In early Nov. 2009 I brewed a Big IPA. I used 10 lbs of dry light malt extract some specialty grains and atleast 3 oz of hops (I'll have to check my brewnotes when I get home). I used Safale S-04. I let the beer sit in the primary for 13 days, then racked it into a carboy for 16 more days. It has now been kegged for a little over 7 weeks and still tastes sweet. You can taste the alcohol right up front with lots of malt characteristics afterwards. The OG was a staggering 1.101, the gravity is now sitting at 1.03. I am wondering if the high alcohol content (9.7% abv as of right now) killed off my yeast too early.
I took this beer to my local brewclub meeting last night and heard a few different opinions on what to do with it. Some said to just leave it alone for a few more months, others said to throw some Safale S-05 and a bit of beano into it to try to restart the fermentation. When I pull up on the pressure relief valve some air does come out which makes me think the yeast may still be working. Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing. This is my first big beer and I didn't even think about needing to use a champagne type yeast due to the high alcohol content. The beer is drinkable, almost like a barley wine at the moment but the hops are undetectable, and there are no off flavors so I know I shouldn't have to dump it. Just wondering what the best route would be to salvage this beer. Thanks.
I took this beer to my local brewclub meeting last night and heard a few different opinions on what to do with it. Some said to just leave it alone for a few more months, others said to throw some Safale S-05 and a bit of beano into it to try to restart the fermentation. When I pull up on the pressure relief valve some air does come out which makes me think the yeast may still be working. Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing. This is my first big beer and I didn't even think about needing to use a champagne type yeast due to the high alcohol content. The beer is drinkable, almost like a barley wine at the moment but the hops are undetectable, and there are no off flavors so I know I shouldn't have to dump it. Just wondering what the best route would be to salvage this beer. Thanks.