Maybe my first dumper unless someone has some ideas

[OHIOSTEVE]

I attempted to make a big barleywine to join in on revvys 50th celebration. A simple recipe of 25 pounds of 2 row mashed @ 150 for 60 minutes. 120 minute boil with
3 OZ CENTENNIEL @ 90
1 OZ CENTENNIEL @ 60
1 OZ FUGGLES @ 30
2 OZ “CASCADE” LEAF @ 5 MINS
My OG was 1.102....I let it ferment down to 1.030 and it slowed way down so I racked it to a clean carboy..pitched a packet of red star champagne yeast and added 1.5 pounds of boiled table sugar.......a couple of weeks later ( without taking a gravity reading) I added in another 1.5 pounds of boiled table sugar. I have a steady gravity reading now of ( ready for this) 1.066.. I have swirled it around and heated it up and it MIGHT have dropped to 1.064 ( hard time reading the hydrometer) in the last 3 days. it tastes HORRID! Any ideas on salvaging this? I know time heals a LOT but I gotta get this gravity down to even be able to bottle it.

 

[johnnyo1977]

not sure about the recipe you are using. Did it call for that much sugar to be added?? If you had a og. of 1.102 that was all ready a high alcohol beer.

The one reason for the the gravity to stall out is: The alcohol % is so high to begin with and then you upped the amount of sugar to make it higher % and the yeast can not handle that much attenuation

 

[HerotBrewer]

Don't have a specific answer to your recipe, but I'm pretty sure the default answer is "Don't dump it."

 

[Mmenges]

What is the temp at? The only thing I can think of is to maybe try to make a starter using a yeast that has a high alcohol tolerance and pitch it when it's most active (high krausen). If you pitch yeast right out of a packet or vial even if it's a champagne yeast chances are it's not going to do anything.

 

[Revvy]

But why are you bothering to taste your beast so soon????? Sorry but barleywines take a long time to come together.

Have you pitched some champagne yeast?

I really would just work on bringing it down, and let it age for awhile. Then consider oaking it, perhaps some bourbon, or dry hopping it possibly.

But definietly don't toss it, and don't expect to be drinking it til this time next year MINIMUM.

And don't worry about how it tasts now. In fact stop tasting it. And don't think about bottling it for 6 months either.

Worst case you brew something else and blend it....But don't dump it.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

But why are you bothering to taste your beast so soon????? Sorry but barleywines take a long time to come together.

Have you pitched some champagne yeast?

I really would just work on bringing it down, and let it age for awhile. Then consider oaking it, perhaps some bourbon, or dry hopping it possibly.

But definietly don't toss it, and don't expect to be drinking it til this time next year MINIMUM.

And don't worry about how it tasts now. In fact stop tasting it. And don't think about bottling it for 6 months either.

Worst case you brew something else and blend it....But don't dump it.

yes pitched champagne yeast.. only tasted because I thought ferment had stalled ( it had) so i took a reading.

 

[jfr1111]

You might want to PM Zamial. He had a high gravity beer get stuck and used enzymes to get it down.

 

[passedpawn]

This isn't a wort fermentability issue. Enzymes aren't going to help because the sugars (sucrose) are already small-molecule sugars that should be easy for the yeast to break down.

You have a yeast issue. Seems to me you simply need to dump a few packets of re-hydrated dry yeast in there. Make sure to rehydrate since the high-alcohol will kill a ton of cells if you dump them in dry. This is also one time when a dry yeast starter might be appropriate. In the future, you might consider making a small beer first, then racking your barleywine onto the yeast cake (don't aerate, and don't forget the blowoff tube!).

I don't know what HORRID means, but if it is appley then more yeast, and time on that yeast, will help.

Finally, I don't know why anyone would suggest NOT tasting a beer. Since you should be checking gravity anyway, why the heck wouldn't you take a taste?

