Bottle conditioning a 15.5% 15 gallon batch of malted coffee quad stout

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Under Pressure

New Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2021
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Greetings we started out with a recipe of 25% abv dark grain and rested 5 pounds of organic roast. plus 3 pounds chocolate nibs. added the coffee in bags 15 minutes prior to the end of a 120 minute boil. Resting every 30 to add hops. Subtracting nonfermentable and it is estimated 20% abv. The yeast slowly died of oxygen and nutrient starvation after a year so we put it in a bourbon barrel at about 15%. It had been recently removed to a demijohn, and now in the 21st month I added a kick starter of white star brewers yeast and some nutrients, after using a diffusing stone in the started and poured it in after oxygen shock brought back by a vinous yeast growth and activity and it slowly came back alive. The whicte star fermenter's yeast brought on a strong Saison nose. After two months we are now at about 17% abc from the original gravity of 25% (20% being fermentable).

Bottle conditioning. To achieve bottle conditioning in wine bottles each with a few coffee bean halves in each bottle. We've made a 25% honey malt and Belgian candy sugar starter ( 3/4 gallon) for 2 months feeding and oxygenating every 2 weeks. It is nor at 13.5 % from it original gravity - 1/4 inch if flocculated yeast at the bottom og its oversized 3 gallon carboy.

To reduce the ABV and finish fermentation of useable sugars, we are making a 5 gallon 1/2 ABV clone of Dogfish head to make a 5 gallon wort with double the hops ()to cover the 5 gallons of Coffee Quad we will mix. The hopes it to keep and adjust the fermentable sugars to about 15% or slightly less by adding the 3/4 gallon starter to the new wort and slowly merging i to the 5 gallons of Quad Stout during the first week of fermentation. m The remaining 10 gallons of Quad Stout will be standing by for further recipies, and a test bottling in its strong form by adding started to one of two five galling carboys.

Because of the dark malts, rye, oats, coffee, this does not smell or taste like a barley wine. It has immense body and coffee malt flavor.

I have never heard of a bottle fermentation of over 12% alcohol. The addition of 2 ponds bottling sugar is hoped to bottle condition this beer over several weeks, or perhaps months. Do you thionk it will work?
 
i would try to research if you can use a champagne yeast...some of them are good up that high and should have no problem chewing table sugar.
 
Not really sure your numbers are right on ABV but assuming they are right you need to use a yeast strain with alcohol tolerance at or above what the ABV is supposed to be. CBC-1 is probably ok as would be many wine yeast. My concern would be if your gravity readings are way off and you have a lot more fermentable sugars than you think then a yeast strain with high alcohol tolerance might create a lot more fermentation in the bottles than you expect.
 
i would try to research if you can use a champagne yeast...some of them are good up that high and should have no problem chewing table sugar.
About 5 years age we tried champagne yeast and in my experience it does not age well and can cause foaming. Not sure if it resorts to eating proteins or dead yeast. Right new I’m training a half gallon of WL 099 super high gravity in a 3 gallon carboy filling with pure oxygen, feeding it weekly with a smidge of nutrient and adding O2 by aura toon I stated it at 1.200 (16%} which I used raw sugar and honey 1:1 I agitate it twice daily and it’s been almost 4 weeks and it roars out apple when shaken. I took a read and it’s about 13% and still very lively. This Sunday I will add a small amount of LME in concentrated form with more o2 and a 1/4 tsp of nutrient. The week after is when we brew the wort to cut back the 18.5% which has mice up to 18,7 from an introduction of 4 ozs this super super starter. It will not likely go higher because of non fermentable sugar in the dark and adjunct malts and lactose. We will cut the 18.7 with the primary gravity of the half power Dogfish head recipe x2 hops at 1.5:1 to arrive at a finished target gravity.
 
Not really sure your numbers are right on ABV but assuming they are right you need to use a yeast strain with alcohol tolerance at or above what the ABV is supposed to be. CBC-1 is probably ok as would be many wine yeast. My concern would be if your gravity readings are way off and you have a lot more fermentable sugars than you think then a yeast strain with high alcohol tolerance might create a lot more fermentation in the bottles than you expect.

I agree and have considered that. A reason for using wine bottles. The original gravity could only be estimated because of the non fermentable adjuncts and lactose. The distillers yeast died because it was added dissolved and not up to a high alcohol content and it gave off stress odors akin to a saison as it tried to work through the alcohol. The new super starter is in its 4th week made with WL 099 at an oh of 16% honey and sugar now with 3% sugar and still healthy due toweekly oxygen and nutrient.
Of that original o g I believe with the warmer weather it can go no higher than 19% and there is not much movement but I will introduce another 4 oz plus another 4 this Sunday of the dense starter. The week after we will be adding the 2/5ths approx 7% wort also slowy add the stout as it becomes active in a two way enclosed transfer set up over the course of perhaps 3 days. It should ferment quickly but I intent to wait until the activity is near zero before adding the corn sugar and putting up in corked wine bottles
 
Back
Top