in suspension.

By doing this, you also get rid of most of the off flavors generated in the starter, rather than adding it to your beer.

Yes, i forgot to mention the decanting piece.
I make 5-1 quart starters with one pound of light DME in the pressure cooker.
3.2oz(90grams?) DME
One small hop pellet
Pinch of yeast nutrient
Fill with water and shake
15lbs of pressure for 15 minutes

Keeps for upwards of a year.

*starter gravity is around 1.028ish, a little light on the gravity but it does finish in a little over 18 to 24hrs, which is nice for step-startering(is that even a word? ) or if you forget last minute to make one.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Good luck! I am not sure my story will help you at all, but I brewed my first RIS this year. I pitched a 16 oz jar of S-04 (not US-05) slurry from a Porter that I had kegged the prior day. The RIS was a 2.5 gal batch of 1.104. It fermented strong and when I checked in 4 days I was close to my expected final OG (measured 1.034, ended at 1.032, 9.6% ABV). I would recommend a starter or at least 2 packs. Pitching a big dose of healthy yeast should go a long way to addressing any potential fermentation issues. I also oxygenate with an aquarium pump system that I let run for 20+ minutes while I clean up.

 

[Kickass]

When do you plan to add the maple? I did A LOT of reading before brewing a maple brown ale a few months ago. Most people that added it prior to a secondary fermentation stated that they didn't get any of the flavor. I waited until primary ferm was almost complete then added the maple directly to the wort, no transfer to secondary vessel. It was perfect, subtle but noticeably present. I brew with the mentality that anything out of the ordinary should complement the base beer, not take center stage so take it for what its worth to you. Cheers!

 

[CascadesBrewer]

When do you plan to add the maple? I did A LOT of reading before brewing a maple brown ale a few months ago. Most people that added it prior to a secondary fermentation stated that they didn't get any of the flavor. I waited until primary ferm was almost complete then added the maple directly to the wort, no transfer to secondary vessel. It was perfect, subtle but noticeably present. I brew with the mentality that anything out of the ordinary should complement the base beer, not take center stage so take it for what its worth to you. Cheers!

Interesting. What type of maple syrup did you use? Did you do anything to sanitize the syrup?

 

[odie]

Makes sense. This recipe states syrup at high krausen which I think is too early and it will ferment out. I’m thinking about priming keg with the syrup after primary. Basically secondary and condition in keg with the syrup. Just warm up jug of syrup in pot of hot water and dump in keg, rack beer on top. Pressurize and shack it up good and let the yeast finish it up

 

[Kickass]

I used robust grade b syrup, it's got a little more flavor that's not fermented off like the more pure grade a. I did nothing to sanitize, just dumped into finishing beer.

 

[odie]

I used robust grade b syrup, it's got a little more flavor that's not fermented off like the more pure grade a. I did nothing to sanitize, just dumped into finishing beer.

That's what I'm thinking. After primary just rack to keg and dump the syrup in...the limited yeast that makes it into the keg should wake back up and go to work but with less yeast there should be some maple left over at the end

 

[Rob2010SS]

The other option is to add the maple syrup to the keg along with a campden tablet and potassium sorbate. This will kill/inactivate the yeast so that they don't ferment it out. I did this with a maple pecan nut brown I did a little while back. Worked like a charm and the maple flavor didn't change due to fermenting out.

 

[Rob2010SS]

If you go that route, I wouldn't use 2 lbs of syrup. I'd cut it back to about 125ml of syrup if you go that route. If you add it at end of fermentation and let the yeast have at it, then stick with the 2lbs.

 

[deadwolfbones]

I did 2 packets of US-05 (rehydrated) in 6 gallons of 1.121 stout and it took it down to 1.037 (~12.8%).

 

[odie]

I’m looking at 2 lbs maple and want it to ferment some in keg/secondary stage. Just not fully out. I figure after racking to keg the yeast will be somewhat exhausted by then. Most will remain in primary and thus not all the maple will be fermented away since the alcohol will be pretty high by then and slowing the yeast that does make it to the keg.

