How low can you go?

[jerrylotto]

I brewed my bourbon stout recipe and hit an OG that was a record conversion efficiency for me after fooling with my crush and iterating the mash. Starting at 1.141, I pitched 2 pkts Safale S05 and now, after about 2 weeks, it is down to 1.055. Each morning the gravity is about 2-3 points lower so something is still happening. I had always planned on three weeks for the fermentation but what is the terminal ABV for this yeast? How much attenuation can I expect before it all gets killed off? Given the high initial gravity, should I pitch some neutral wine yeast like a Chardonnay strain when it stalls to finish it off? Fermentation temp has been 65F.

 

[eric19312]

How about WLP099? I don't have personal experience with it but data sheet looks promissing. 15% ABV tolerance and reports of getting to 25%. 80-100% attenuation.

It is STA1 positive so I'd want to be careful if bottling. I would keg it but if I had to bottle I'd probably start checking the bottles after about 4 weeks and then get the beer into cold storage once it is carbonated to your liking.

 

[jerrylotto]

How about WLP099? I don't have personal experience with it but data sheet looks promissing. 15% ABV tolerance and reports of getting to 25%. 80-100% attenuation.

It is STA1 positive so I'd want to be careful if bottling. I would keg it but if I had to bottle I'd probably start checking the bottles after about 4 weeks and then get the beer into cold storage once it is carbonated to your liking.

I would be pretty nervous introducing a diastaticus variant into the mix although I do plan to keg. I'm more concerned about sanitizing equipment after brewing - I had to resort to ozone to sterilize everything after using a Brett yeast.

 

[hottpeper13]

I would increase temp to 68-70 to finish up. Those big brews need 4 weeks to finish at least.

 

[jerrylotto]

After a few days at 70F, I caved, cooled back to 67F and pitched a vial of WLP099. Let the good times roll...

 

[hottpeper13]

It's gonna be something I keep tabs on so report beck. The only times I've repitched was with a starter at high krausen and with great success.

 

[jerrylotto]

Final gravity was 1.036 (ABV 14.3, stable for 5 days). It is tasty but alcohol hot as you could well imagine. I think that the next time I brew this, I'll target an OG of 1.130 which seems to be the right starting point for a pure S05 fermentation. It is chilling in the keg now.