Big beers and attenuation: Am I ready for secondary?

[tubercle]

@timberati

@a10t2

If the sugars are unfermentable, the yeast can’t ferment them, by definition. No fermentation means no CO2.

Being a newbie, I have to ask then why add more yeast at bottling? Why not add just the priming sugar which ought to reinvigorate the remaining yeast?

A high gravity/alcohol brew will have very few (read:sufficient number) healthy yeast left. You can just add fermentables but it may or may not work. Adding fermentables plus a little fresh yeast is insurance for a successful ending to all the time, effort and expense in a high gravity brew.

[oscarvan]

[quote]I got brave and gave it a taste…  it tastes great!
[/quote]

’
'Nuff said. Enjoy.

[bonjour-user]

@timberati

Being a newbie, I have to ask then why add more yeast at bottling? Why not add just the priming sugar which ought to reinvigorate the remaining yeast?

With your beer, this should work.  But should is a word that implies probability, it may not work, though I think in your case it will.

For assurance, often more than need, additional yeast is added at bottling to MAKE SURE that you have enough viable yeast to carbonate your beer on bottling.  For really big beers I recommend force carbonating (in a keg) and then counter pressure filling the bottles (I use a beer gun).

As a rule of thumb, always give big beers more time to finish fermentation than you, especially as a newbie, think you should.  They often finish, but finish slow.  By the same token if you are bottle carbonating them, they will often/usually need more time to fully carbonate.

[miguelpanderland]

Is there a rule of thumb to go by for when you need to add yeast at bottling?  The OG on the barleywine I just brewed came in at 1.090.  How does one know?

[morticaixavier]

@miguelpanderland

Is there a rule of thumb to go by for when you need to add yeast at bottling?  The OG on the barleywine I just brewed came in at 1.090.  How does one know?

I am not sure of a ROT but i would think that as long as you are gonna give the beer some time to age in the bottle to avoid yeasty flavours it can’t hurt to add a little extra yeast at bottling. The yeast you use is not going to contribute noticiable character to the beer. so If in doubt add more yeast

[fishnabowl]

Please keep us updated on how this progresses after bottling. We made a mistake going big on our first beer with a RIS and it progressed quite similar to this. Tasted great even after bottling but then several weeks in the bottles it starting getting an apple flavor and intensified. After over a year in the bottle, that taste has subsided some. There is a great flavor sitting underneath that all but not very drinkable overall. I believe this to be acetaldehyde.

Funny that I taste that lingering in some big stouts now. Dogfish Head had a high amount of it when I tried it for the first time a few weeks ago. Lagunitas Imperial Stout and Cappuccino Stout but have traces of it.

Hoping the best results.

[wtrice (Will's Swill)]

@a10t2

But even if there a ton of unfermentables left here, that sure seems like a huge final gravity.  Adding yeast at this point seems like a sure recipe for bottle bombs…  Thoughts?

If the sugars are unfermentable, the yeast can’t ferment them, by definition. No fermentation means no CO2.

I guess I wasn’t expressing my thought well.  It seems to me that 1.040 is mighty high to be caused by unfermentables.  Maybe not?