Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: First Try at High Gravity  (Read 1526 times)

Offline lizaambler

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 59
First Try at High Gravity
« on: June 05, 2017, 04:25:44 pm »
So I had a crazy brew day making this beer where the OG ended up being 1.10. Trust me... a lot of it was from DME; my pre-boil gravity (before DME) was 1.065. ANYWAY, I pitched two packs of English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) and didn't do a starter. There hasn't been much activity (this was Memorial Day) so I'm thinking I didn't use enough yeast. I should have done a starter on the two packs. So, my rookie question is, what should I do now? Yeast nutrient? Take a single pack of the same yeast and do a starter? Pitch a dry wine yeast? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Offline Bob357

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 895
  • Consensus means nothing to me. I am who I am.
Re: First Try at High Gravity
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2017, 05:20:49 pm »
If you're fermenting in a bucket or other non-transparent vessel and relying on the air lock as an indicator of fermentation activity you may be deceived by the lack of bubbling. Spray some sanitizer around the rim and lift the lid as much as necessary to see if you have krausen. Never rely solely on a bubbling air lock as an indication of fermentation.

With a beer of that gravity aeration/oxygenation is a must for yeast health. I will admit that I once pitched a single packet of US-05 into 4 gallons of wort at that gravity and no aeration with good results, but liquid yeast is an entirely different story.

If you actually have no active fermentation yet you may be able to save it by pitching an adequate starter at high krausen after vigorous aeration. This assumes that your sanitization was good. 

 
Beer is my bucket list,

Bob357
Fallon, NV

Offline lizaambler

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 59
Re: First Try at High Gravity
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2017, 06:31:33 pm »
I'm fermenting in an Anvil "ferment in a kettle" setup, so I can't see in. However, my sanitation has always been decent, with only one infection in 20 brews (only the last 8 were all grain.) So, if there is kreuzen, just leave it alone? If not, maybe stir up the yeast a little? If I end up having to pitch more yeast, what strain would you recommend? I can always check the gravity in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the response.

jrdatta

  • Guest
Re: First Try at High Gravity
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2017, 06:46:56 am »
If the krausen is going you can leave it along, but with a gravity that big WLP002 is going to have a tough time fermenting out.  You could let it go a few day for character and then pitch a neutral high attenuator like US-05 or WLP001 to dry it out.

Offline joelv

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 47
Re: First Try at High Gravity
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2017, 11:42:49 am »
Take a gravity reading. With two packs of yeast, some fermentation should have occurred (unless they were 2 years old or you pitched at 120 degrees or some other absurd example - but i just assumed these to be ruled out).

It's been about 9 days so the yeast should have done some fermentation. Checking the gravity will give you hints on what to do next. If it is in the 1.020-1.030 range, might be as good as 002 will go. If it's in the 1.050 range, probably stuck and may need additional yeast and nutrients. If it were me, I would make a starter with 001 or equivalent and pitch at high kruesen. I'd also keep the fermenter closer to the high end of the range after pitching the starter.

I'd have to bet that some fermentation occurred and the lid seal was leaking.  Question is how much and a gravity sample will answer it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk