Yeast Nutrient for Barley Wine?

[eon]

I am brewing a Barley wine tomorrow. I wanted to use Safale us-05 yeast but my LHBS is out of it! they have Nottingham dry yeast and Windsor dry yeast. Will those work instead?

Also, I picked up some yeast nutrient because this is such a huge beer. Should I use it? I'm only asking because I did a search for it on this forum and somebody said that yeast nutrient causes off flavors. I don't want that!!

Here is my recipe (Done in Beer Calculus):

OG 1.110
FG 1.027

23* SRM

78 IBUs

11.1% ABV
-------------------------------------------

9 lbs. Light DME
1 lbs. 2-row malt
8 oz. Ganbrinus Honey malt 20L
8 oz. Red Wheat
8 oz. Crystal 40L
8 oz. Crystal 80L
8 oz. Crystal 120L
8 oz. Biscuit Malt
4 oz. Special B
4 oz. Victory

1 lbs. Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (Add in fermenter after a couple of days)

2.00 oz. Centennial @ 90 minutes (FIRST WORT HOP)
1.00 oz. Summit @ 90 minutes
1.50 oz. Nugget @ 90 minutes
0.50 oz. Willamette @ 30 minutes
1.00 oz. Cascade @ 20 minutes
0.50 oz. Cascade @ 5 minutes
0.50 oz. Cascade @ Flameout

2 pkgs. Safale us-05 yeast

 

[soundsandsuds]

I would use the yeast nutrient, I always use it. I haven't heard of it causing off flavours, it should really do the opposite since it helps the yeast to get a healthy, unstressed fermentation.
I recall in some reading (either Microbrewed Adventures, Secrets from the Master Brewers or both) that a number of very good brewmasters always use yeast nutrient.

 

[eon]

Thanks! I forgot to ask, When do I put the yeast nutrient in? It does not say on my bottle.

 

[frazier]

Add it anytime, I usually toss it in with the Irish Moss.

 

[eon]

looks like I'm gonna go with the Danstar Nottingham. Think that'll work well in this barley wine?

 

[eon]

Just read on the yeast website that the yeast will produce an FG of 1.008. Is that what I want? In beer calculus it says OG 1.110 and FG 1.027

http://www.danstaryeast.com/products/nottingham-ale-yeast

 

[Revvy]

I'm sure the person who said that about yeast nutrient THINKS that is the cause of the off flavor, which more than likely is something way different entirely, a lot of folks come up with a lot of wild things, and post it when it rarely is the case.

I used yeast nutrient, yeast energizer and even added old bread yeast in the boil (yeast hulls) in my og 1.050 barleywine AND the yeast starters I made. In making a big beer you want to give the yeast as much help as you can. And those things, as well as plenty of o2 are really important to making a huge beer.

 

[rockfish42]

It can supposedly lead to an off flavor if you add too much, if you follow the package directions you should be fine.

 

[soundsandsuds]

Just read on the yeast website that the yeast will produce an FG of 1.008. Is that what I want? In beer calculus it says OG 1.110 and FG 1.027

http://www.danstaryeast.com/products/nottingham-ale-yeast

Those final gravities don't mean all that much. Those are describing a specific gravity beer, with specific quantities of fermentable sugars at a specific temperature. They'll give you a ballpark of what it's capable of.

If you're going with dry yeast on a big beer like that, pitching 2 packages is a good idea.

 

[eon]

I've never made a beer this big before. I was going to mash @ 150 degrees. Is this too low? I don't want a super dry barley wine. Not sure how long to mash for either. I have read on this forum people mashing for 2 hours! Not sure how my recipe will turn out but I'd like a barley wine that has flavors of sweet caramel, burnt sugar, dark fruits, and a tad boozy. We'll see! what do you think?

 

[shanecb]

I'd personally raise the mash temp a bit (152-153) because a like some body in a barleywine.

Also, don't worry about the yeast nutrients. I've used them before and never noticed anything I'd call an off flavor.

 

[rockfish42]

Here's a good guide for brewing larger beers,
http://beerdujour.com/Howtobrewabigbeer.htm
Also you might want to listen to the Jamil Shows on barleywines, or the Brew Strong episodes on bigger beers.

 

[eon]

Good article Rockfish! Although I'm still confused! What would be the best way to brew my recipe?