stoutzilla almost ready

Truble · Dec 1, 2005

Well, my stoutzilla is almost ready to bottle. It is just about 3 weeks in the secondary. My question is, since I am anxious to bottle, whether aging another week in the secondary is better than that week spent in bottles. This is my first stout, and only my 3rd batch overall, so I am trying to decide what is the best course of action. It is named stoutzilla because I kind of went overboard (by accident) with the Extract and grains. a 5G batch that was supposed to come in at 1.070 or so came in at 1.090, with a FG at time of racking to secondary of 1.030. Not sure if that has any impact on how long it should be in the secondary. It was a lot bigger than I had intended. The flavor is also "strong", but it is mellowing. Should be tasty with a little aging.

Anyhow, any advice would be appreciated.

thx

andre the giant · Dec 1, 2005

I would take a new hydrometer reading and let that be your guide. I would imagine the FG should be below 1.020, although I could be wrong. I've never brewed a beer over 1.075.

If your reading is still around 1.030, your fermentation might be stuck, you may need to add more yeast to get it to ferment down a bit further.

david_42 · Dec 1, 2005

That big an ale a FG of 1020-1030 isn't out of line. My last barley wine started at 1092 and ended at 1028. I'd say take a reading and bottle it.

Truble · Dec 1, 2005

just took a reading-1.030 still. It is a little sweet, but I expected that given the amount of grains that I used. It is definitely mellowing out. I figured that I have nothing to lose by letting it ride another week. I have my recently ready red ale to keep me warm...one is sitting in front of me right now.

Another Q- is it ok to dilute a tad when bottling? I was thinking of adding just a little water at bottle time to thin the texture out a little...thoughts?

rewster451 · Dec 1, 2005

First off, I'd say that aging a beer that big will always help. I just made an Imperial Stout that came in just under 1.090, and when I racked to secondary yesterday it was at 1.030. I hope it will go down a bit more, but before I bottle it I plan to throw some champagne yeast in it. However, I don't intend to bottle it until March or so. Granted, Imperials are different, mainly because of the amount of hops used.
If you don't like your beer that heavy, you COULD dilute, I think. But make sure you use good water. Either boil water and chill it, or use bottled. Personally, I'd let it sit a while longer and not dilute it. This is your beer though, not mine. Either way, don't worry too much and it'll be great.

Truble · Dec 1, 2005

I don't want to dilute, but I am also NOT waiting until march. I plan on testing it at Christmas. I am also planning on using champagne yeast. How much do you pitch when you bottle? Afrer mulling it over, I think that I will NOT dilute at all. if people can't handle it, too bad. I like it. I'll have my pale ale and red ale if they want something lighter.