step-feeding yeast in fermenter

I am making a 1.143 OG barleywine with 3 packets of Nottingham. The recipe contains 4 pounds of sugar but I left that out of the boil so that I could use it to feed the yeast during fermentation. Is there a process to step-feed? When should I add the sugar to the primary and how much should I add at a time?

 

Are you making rubbing alcohol?

 

Yes! I figure if I could drink beer and disinfect my insides at the same time, why not??

 

Give a listen to the can you brew it episode for Dogfish 120. IIRC there was a fairly lengthy discussion on how they added tons of sugar to the fermenter.

 

Thanks. Here is the link for anyone interested:

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/post1607/

 

Ferment until activity starts to slow, then add one pound of sugar every other day. I like to sanitize by heating it to boil in the least amount of water you can get away with.

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll do that!

 

I woke up this morning before going to work and all blowoff activity has stopped. I hope I didn't wait too long.

 

Do't worry, there are still plenty of active yeast.

 

I will take a hydrometer reading when I get home. I can't believe that 1.107 OG wort fermented out completely in three days. I'm expecting a stuck fermentation.

 

So I measured the current specific gravity of the beer and it is currently sitting at 1.062. I started out with 1.108 without the 4 lbs of sugar. It has also been 3.5 days since I pitched the yeast. Should I be worried about a stuck fermentation? There is zero bubbling from the blow-off tube.

Should I warm the beer up from 61F to close to 66F or so?

 

I would warm it if I were you, and give it a few days before taking another gravity reading, might still be eating away just fine....

 

I warmed up the beer and added a pound of sugar and the airlock started bubbling within 30 mins.