Additional yeast for HG beer

[Camride]

I am going to be making Midwest Supplies Hop Head Double IPA soon (maybe this weekend if I have time) and I want to throw in some additional yeast. The kit came with Safale US-05 which specifies it's for low to medium gravity beers. The kit should come out to about 7.6% so I want to throw in another packet of dry yeast so I don't strain the yeast.

Unfortunately my LHBS doesn't have the greatest selection (and I didn't think of the additional yeast when I placed my order with Midwest) so I'm not sure what to get. I actually love Belgian brews so I was thinking of grabbing a packet of Belgian Ale yeast to see how it turns out. What do you guys think?

Also, I'd like to bump up the gravity just a little with this brew (I'd like it to be ~8.5%), should I grab some DME/LME at the LHBS as well to add, or can I safely get a ~1% increase with sugar on this brew (I don't want to screw up the taste)? If so how much would I need of each? I'm not sure how to calculate this stuff yet.

Here is the kit from Midwest: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-ingredients/recipe-kits/hop-head-double-ipa.html

Here are my options for dry yeast at my LHBS: http://www.americanbrewmaster.com/index.php?cPath=4_86_135

Thanks for all the help!

 

[frazier]

I've never tried mixing yeasts, and never heard much good about it either. Save the Belgian yeast for your next batch. Hard to believe your LHBS doesn't have US05; but it's a pretty strong contender, I think it'll do fine in your beer with one packet..

 

[Camride]

I thought I had heard of people mixing yeasts before, but maybe I shouldn't experiment so much on my second brew. LBHS does have US05 (I missed it the first time I looked) so I think I'll still pick up a packet of that to be safe. I was also going to pick up a 1.65lb pouch of LME to up the gravity a little.

 

[TheBreweryUnderground]

Save your money and make a starter with the one packet you have now and your LME, dry yeast packets normally have a lot more yeast cells than liquid forms so you'd be closer to the right amount to pitch anyway. Also I've heard of US05 fermenting over 10% so your beer would turn out fine.

 

[TheBreweryUnderground]

Also I normally hear of people mixing yeasts when they add the high ABV yeasts after their initial ones crap out normally 10+%. Or mixing yeast and bug strains for sour beers.

 

[Camride]

Also I normally hear of people mixing yeasts when they add the high ABV yeasts after their initial ones crap out normally 10+%. Or mixing yeast and bug strains for sour beers.

I haven't made a starter before so I'm a little nervous about doing that process (only because I haven't done it, it doesn't look hard). I'm going to have to do a starter for my Belgian Trippel since I got liquid yeast, but I've been putting that one off. Is making a start from dry yeast any different than liquid yeast (I'm assuming not since it's still yeast)? Looking at Mr. Malty it's showing that I'd need 1.4 packets of dry yeast, so I'm assuming that would mean I wouldn't need a big starter right?

I've been reading so much on this board but I still get a little confused by the stuff I haven't done yet. I'm more of a hands on learner, it's harder for me to grasp stuff just by reading it.

 

[Seven]

I am going to be making Midwest Supplies Hop Head Double IPA soon (maybe this weekend if I have time) and I want to throw in some additional yeast. The kit came with Safale US-05 which specifies it's for low to medium gravity beers. The kit should come out to about 7.6% so I want to throw in another packet of dry yeast so I don't strain the yeast.

Unfortunately my LHBS doesn't have the greatest selection (and I didn't think of the additional yeast when I placed my order with Midwest) so I'm not sure what to get. I actually love Belgian brews so I was thinking of grabbing a packet of Belgian Ale yeast to see how it turns out. What do you guys think?

Also, I'd like to bump up the gravity just a little with this brew (I'd like it to be ~8.5%), should I grab some DME/LME at the LHBS as well to add, or can I safely get a ~1% increase with sugar on this brew (I don't want to screw up the taste)? If so how much would I need of each? I'm not sure how to calculate this stuff yet.

Here is the kit from Midwest: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-ingredients/recipe-kits/hop-head-double-ipa.html

Here are my options for dry yeast at my LHBS: http://www.americanbrewmaster.com/index.php?cPath=4_86_135

Thanks for all the help!

What is the OG of this kit from Midwest? I checked the link but didn't see it listed. Once you know the OG, go to Mrmalty.com and it will tell you the appropriate amount of yeast required for this brew.

You can mix yeasts if that is your wish. From the ones listed at your LHBS, I'd pick Wyeast 1214. My only concern about this would be the fermentation temperature of the US-05 yeast as it's very clean around 62-degrees but it imparts a yeasty/estery flavor that is un-desireable (in my opinion) once it gets into the high 60's / low 70's. If you do decide to mix yeasts make sure the yeast combination you choose have similar temperature ranges so one or the other isn't fermenting too low or too high.

Good luck!

 

[Jay1]

I'm sort of in the same shoes. I made a starter for the first time on Wednesday. There a ton of info on how to do it but ill tell you it was really easy and only took about 15 min. I prepped the wort in Wednesday night and pitched the yeast in the morning. Now Friday morning, I have a Growler with 3/4" of yeast cake sitting on the bottom. Ill use this tonight. Fun

 

[bradford0113]

I don't think you make a starter with dry yeast. Hydrate - yes. Starter - No.

 

[dcp27]

S-05 is good up to around 15%, no need to add the belgian yeast. 8.5% is close to where you'll start needing a 2nd packet, but it should be fine with 1. I'd go with sugar to bump it up the extra ~1% and help dry it out.

 

[solbes]

Umm, your local has S-05, so just buy another packet and pitch both. At 8.5% you don't want to stress out your yeast by underpitching. Worth the extra $3.45 IMO. As to mixing yeasts, you would be hard pressed to ever duplicate a mixed yeast brew since varying conditions will likely give one strain an advantage over the other.

I agree on making starters for liquid yeast strains only, the dry yeasts are energized right from the get go. When you make your starter for the tripel, go for a 3 or 4 qt with one step (e.g. make a 1.25 qt, let it ferment, then add 2.5 qt, let it ferment, decant, pitch). It's just like brewing a mini batch of beer without hops. Takes roughly 30-40 minutes with sanitizing, boiling, cooling, and pitching. You'll need 4-5 days to get the starter ready for the big show. Also starters can save you $$$ in the long run if you start harvesting yeast.

 

[Camride]

Cool. I'll pick up another packet of S05 today as I'd rather be on the safe side.

BTW, if I wanted to increase the alcohol on a 5 gal batch by about 1% how much sugar would I add? Is that a safe increase for this beer? OG is 1.076, FG should be 1.016, I'd like to get 8.5% out of it (default gravity would be around 7.6%).