Interesting problem

[DeanMachine]

So this is my fourth beer, and it's a little kit I got from the local HB supply. It's a Scottish Ale.

He recommended to me that I should create a starter with the DME he gave me. Problem is, I didn't. I smacked the pack the night before and it swelled up. Then I just dumped the DME in with my wort when I added the liquid malt extract.

O.G. 1.090

It's currently bubbling like crazy @ 65*, but I want to make sure I have a high attentuation with an ABV in the 9-10% range.

Should I wait it out, or pitch more yeast just to be on the safe side?

 

[unionrdr]

Be patient & wait it out,since it's bubbling like crazy,it's still in initial fermentation. There are no short cuts in home brewing,only imaginary ones.

 

[foodplusbeer]

Personally, I wouldn't be too concerned since you already have good activity. Yeast are pretty damn resilient, they'll reproduce and eat that sugar up. You might stress them out a little more than if you did make a starter. Stressed yeast can produce more esters. It can also result in a high FG. But if you wait, you can take a gravity sample later and see how it ended up. If its an unbearably high gravity you can always pitch some more healthy yeast or a champagne yeast to finish it up. Just my .02.

 

[helibrewer]

With that OG you can expect around 1.022 for your FG with all extract, lower if part of the bill was corn sugar or other simple sugar.

 

[DeanMachine]

Is there any hurt in pitching MORE yeast, right now just to assure healthy, unstressed yeast cells?

 

[krazydave]

If it's bubbling like crazy, I doubt you'll need more at this point. But to answer you question, no, it won't hurt it to throw more in.

 

[DeanMachine]

Doing it tonight.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Doing it tonight.

why? if it's fermenting along there's no need to. more yeast won't get the FG lower, in fact, adding more yeast at this point will do little or nothing other than adding some more yeast cells. RDWHAHB, dude, and let your brew do it's thing.

 

[krazydave]

why? if it's fermenting along there's no need to. more yeast won't get the FG lower, in fact, adding more yeast at this point will do little or nothing other than adding some more yeast cells. RDWHAHB, dude, and let your brew do it's thing.

+1
I think you're perfectly fine the way it is and you wouldn't notice a difference in the final product if you pitched more yeast or not.

 

[DeanMachine]

Why wouldn't more yeast get the final gravity lower? Or at least gaurantee that it does?

I guess the reason I'm wigging out is because it's for club night at the NHC in Seattle this June. If anyone is coming you could come try it yourself!

 

[unionrdr]

It won't drive the FG down lower. Over-pitching isn't good either. Too many yeast cells,& they get weaker as they reproduce from insuficient food for the number of cells present. Besides,the yeast already in there will only eat the simple sugars. The long chain sugars are what make color,body,& Flavor/aroma. they can't be metabolized by the yeast.

 

[krazydave]

It wont get the gravity any lower that what the yeast that's currently in there will do.

Basically, you already have a good amount of active yeast, or it wouldn't be bubbling like crazy. Throwing more in there would be like bringing sand to the beach... lol

 

[madchemist83]

You won't get low FG. For high gravity beers you want to increase cell count first. Also if you use lots of extracts you might lack yeast nutrients.

 

[unionrdr]

I've never found the need for yeast nutrients myself. And I've used up to 10.5lbs of extract malts in a 6G beer before. Just need to aerate real well,ime. But yes,the higher the gravity,the higher the cell count basically.

 

[DeanMachine]

Thanks for all the help folks. I guess I just lacked some understanding as to what actually causes yeast to reproduce and stay healthy