Adding yeast at bottling after extended secondary

[mtnagel]

So I have an 11% imperial stout that was in primary for 5 weeks and secondary for 3 months. I've been trying to research on when to add yeast at bottling and it seems there is no real consensus on when it's necessary, but it is cheap insurance.

Most seem to recommend adding a small portion of rehydrated dry yeast, but I still have a portion of the yeast starter used for that batch. Could I make a starter and use that? If so, how many cells should I target to add?

 

[m00ps]

I certainly wouldnt bother making a starter, just add like 1/2 packet of dry yeast with your priming sugar and youll be good to go

 

[tadkays]

I go with a half-pack of CBC-01 yeast in the bottling bucket with the sugar for my big beers.

 

[mblanks2]

I generally rehydrate 1 package of Lavlin EC-1118 Champagne dry yeast in 300 ml of sterile water and mix into priming solution before bottling.

 

[mtnagel]

But if I already have the liquid yeast and would be cheaper to use that, is there any reason I couldn't do that?

 

[ImNoExpert]

You'd probably be ok doing nothing, but it would be smart to take out a little insurance on a beer with so much invested...

The starter yeast is four, going on five months old. Plus you're at 11%. Not knowing what yeast you used, 11% is getting up there for many ale yeasts.

Just use a packet of champagne yeast at bottling and earn yourself some peace of mind.

 

[mtnagel]

I used WLP001, which White Labs just lists as "High" alcohol tolerance. If we assume it's the same as WY1056, they say the limit is 11%, but I've heard of people going higher. Based on gravities, my % ABV is 11.0%. Hmmm...

 

[MaxStout]

You've come this far with your beer. Don't blow it by pitching that old yeast starter. Spend $3 and get a packet of CBC-1 or Notty. Pitch half of it with your priming sugar into the bottling bucket.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Just curious, how does the Danstar CBC-1 compare to the Lavlin EC-1118? I've always heard of adding a champagne yeast like the EC-1118, but the CBC-1 looks very interesting for this purpose.

 

[mtnagel]

You've come this far with your beer. Don't blow it by pitching that old yeast starter. Spend $3 and get a packet of CBC-1 or Notty. Pitch half of it with your priming sugar into the bottling bucket.

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I was going to make a new starter with the yeast, which would confirm its viability and then I'd be adding freshly woken up yeast.

But it sure sounds like people really like the champagne yeast or this CBC-1.

 

[m00ps]

Thats just cause it saves you teh hassle of doing a starter. Whatever yeast you use to prime isnt important, it just needs to ferment a tiny bit of simple sugar