High alcohol bottle fermentation

Assuming my Barley Wine finishes at %12.5 abv. Im wondering if after 2 weeks in fermenters, that there is enough residual yeast to restart fermentation (with corn sugar) for bottle conditioning.

Add rehydrated dry yeast? Will adding yeast start fermentation of residual sugars (+ corn sugar) and over carbonate and give me bottle bombs?
Target FG should be about 1.020

 

It is hard to say since you didn't give us all the information. What is your gravity now? What yeast did you use originally?

My vote would be: Maybe the original yeast will work- only very slowly. The alternative of pitching dry yeast in small amounts with doses of priming sugar would work too.

Whether or not yeast would over-carb the bottles might depend on your current gravity reading, what your mash technique was (if you mashed?), and your recipe.

 

If you do pitch more I would go with a champagne yeast and corn sugar so the new yeast will only attack the simple sugars!!

 

What yeast did you use? For what it's worth, I recently brewed a Barley Wine with 1056(1.5L starter and plenty of oxygen) that finished around 11%. I bottled after 3 weeks, and the yeast had no problem with the priming sugar.

 

you could sit on the beer for probably 40+ days and there still would be plenty of yeast to bottle condition. and if your paranoid . just suck up a tiny bit from the bottom of the primary when you transfer to your bottling bucket.

 

For what it's worth, the SG is 1.116
Mashed 25lb total grain at 148
Yeast WL 0001-2 vials + 1l starter

I guess for piece of mind I could harvest & wash yeast from the primary and toss into bottling bucket. Man this wort was syrupy sweet! I wonder what options I have if fermentation sticks?

I will keep you posted on my first extreme brew. And give complete recipe if it succeeds

 

I have no experience with bottling anything over OG 1.070. Have been given a 10 year bottle conditioned old Barely Wine in trade for some of my beer, listened to the episode because I know nothing about the style...

I remember hearing on the Jamil Show (Barely Wine Episode) that having too much yeast left in the bottles could be a negative for causing off-flavors. He went to the extent of saying that he'd only counterpressure fill bottles meant to age that long.