I think I already know the answer but...

I know that you should not reuse a yeast cake from a higher gravity ferment to a lower gravity but what about from a high gravity to another high gravity?

details;
I have a 1 gallon batch of 1.110 in primary now, it will remain for at least another week or two. If I brewed a 5 gallon batch of the same wort and pitched to the cake would I be asking for trouble?

I am guessing the answer is yes but I though I would put it out there anyway.

I wouldn’t do it.  The yeast are already going to be pretty unhappy, so yeah, I think that would be asking for trouble.

You’d be better off pitching a lower gravity beer on that cake.

Is it a high gravity yeast or no?

no not high gravity yeast. just a wyeast british (Burton I think, no notes with me.)

So are you saying I could pitch a lower gravity wort on the cake from the BW? I though you were not supposed to pitch a lower gravity on a higher gravity cake? I will be doing this partigyle so if that is doable is still saves me a couple bucks. Not sure it’s worth it though.

High-gravity fermentations are stressful, period. So the rule of thumb really should be “don’t re-pitch from a high-gravity beer.” If you need to because of scheduling issues, I’d harvest about a third of what you need for the second beer, and build up in a low-gravity starter.

Sorry, I meant it would do better in a low gravity wort because it would be more gentle on the yeast, not that it was a good idea.  Like Sean said, the rule of thumb is to not re-use yeast from high gravity ferments.

Okay, In the compost with that yeast cake. Thanks