But I don’t wanna end up with 2 pounds syrup in the bottom when I tap it a few months later

 

[odie]

Well the maple stout has been started. It’s in primary. Should I wait until keg conditioning to and the syrup or just do it late in the fermenter?View attachment 624942

 

[Comfort_Zone]

One thing people have to realize is that the advertised alcohol tolerance of yeasts is somewhat conservative. You can push pretty much any brewer's yeast to 12% without much trouble, and I've seen US-05 pushed to just under 15% with a little nudging. 2 or 3 packs should be fine.

 

[Comfort_Zone]

One packet for an over 1. 100 gravity is laughable. 2 or 3 would be more along the lines if pitching dry, but i see they say a starter is needed. Idk what there thinking is on that.
FWIW i just completed an imperial 1.116 with S05 finished at 1.025, i did 4 rounds of stepping up starters (1qt each) no oxygen introduced or anything fancy, just a giant pitch.

I've done plenty of big beers with a single pack of WLP001 with no issues. If the pack is a little old I just do a quick vitality starter. People make yeast out to be less robust than it actually is. Heck, I've got a barleywine that went from 1.126-1.030 in around a week using a single pack of WLP001. It's certainly not my goto for big beers, but big for me starts at 14% [emoji23]

 

[odie]

I would think a single pack is fine. Yeast will multiply on its own as long as there is a food source. Granted 2 or 3 packs will get there faster but in the end I would think it’s gonna finish about the same. Time will tell and I plan to ferm a month before a gravity read. Then keg at 60 for several months.

 

[day_trippr]

If it was ^that easy^ every recipe would say "use one pack".
A significant underpitch of yeast can result in undesired characters....

Cheers!

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I would think a single pack is fine. Yeast will multiply on its own as long as there is a food source. Granted 2 or 3 packs will get there faster but in the end I would think it’s gonna finish about the same. Time will tell and I plan to ferm a month before a gravity read. Then keg at 60 for several months.

So you brewed the beer? How did fermentation start off? How has it been going?

I don't fully understand the science behind the yeast life cycle, but my understanding is that during the initial lag phase, yeast are building up their cell structure and reserves. I believe they can only go through a limited number of reproductions (maybe 4 or 5?) before they have used up their reserves and will start to go dormant. Ideally you want enough yeast and for them to be healthy enough that they consume all the available sugars and are still active to clean up fermentation by products before they go dormant.

A single pack of US-05 into a 5 gal batch of 1.100+ beer? It might work out fine, but I feel like there is just too much risk of a stuck fermentation for me to risk that vs spending $5 for a second pack of yeast (or pitching yeast from a prior batch).

 

[odie]

I did a starter and then a second pack dry pitched. Took off quite well. Krausen dropped yesterday and I added 2# maple syrup and krausen kicked right back up

 

[odie]

Sitting at 1.032...raising temperature from 68 to 70...probably raise a couple more in a couple days...or is this too early to try to finish the ferm ?

 

[Comfort_Zone]

You're already getting towards the end of fermentation anyway, so it's certainly not too early to warm things up. The ester profile is already set at this point. Now don't forget that your predicted FG is not set in stone, there's a number of factors that can and will affect it. In short, the yeast will finish where they finish.

 

[odie]

Recipe calls for 1.023 so after a little over 2 weeks I’m getting close?

 

[odie]

How do I factor in the maple syrup? Gravity wise? It went in after primary phase. 32oz pure syrup. How many points should it add?

 

[deadwolfbones]

I did two rehydrated packets in 6 gal of 1.121 stout and it was great. Handled 13%+ no sweat.

 

[odie]

I read somewhere that maybe I should be dropping it to 60 to finish out preserve the maple flavor. Instead of raising the temps at the end? Or should I have raised it first for a bit and then dropped when adding the maple?