ale yeast dilemma

[AndyHannas]

so im brewing my 5th batch of extract based beer and my first attempt at a higher gravity beer. i'm starting with 10# of light LME, a couple pounds of specialty grains for steeping and 1# dark belgian candy sugar. i picked up a packet of Safbrew T58. if i make a healthy starter with that and pitch, do you think that will be enough to ferment all the way or will i possibly have to add a second yeast? also, if i do need to pitch a second yeast, do you recommend using the same strain or is there a preferred strain of yeast for finishing? i know that 11# of fermentable sugar isn't a huge beer, but its bigger than anything i've done before. i can post a full recipe if that makes a difference, thanks in advance for any help.

 

[jwible204]

you won't need a starter with T-58. i recently made a Trippel with an OG of 1.082 and after 10 days it was down to 1.013, fermentation kicked off within 4 hours @ 66 degrees.

 

[AndyHannas]

awesome, thanks for the info

 

[devilishprune]

It's dry yeast. If you're worried, just pitch two packs and call it a day; no need for starters.

 

[AndyHannas]

so i brewed this beer, OG was 1.092 and i pitched one packet of Safbrew T58 and the fermentation went crazy. but after 5 days it slowed waaaay down so i added the packet of Pasteur Champagne yeast and 1# of brown sugar dissolved in a cup of boiling water. this second fermentation seems to be taking longer to get going. so my question is, should i be patient and see what it does, or can i add a tablespoon or two of yeast nutrients right into the carboy a whole day after i pitched the yeast?

 

[devilishprune]

Did you take a gravity reading before you added the second yeast? It was probably unnecessary, because fermentation isn't only based on signs that you can readily see. They were probably in there doing their yeasty things the whole time.

In making beer, I would argue that adding nutrients is largely unnecessary considering that malt has the things that yeast need in them already. Mead is usually where the need for nutrients is stressed.

Just let it ride out.

 

[AndyHannas]

no i didnt take a gravity reading because i didnt want to mess around too much with it. guess i should have done that. i guess all i really needed was for someone to tell me everything was ok. RDWHAHB right?

 

[Skaggz]

no i didnt take a gravity reading because i didnt want to mess around too much with it. guess i should have done that. i guess all i really needed was for someone to tell me everything was ok. RDWHAHB right?

Taking a sample out for a hydrometer reading is a lot less invasive than adding a pound of sugar and some champagne yeast to already fermented beer. Don't do anything else to it until you've taken a gravity reading. I'm sure you'll be fine, but the beer may come out a little dryer than expected.

 

[AndyHannas]

Taking a sample out for a hydrometer reading is a lot less invasive than adding a pound of sugar and some champagne yeast to already fermented beer. Don't do anything else to it until you've taken a gravity reading. I'm sure you'll be fine, but the beer may come out a little dryer than expected.

my barrel thief doesnt fit all the way into the neck of my carboy so id have to siphon a sample out. piss poor excuse, i know. but i transfered to a secondary today and took a reading, after the addition of that pound of brown sugar and a few hours of fermenting with the second yeast, i had a gravity reading of 1.024 and its still really sweet. ill check it again in a week