Beer Forum

What type of yeast should I add to a barleywine fermentation that is stuck.
The OG was 1.115 and after 4 weeks it stalled at 1.052. I think the yeast i used was less than ideal for how big of a beer this was. I pitched a large slurry of WLP007 (rinsed) from an IPA.

I would like some suggestions on what type of yeast to use. Any help would be great. Thanks.

The last high gravity That I brewed, we used a pitch of Wyeast Scottish that had already fermented a scottish 60 shilling, then a English style brown ale. So I guess I would get a yeast that is good for high gravity and make a starter to get it energized and pitch that starter into your Barleywine.

hope that helps -Pork

That's what I was thinking too. I'm just wondering should I go with the same type of yeast or more neutral one like 001?

My goto yeast when something like that happens is champagne yeast, rehydrate, make a small start an pitch.

CRBrewHound wrote:My goto yeast when something like that happens is champagne yeast, rehydrate, make a small start an pitch.

Agreed. Lalvin EC-1118 is a great neutral champagne yeast that can tolerate high ABV% and a low pH environment (ie your stuck barleywine). Make a pint sized starter and pitch it into your barleywine at high krausen. Add a small amount of yeast nutrient to the starter to, to ensure a healthy start. That sized starter should only take a few hours to reach high krausen so be ready to pitch!

You're only at 55% attenuation. That's the mother of all stuck ferments. With that in mind, desperate times take desperate measures. The way I see it, you have 2 options. Option 1: You can dump it. Option 2: And this is the one I'd do...make a 1L starter of WLP 001. I'd boil the wort for that starter or 10 minutes with a yeast nutrient that contains zinc...Wyeast and White Labs both make great nutrients. Then, I'd aerate the hell out of my beer and hope the new yeast can clean it up. The worst thing that can happen is I resort back to option 1, but at least I went down fighting.

Thanks for all the tips. I am going to make a 1 liter starter of WLP007 & yeast nutrient, give it some oxygen and hope for the best. Thanks again

I'm not sure that aerating is a good idea. The gravity has reduced already so there's a bunch of alcohol in there. Adding oxygen will oxidize the beer and cause a lot of unpleasant papery (as opposed to pleasant sherry-like) oxidation. Yes, the yeast will scrub oxygen out, but I'm not sure if there would be some irreparable damage caused by too much o2 at this point.