 

[crash1292]

save it to kill slugs

 

[blaster]

Did you try some serious aeration beyond swirling? You might also consider yeast energizer, which I find necessary to obtain high gravity with nongrape must or in your case wort. Yeast energizer may be a better option, in your case. It is a powder that contains a variety of nutrients that are necessary for wine yeast that may be lacking in in the wort. I'd probably go with 1/2 tsp per gallon yeast energizer, 1 tsp per gallon yeast nutrient, aerate it thoroughly and stand back. If that doesn't work repitch with a starter. If that doesn't work water it down some.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Did you try some serious aeration beyond swirling? You might also consider yeast energizer, which I find necessary to obtain high gravity with nongrape must or in your case wort. Yeast energizer may be a better option, in your case. It is a powder that contains a variety of nutrients that are necessary for wine yeast that may be lacking in in the wort. I'd probably go with 1/2 tsp per gallon yeast energizer, 1 tsp per gallon yeast nutrient, aerate it thoroughly and stand back. If that doesn't work repitch with a starter. If that doesn't work water it down some.

I have tried yeast energizer ..I do not want to aeriate the wort due to oxidation. I DO have a couple of lighter beers that are ready to go to cold crash. so I have an S-04 and a Nottingham yeast cake ready to pitch on if you guys think that would help. I have already however pitched the initial s-04 yeast cake... then the champagne yeast....so what issues will that cause.? btw thanks for the replys, I love the learning aspect of this hobby so this is just a learning experience for me for future reference.

 

[johnnyo1977]

i wouldn't worry about issues just mix the S-04 and Nottingham yeast cakes together and transfer the beer on top and cross your fingers.

 

[wyzazz]

I'm going to vote for some yeast nutrient and oxygenation. If that doesn't work then blend that bad boy!

 

[HexKrak]

You don't have to worry about oxygenation unless the yeast doesn't start back up. As long as it does it will eat that oxygen before any harm is done.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Just took another gravit reading....still at 1.064. I will try aeriation and maybe even a starter pitched at high kraussen.

 

[Ashz]

Just a silly question really, but are you sure the hydrometer is working correctly? Not cracked or something?

I agree that about the only thing wrong here is the yeast not being able to tackle what you asked it to. Assuming that the hydrometer is not broken, and the reading of 1.064 is correct, a large amount of slurry pitched should really be all that you need.

 

[HexKrak]

I'm guessing the alcohol content is too high for the yeast that he's been pitching. I'd be tempted to try a yeast developed for high gravity applications like distillers yeast or something designed for a tripple like wyeast 3787.

If the problem is actually unfermentable sugars (the less likely of the two normal problems) one could add some enzymes to help, like amylase.

 

[dlester]

Stalled yeast on high gravity beers are always a concern and deservedly so. Many homebrewers and microbrewers suffer the same fate. These type of beers require special handling and need a lot of yeast.

I have a suggestion; Break it into two batches, brew another beer and add the wort to the two batches to start a new beer. The alcohol content should be low enough to repitch new yeast to start over. Otherwise, your beer is a dumper. The gravity you mentioned is too high and too sweet to drink. I don't have any experience in blending a stalled beer, but my guess is that it won't work, it's too sweet. Just a guess.

Cheers

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

I racked a batch of wine to secondary and racked this beer over the wine slurry ( I also added some amylase a few days earlier) and it has been bubbling away for 3-4 days now. So it is SLOWLY grinding down to an acceptable FG. Hopefully it is drinkable.

 

[RM-MN]

Well, the good news is, you'll know if it turns out good in about a year.

 

[dlester]

I racked a batch of wine to secondary and racked this beer over the wine slurry ( I also added some amylase a few days earlier) and it has been bubbling away for 3-4 days now. So it is SLOWLY grinding down to an acceptable FG. Hopefully it is drinkable.

Good luck, keep us up to date. I'm interested on how this will turn out. Most everyone has had problems with stalled beers.

Cheers

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Well, the good news is, you'll know if it turns out good in about a year.

Hoping to have the intestinal fortitude to put this away for about 5 years before crackin any open. I doubt I will be able to stand it however lol.