Help with Champagne Yeast.

[greenandgold]

Making an Imperial Stout and the kit can with champagne yeast to add when transfering to the secondary. I left in the primary 2+ weeks and fermentation was done. Transferred to the secondary and just dropped in the package of dry yeast.

It did little as far as I can tell and only dropped the FG by a point or two down to 1.030 from original of 1.085 in the past 2 weeks.

Should I have rehydrated? Made a starter?

I'm thinking about dropping in more Champagne yeast but doing a starter first since I've still got a couple of months before bottling.

Any advice or thoughts about using a starter vs rehydrating vs adding dry?

 

[david_42]

Champagne yeast is there to improve the head formation, mainly. For reasons I don't understand, it makes for very small bubbles while carbonating. It will dry the ale out a little more, but it can take months as champagne yeast is very slow acting.

 

[PT Ray]

With an O.G.of 1.085, any ale yeast would do all by itself, no biggy adding the champagne yeast but would refrain from any further additions. Only time I used the stuff myself was in some meads over ten years ago and those I just let them do there thing over many months before bottling. In your case I would take the same approach and work on something else in the mean time.

 

[greenandgold]

Thanks guys. More time it is. I'll just have to occupy myself by brewing tomorrow.

 

[dantodd]

As David said, I'm pretty sure the champagne yeast is primarily for the nice fine head when bottle conditioned. Not seeing your recipe I'd expect FG closer to 1.025 than 1.030