Imperial Sierra Nevada (comments?)

[Goocher]

First post, total noob. I just finished brewing my second batch and I'm preparing for my third.

I originally was going to brew Midwest's Sierra Nevada clone, but have since decided to double the hops to 8oz and add an extra pound of light DME. It got me thinking though.... Why don't I just double the entire recipe to make an "Imperial Sierra Nevada" This would include 12lb Gold LME, 4oz Cascade, 4oz Perle (American), 1lb Caramel 10L, 1lb Carapils and Wyeast 1056.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ArtVandelay]

For double IPA styles it typically doesn't work out to just straight double a lighter recipe. If I were doing it, I would drop the carapils completely and maybe replace 1lb of the extract with corn sugar to make sure it finishes dry enough. 12 lbs lme is pretty high so you might want to drop that down to around 9.

 

[BendBrewer]

I would only use 10# of that LME and would get a starter going.

 

[Goocher]

Not to question somebody that's been doing it longer, but why would you drop the carapils and 3# LME? Just personal preference or you think I'll run into problems?

 

[wonderbread23]

Not to question somebody that's been doing it longer, but why would you drop the carapils and 3# LME? Just personal preference or you think I'll run into problems?

You'll have a hard enough time getting a big beer like that to attenuate without adding more non-fermentable sugars. LME typically already has malt like carapils in the mix, so there isn't any need to add any more... especially on a big beer.

 

[Goocher]

Awesome. That answers my question. I was kind of going for the "Double Dog Pale Ale" effect...

I've only brewed 2 batches (one bottled 5 weeks ago) and the other brewed last Sunday, dubbed my TEN beer. Brewed on 10-10-10 with 10oz hops and 10lbs LME.

 

[ArtVandelay]

And again, just my preference, but unless you are planning to pitch multiple wyeast packets or a starter, I'd just go with a dry yeast like US-05 for a big beer like that.

 

[alexdagrate]

And again, just my preference, but unless you are planning to pitch multiple wyeast packets, I'd just go with a dry yeast like US-05 for a big beer like that.

+1

US-05 and Wyeast 1056 are the same strain of yeast.

Unless you make a ridiculously huge starter, you'd get more cells out the dry 05 than you would out of the 1056.

 

[Goocher]

Huh, I didn't know the US-05 and the 1056 were the same strain. I'll make a starter for the US-05 tonight.

Would it be safe to pitch both of them at the same time?

 

[studmonk3y]

Huh, I didn't know the US-05 and the 1056 were the same strain. I'll make a starter for the US-05 tonight.

Would it be safe to pitch both of them at the same time?

You don't need a starter for dry yeast. Rehydration is fine. Starters are for liquid yeast. You can pitch both but why? If you already have 1056 make a big enough starter. See www.mrmalty.com for details.

 

[alexdagrate]

You don't need a starter for dry yeast.

+1

For really, really big beers, you can use two packets and rehydrate, then add in another packet at bottle to ensure bottle conditioning. But no started needed at all.

 

[Goocher]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Good to know I've got some people to rely on that won't chastise me for being oblivious.

 

[funkswing]

You also don't need to rehydrate it. Read the yeast package, y'all. Just sprinkle in the magic. If the gravity is >1.070 I might consider using two packages just to get the fermentation to start quicker.

About Cara-Pils. Its not a malt needed in high gravity beers b/c in a high gravity beer you already are using a bunch of malt. Cara-pils is for low gravity beers that want a perception of body. IMHO, its a pointless malt b/c there are so many other ways to get body that actually add complexity to the beer.

 

[rexbanner]

You don't need a starter for dry yeast. Rehydration is fine. Starters are for liquid yeast. You can pitch both but why? If you already have 1056 make a big enough starter. See www.mrmalty.com for details.

Sorry, this is just wrong. You don't need a starter for dry yeast if you pitch multiple packs. For a double IPA, or really any beers over 1.054, you should use a starter or pitch multiple packs.

I know you (OP) are new to this and there's a lot of info to take in, but one of the many factors in producing good beer is pitching enough yeast. Bigger beers need more. Starters are actually really easy to make but if you feel like keeping things simple, just use two packs of US-05.

 

[studmonk3y]

Sorry, this is just wrong.

How is this wrong? Its been pretty well established you don't make starters for dry yeast.
From mrmalty.com "Another case where you generally don’t want to make a starter is with dry yeast. It is usually cheaper and easier to just buy more dry yeast than it would be to make a starter large enough for most dry yeast packs. Many experts suggest that placing dry yeasts in a starter would just deplete the reserves that the yeast manufacturer worked so hard to build into their product. For dry yeasts, just do a proper rehydration in tap water, do not make a starter."
If the OP wants to pitch the proper amount of yeast he can use the yeast pitching rate calculator on the mrmalty website which is why I posted it.

 

[rexbanner]

How is this wrong? Its been pretty well established you don't make starters for dry yeast.
From mrmalty.com "Another case where you generally don’t want to make a starter is with dry yeast. It is usually cheaper and easier to just buy more dry yeast than it would be to make a starter large enough for most dry yeast packs. Many experts suggest that placing dry yeasts in a starter would just deplete the reserves that the yeast manufacturer worked so hard to build into their product. For dry yeasts, just do a proper rehydration in tap water, do not make a starter."
If the OP wants to pitch the proper amount of yeast he can use the yeast pitching rate calculator on the mrmalty website which is why I posted it.

I'm sorry, I misinterpreted what you were saying. This is exactly right.

 

[Goocher]

Just an update, I did pitch 2 (11.5g) packets of US05 and re-hydrated them only to realize afterwards that the packet says to sprinkle it in, oops. I brewed yesterday, but as of this morning, there is healthy fermentation.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[alexdagrate]

Just an update, I did pitch 2 (11.5g) packets of US05 and re-hydrated them only to realize afterwards that the packet says to sprinkle it in, oops.

No oops. You did the right thing. Relax, have a homebrew.

The packet says to sprinkle directly, but the product info on the fermentis website says to either rehydrate OR sprinkle directly.

Rehydrating the yeast means the beer will attenuate and the yeast will flocculate FASTER than if you were to simply add it in dry. That means there is less risk of contamination and it also means other positive benefits, which other HBTers are more qualified than me to list.

 

[funkswing]

Either way works fine. I have not heard (from a source I trust/believe) that rehydrating results in a different and/or better beer (in terms of attenuation, esters, whatever)

But I do know (and I trust myself) that sprinkling it in works great and has less risks of contamination from the rehydration process, as well as being easier.

Now start thinking of another beer to brew so you can let this one ferment for a long enough time!

 

[Goocher]

Cool!! Then I didn't screw it up. Good to know.

I have started thinking about the next batch. See this thread and help if you can.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/midwest-hop-sale-201482/