BrewingIsFun
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- Aug 23, 2020
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Dear fellow brewers
It is a pleasure to join this forum.
I am in the need of some sincere and prompt advice.
**Please excuse the use of English, should mistakes be present, as it is not my first language.
I have brewed a very high gravity stout during this lockdown phase (due to Covid, South Africa) with the intention of bottling and ageing the beer to celebrate the end of our current circumstances (when it does arrive). The initial high gravity was an ambitious goal, but the plan is to age the beer for a minimum of 12 months. I have two more weeks before I leave my current residence and would like to bottle. I am terribly afraid of bottle bombs (bad incident roughly 7 years ago) and I have no idea whether I should continue on and bottle or not.
I have made many beers and I have not had a similarly severe problem with fermentation since my first homebrew many years ago.
The stout had an original gravity of 1.115 and now sits at 1.04. (I know my efficiency is not ideal, Mashing Temp approx 66-68 degrees C)
The recipe is as follows:
5kg Pale Ale
750g Dark Munich
350g Dark Crystal malt (leftover from a long time ago, no idea of the L)
500g Medium Crystal Malt (leftover from a long time ago, no idea of the L)
300g Special B
700g Roast Barley
360g Black Malt
2kg DME
I brewed on the 20th of July 2020. It is currently the 23rd of August.
The initial fermentation was intense - stronger than anything I have ever seen before. The bucket has approx 7 litres of headspace, and I needed a blow-off tube!! It really did not stop its' intense bubbling for many days straight. It seemed normal (In timeframe if not intensity) and then calmed down. This was within the first week, give or take a few days extra.
It is winter now, and the temperature may have dropped a bit, but I have given the beer a heating pad (not meant for beer, but for reptile enclosures, and the beer has been happily sitting at 20-22 degrees C for the past three weeks... not sure whether this was a mistake or not, but I was desperate.)
I used three yeast strains when fermentation started to ensure that I do not run into any fermentation problems. This was my first beer aimed at an ABV above 10% (I have previously reached 10% using either dextrose or Honey in beer without any problems. The strains were as follows (All dried yeast):
One Pack LalBrew Abbaye Begian Style Ale Yeast. (Made a starter with this one)
One Pack LalBrew BRY-97 American West Coast Ale Yeast.
One Pack of Fermentis SafLager W34-70 (To get the ball rolling and to hedge against colder temperatures whilst still being able to cope with the higher temperature ranges)
(I normally split my beers into smaller 9l batches and then experiment with the different strains, hence the fact that I had many on hand. Making beer is my 'playtime')
I hoped that the one starter and two extra packs were enough. The yeast were all ordered and delivered two weeks prior and kept in the fridge- so I believe that they were 'fresh enough'.
Two weeks ago, the beer already having been agitated and still at 20-22 C, I added another pack of yeast to get the job done:
I made a starter with 750 ml boiled water, 50g DME and 15g of yeast nutrient. To this, I added Lallamand High-performance Ale Yeast (Nottingham) once the starter had cooled down. A day later, when it was hissing CO2 from the jar and presumably fermenting well, I added this into the beer.
It has been two weeks since and the Gravity is now at 1.037 (and I am not too convinced that further fermentation has taken place, I assume that the starter may have diluted the beer a bit) and I am out of options. I do not want to add champagne yeast as it may dry out the beer too much. Both the Belgian Style yeast and the Nottingham Yeast should be able to cope with an ABV of more than is currently the case.
The taste is a bit sweet, but no other off flavours present. I also believe that the big beer will be able to hide some off flavours, should they develop. The airlock activity is none.
I have bought special bottles and had labels made, as this beer is intended for a celebration or similar event. Give my investment of time, energy and excitement as well as the relatively shorter duration I have available to me before I either bottler or chuck the brew (that being two weeks), I must admit to no small degree of anxiety.
Any help or advice would be appreciated. Should you require more information or particulars, I will gladly provide the same.
