Beer Forum

Hey Guys,

So I brewed my first barleywine using the recipe from brewing classic styles (American Barleywine). I added some extra 2 row since I have trouble with big brews. Also had to add some DME to my preboil volume to get the gravity right. OG came in at 1.120 vs 1.115 recipe value, but figure that was close enough. Mash temp was 148-150 for 90min.

I repitched Cal Ale yeast from an IPA that had just been kegged. I rinsed the yeast with sterile water and pitched more than I thought was sufficient based on Mr Malty's pitching calculator. I oxygenated and fermentation started quickly at 68F. I held it there for a week and ramped it up to 74F over the next week holding steady with a controller (no big temp swings). Haven't seen any activity for over a week (been 4 weeks total) and kegged it tonight fearing the yeast would start to go bad soon.

Unfortunately. the FG was really high (1.040) compared to the 1.022 recipe estimate. Even if I add some extra FG for my higher OG, it's still higher than it should be. Definitely taste some sweetness, but no off flavors. I think once it's carbonated, the sweetness would be tolerable. Also, the beer was slighlty cloudy.

Should I pitch some champaign yeast or other yeast to try and get the FG down, or just carb it up and age it?

Thanks for the help. Brew Strong!

I don't think the beer was done doing it's thing.

spiderwrangler wrote:I don't think the beer was done doing it's thing.

So did I screw myself by racking off the main yeast cake or should I just add an airlock to my keg and just use that as a secondary? If I let it go another week and it doesn't budge, would you recommend adding more yeast?

Skip the champagne yeast and pitch an active and healthy dose of lager yeast.

Very high OG beers can be a real pain in the ass to get them to dry out appropriately. My last Old Ale went from a 1.109 down to a 1.037 only. I even pitched two different active starters into the beer never really attenuating any more. Finally just pitched some a sour vial to make a quasi-oud bruin. I properly aerated, mashed around 148F, pitched more than enough yeast, and even used some simple sugar to help the beer finish out.

What was the OG of the IPA that you washed and reused your yeast from? If it was on the stronger side, than the yeast might have been a bit pooped out from fermenting that first batch. I would try what Afterlab said - just pitch a small highly active starter (you could even do it directly in the keg as the activity will not be ferocious) and give it some time. If you do it in the keg, be sure to relieve the pressure daily or more to allow the yeast to continue working. Give it two more weeks after pitching and take a gravity to see if you gained any more points. Don't be alarmed if you don't.

If you are still stalled at 1.040 or so, then you have three options

1. carb it up and drink as is
2. brew a beer with a lower FG and blend the two
3. add some brett or sour blend and let it ride for an interesting future

Thanks for the tips. I'll pitch a starter using a new vial and see if that helps at all. If not, Ill probably filter or fine it, split it into 2 batches carbing 1 and adding some brett to the other (something I haven't done before). Do I have to let the brett do it's thing before carbing it? What is a typical time for the brett to work? Any special conditions needed for the brett (temp, starter, etc)?

The IPA was 1.068 OG, so fairly big.

I think it was done. With a gravity that high you need to mash low and long, like 147 for two hours, and even with that your FG is going to be fairly high. Pitch more yeast by all means but I don't think you'll get any additional attenuation. At least not more than a point or two.

Also, with a beer that large you can't really pitch enough yeast. When I do those I brew a five gallon "starter" batch of a lower gravity beer and pitch the big one on the entire yeast cake.

MotterFocker wrote:Thanks for the tips. I'll pitch a starter using a new vial and see if that helps at all. If not, Ill probably filter or fine it, split it into 2 batches carbing 1 and adding some brett to the other (something I haven't done before). Do I have to let the brett do it's thing before carbing it? What is a typical time for the brett to work? Any special conditions needed for the brett (temp, starter, etc)?

The IPA was 1.068 OG, so fairly big.

If you are planning on racking to a keg, then I would rack your plain batch and purge it to release any oxygen introduced and just to seat the lid well. Then let it age for a while before carbonating it.

For your brett batch, add your brett to the keg, then rack the beer into the keg following the same procedures as above. You want to try to keep the bretted batch anywhere from 60-70 deg F for at least 6 mos with a final gravity so big (1.040). You do not need a starter, but Wyeast offers more brett cells than the typical White labs vials do. I would not carbonate your BW before/during adding the brett. Just make sure your keg is purged of oxygen.