Yeast for 16% ABV

[urg8rb8]

Will Danstar's Nottingham dry yeast get me to the desired 16% ABV barleywine? What if I use two or three rehydrated packets of it?

 

[Likefully]

I have little experience here, but what I understand is a yeast strain can or can't handle a certain alcohol level - it doesn't matter how much you pitch.

I think something like WLP 530 is a better bet http://www.whitelabs.com/yeast/wlp530-abbey-ale-yeast

 

[VincentxH]

You can read on this forum that you'll at least make it to 14%. You can always add a champagne yeast starter for the final push.

 

[hannibalmdq]

You can read on this forum that you'll at least make it to 14%. You can always add a champagne yeast starter for the final push.

Doesn't champange yeast just eat simple sugars? I would expect the wort to be completed depleted of fructose/sucrose/glucose by the end of the brewers yeast fermentation.

Something like WLP099 (high gravity brewers yeast) which is good to 25% might be more appropriate to finish out a high gravity malt fermentation. Just be sure to pitch the starter at full krausen.

All that being said, I think that Notty might be able to handle 14-16% provided an appropriate pitch rate. It's a beast. You may consider re-yeasting at bottling time with a champagne strain if you want to guarantee carbonation, but given that it's a barleywine, I would expect it to carb up okay over an extended aging period.

 

[sablesurfer]

I have a 10.5% BW going on fourth week in primary and used three packets of Nottingham. The thing with getting that 75% attenuation is it still leaves a FG in the 1.034 range. If you are going for 16% then you FG could turn out much sweeter than mine is at the moment.

 

[urg8rb8]

I have a 10.5% BW going on fourth week in primary and used three packets of Nottingham. The thing with getting that 75% attenuation is it still leaves a FG in the 1.034 range. If you are going for 16% then you FG could turn out much sweeter than mine is at the moment.

Did you add all three packets at the same time or separately (like every other day)? My ingredients, as you could imagine, has a large grain bill along with four pounds of sugar. I'm considering letting the yeast ferment out the grain sugars first then adding the simple sugars afterwards into the primary.

 

[sablesurfer]

Did you add all three packets at the same time or separately (like every other day)? My ingredients, as you could imagine, has a large grain bill along with four pounds of sugar. I'm considering letting the yeast ferment out the grain sugars first then adding the simple sugars afterwards into the primary.

I rehydrated and pitched them all at same time. Also, totally forgot to use any nutrient to help out.

 

[hannibalmdq]

Did you add all three packets at the same time or separately (like every other day)? My ingredients, as you could imagine, has a large grain bill along with four pounds of sugar. I'm considering letting the yeast ferment out the grain sugars first then adding the simple sugars afterwards into the primary.

This strategy would actually play to using a champagne yeast to ferment out the simple sugars.

Let the notty go to town on the lower OG malt wort, then feeding it the simple sugars as the first activity dies down. You'd then be confident that any sugar the notty couldn't handle would get cleared up by the champange yeast.

 

[VincentxH]

It's not a question of complex sugars or not ( which are only present in small amount), but mostly a question of alcohol tolerance.

 

[hannibalmdq]

It's not a question of complex sugars or not ( which are only present in small amount), but mostly a question of alcohol tolerance.

Completely agree. My point was if he was worried about the ABV tolerance of Notty, then having it chew through a lower OG malt wort before adding the bulk of his simple sugars isn't a terrible strategy.

All the Notty-fermentable complex sugars would be gone by that point, and if Notty fails to bring the sugar additions down because the ABV gets too high then there are a number of other options for re-pitching that will ensure complete attenuation of the added simple sugars.

 

[urg8rb8]

Completely agree. My point was if he was worried about the ABV tolerance of Notty, then having it chew through a lower OG malt wort before adding the bulk of his simple sugars isn't a terrible strategy.

All the Notty-fermentable complex sugars would be gone by that point, and if Notty fails to bring the sugar additions down because the ABV gets too high then there are a number of other options for re-pitching that will ensure complete attenuation of the added simple sugars.

Yes, I think that is the strategy I will take. I feel like it would be easier for spent yeast to eat through simple sugars then malt sugars.

I'm also planning to use cognac soaked oak chips in secondary. But I also want to bottle carbonate this. Luckily, barleywines all low carbed.

 

[urg8rb8]

I'm concerned about something else. Let's say Notty gets me just shy of expected attenuation. Then I add champaign yeast with priming sugar then bottle. I'll get bottle bombs if the champaign yeast finished where Notty left off then eats through the priming sugar. Instead, should I use Notty ass far as I could take it, then use oak in secondary, then add champagne yeast and let it ferment out anything Notty couldn't then add priming sugar then bottle?

 

[VincentxH]

The risk with feeding sugar later, is the same as with step feeding though. You may strain the yeast creating off flavours. Though I have no experience with that . But urg your steps seem fine to at least prevent bottle bombs. Though I'd add oak after the champagne yeast for better flavour control. There are also great YouTube vids for oven toasting your oak.

 

[urg8rb8]

The risk with feeding sugar later, is the same as with step feeding though. You may strain the yeast creating off flavours. Though I have no experience with that . But urg your steps seem fine to at least prevent bottle bombs. Though I'd add oak after the champagne yeast for better flavour control. There are also great YouTube vids for oven toasting your oak.

I just read an article that said that feeding creates less stress is fed before yeast finishes off the sugars its in.

http://beerandwinejournal.com/feed-3/