Heavy OG Wheat

[History2282]

I started a American wheat beer on 8-12 I decided to up the extract and tried to brew a high ABV beer:

6 lbs Bavarian Wheat Extract (double)
4 lbs Light DME (double

And I steeped 2 lbs of white wheat

The expected of the OG was 1.038-42 before the doubling. The actual OG was 1.090 at 80 degrees. I pitched two vials of WLP320 (Hef)

On 8-18 I took a measurement and stirred the yeast at the bottom of the carboy. The gravity was 1.043. I added yeast nutrients and checked the gravity today 8-21 and the gravity was now 1.020. The yeast has finally dropped to the bottom of the carboy.

Should I pitch more new yeast or leave the carboy to rest for another week and bottle at the 1.020 gravity? At that gravity what amount of priming sugar should I add on 5 gallons?

 

[fatnoah]

A couple of things the go over here.

First, with an OG of 1.090 and an FG of 1.020 I get an apparent attenuation of 76% which is the upper limit for that yeast strain according to white labs' website. That makes me think it is done fermenting, but a few stable hydrometer readings would be the clincher.

Second, in the future, I would consider pitching cooler than 80F. Again, according to white labs website that yeast prefers more the mid to upper 60s.

Third, according to Mr. Malty you probably still could have benefited from a starter with that OG assuming 5 gallons, or pitching a third vial.

Lastly, I would just use a priming sugar calculator that you can find online to figure out how much priming sugar you should use to bottle. Theoretically, the FG shouldn't affect that. That being said, I've had a few batches finish high (like this one you are describing) and I primed with the "right" amount and it was overcarbonated. So I would be a little conservative and use less sugar than is recommended. But, that is just my experience.

 

[History2282]

Thank you for the reply, Unfortunately my house stays at at temp of 79-80 in the summer so I usually wrap the carboy in a cold wet towel which helps to reduce the temp to 74-76 degrees. I have been doing all of my beers at this temp and it makes the yeast go quicker in the beginning. I am sure it adds some off flavors or bad alcohol types to the beer but I don't have another options until the wife gives the ok on a beer re-fridge.