It is a pleasure to join this forum.
I am in the need of some sincere and prompt advice.
**Please excuse the use of English, should mistakes be present, as it is not my first language.
I have brewed a very high gravity stout during this lockdown phase (due to Covid, South Africa) with the intention of bottling and ageing the beer to celebrate the end of our current circumstances (when it does arrive). The initial high gravity was an ambitious goal, but the plan is to age the beer for a minimum of 12 months. I have two more weeks before I leave my current residence and would like to bottle. I am terribly afraid of bottle bombs (bad incident roughly 7 years ago) and I have no idea whether I should continue on and bottle or not.
I have made many beers and I have not had a similarly severe problem with fermentation since my first homebrew many years ago.
The stout had an original gravity of 1.115 and now sits at 1.04. (I know my efficiency is not ideal, Mashing Temp approx 66-68 degrees C)
The recipe is as follows:
5kg Pale Ale
750g Dark Munich
350g Dark Crystal malt (leftover from a long time ago, no idea of the L)
500g Medium Crystal Malt (leftover from a long time ago, no idea of the L)
300g Special B
700g Roast Barley
360g Black Malt
2kg DME
I brewed on the 20th of July 2020. It is currently the 23rd of August.
The initial fermentation was intense - stronger than anything I have ever seen before. The bucket has approx 7 litres of headspace, and I needed a blow-off tube!! It really did not stop its' intense bubbling for many days straight. It seemed normal (In timeframe if not intensity) and then calmed down. This was within the first week, give or take a few days extra.
It is winter now, and the temperature may have dropped a bit, but I have given the beer a heating pad (not meant for beer, but for reptile enclosures, and the beer has been happily sitting at 20-22 degrees C for the past three weeks... not sure whether this was a mistake or not, but I was desperate.)
I used three yeast strains when fermentation started to ensure that I do not run into any fermentation problems. This was my first beer aimed at an ABV above 10% (I have previously reached 10% using either dextrose or Honey in beer without any problems. The strains were as follows (All dried yeast):
One Pack LalBrew Abbaye Begian Style Ale Yeast. (Made a starter with this one)
One Pack LalBrew BRY-97 American West Coast Ale Yeast.
One Pack of Fermentis SafLager W34-70 (To get the ball rolling and to hedge against colder temperatures whilst still being able to cope with the higher temperature ranges)
(I normally split my beers into smaller 9l batches and then experiment with the different strains, hence the fact that I had many on hand. Making beer is my 'playtime')
I hoped that the one starter and two extra packs were enough. The yeast were all ordered and delivered two weeks prior and kept in the fridge- so I believe that they were 'fresh enough'.
Two weeks ago, the beer already having been agitated and still at 20-22 C, I added another pack of yeast to get the job done:
I made a starter with 750 ml boiled water, 50g DME and 15g of yeast nutrient. To this, I added Lallamand High-performance Ale Yeast (Nottingham) once the starter had cooled down. A day later, when it was hissing CO2 from the jar and presumably fermenting well, I added this into the beer.
It has been two weeks since and the Gravity is now at 1.037 (and I am not too convinced that further fermentation has taken place, I assume that the starter may have diluted the beer a bit) and I am out of options. I do not want to add champagne yeast as it may dry out the beer too much. Both the Belgian Style yeast and the Nottingham Yeast should be able to cope with an ABV of more than is currently the case.
The taste is a bit sweet, but no other off flavours present. I also believe that the big beer will be able to hide some off flavours, should they develop. The airlock activity is none.
I have bought special bottles and had labels made, as this beer is intended for a celebration or similar event. Give my investment of time, energy and excitement as well as the relatively shorter duration I have available to me before I either bottler or chuck the brew (that being two weeks), I must admit to no small degree of anxiety.
Any help or advice would be appreciated. Should you require more information or particulars, I will gladly provide the same.
