ok tons of mistakes...

[TheCollector]

You guys think 8 should pitch the other pack of yeast I got in the mail? Then wait another 2 weeks then secondary. Then add the champaign yeast 3-4 days before bottling?

 

[TheCollector]

Anybody?

 

[Ogri]

You guys think 8 should pitch the other pack of yeast I got in the mail? Then wait another 2 weeks then secondary. Then add the champaign yeast 3-4 days before bottling?

Hasn't there been any noticeable change in SG since you last posted about this batch?

Can't really offer any advice without a bit more detail on the current situation.

 

[TheCollector]

Well I have not taken another reading but it sure never got really vigorous. I could take a reading tonight

 

[phineascoates]

Its a bit tricky to make some beer,you always have to completely and carefully follow some guidelines and directions in doing so. But,is there any other options to make just in case you made the wrong one or you skipped following one of its directions or guidelines?

 

[Ogri]

Well I have not taken another reading but it sure never got really vigorous. I could take a reading tonight

OK, it's only been in primary for 10 days (?), hasn't it?

If you're feeling really impatient:fro: (or just concerned that nothing has happened, yet) go ahead, open the fermenter, have a look to see if there's any signs of a krausen ring. Take a sample and do a hydrometer test whilst you are at it. Then come back and let us know where your Specific Gravity is now.

Ten days is still way too early, in my book, to be even thinking about racking an Imperial Stout off the yeast cake as there's so much, visually undynamic, action going on that will help your beer turn out the best it can.

 

[TheCollector]

Oh no no you misunderstood me. I'm patient. I won't move it from primary for at least 3 weeks. So I'm gonna take a reading tonight and see what it looks like and where its at. But say it measures high......should I just sprinkle or rehydrate? Thanks for all your help btw

 

[Ogri]

But say it measures high......should I just sprinkle or rehydrate?

Either of those methods would be fine, if needed. Rehydrating the yeast would be the better/most efficient of the two.

Thanks for all your help btw

A pleasure

 

[TheCollector]

Well I opened it 3 nights ago and added that other yeast. So l opened it last night for a reading. It's at 1.012 or 14 ...it was supposed to finish at 1.020.... Maybe I'm reading it wrong but I guess fermentation is done

 

[TheCollector]

Look ok?

 

[Ogri]

Looking good. Some yeast rafts on the surface and signs of a krausen ring.
Another week, or so, with lower temps towards the end of the week should see the yeast rafts sink. Check then to see if your SG is the same as now. If it is you could bottle and condition for a decent amount of time. If SG has dropped again from the present reading you'd better take another a couple of days After that to see if it has stabilized, then if it has you could bottle. Bulk aging in secondary is also an alternative should you feel it necessary, although you can get just as good, if not better (less risk of incurring an infection or oxidization if you don't transfer to secondary), results by leaving it in primary for quite an extended period.

I take it you added the other pack of BRY-97(?).

By the way, if my calculations are correct (using the estimated OG from beercalculus for your fermentables, with your reported FG, so 1.077 and 1.012), I'd say you've got an ABV of about 8.5%, as is, so using some of the champagne yeast to help carbonation might be a good idea, unless you can get verification that the BRY-97 can handle that high an ABV.

Having said that, are you sure your hydrometer is accurately calibrated?? Your FG seems remarkably low considering the fermentables used.

 

[fizgig]

looks normal to me.

 

[TheCollector]

Can I bottle half of this beer and secondary the other half in a 5 gallon better bottle? Just use half as much priming sugar? Would the extra air space in the better bottle cause problems?

 

[Ogri]

If you bottled half and racked the remainder into a 5 gallon carboy/better bottle I suspect there'd be too much head-space, plus you'd be lacking the protective CO2 blanket that was there during primary, so leaving the beer prone to some wild yeast/bacteria to get in there and start an infection. Having said that, your brew should be relatively high ABV, which should offer a certain amount of protection against infection. A 3 gallon secondary vessel MIGHT be a different story. Personally, I wouldn't recommend doing a secondary anyway. Just bottle the lot and keep the half you were going to secondary in a cozy, dark place for a few months. That should age the beer nicely, even if not in quite the same way as bulk aging might have.

Just my honest opinion.

 

[TheCollector]

Ok ogri ill take your advice then and just bottle it Saturday