high gravity extract brewing

[trickrick]

I am looking for input and info on high gravity extract brewing. I would like to brew some thing that is a"stay at home beer".

What HG extract beers have you brewed successfully?
What recipes and yeast worked for you?
Any tips and tricks.


All information is appreciated,
RICK in Michigan

[barley ben]

For an easy, quick answer, just add more extract to achieve the gravity you want. Just remember to add the same % more hops to balance it. As far as the yeast, The liquid brands make high gravity strains and if you check around you can find out what style they would work well with.

[Fast_Eddy]

Actually as gravity increases you have to add more hops to get the same % alpha utilitization.

[barley ben]

OK you got me there!!! Don't know what why that slipped my mind.

[wortchillergoal]

I have used Wyeast's Scot ale yeast with good results. I base my ingredients off of Charlie P's book. I have done some great bebarelywines that way.

[DreamWeaver]

I did an India Pale Ale awhile back that was one of my better brews. And IMHO, ya can't beat a good IPA. The great thing about Homebrewing is that you can tweek the recipe to your taste.
3 Gallons of tap water left out all night to de-chlorinate (in a 5 gallon brewpot), 1LB 60L Crystal Malt (steeped at 150deg for 45 min). 3- 3.3lb cans of John Bull Light Malt Extract, 2 lbs Light DME, 1LB Clover Honey, I even tossed in the .05lb priming corn sugar. 1oz Centenial Hops (9.1% Alpha) & 1oz Willamette (4.5%) @ 60min, 1.5 oz Fuggle Hops (5.3%) @ 30min, 1oz Kent Goldings @ 15 min (6.1%) & 1oz Fuggles @ 2 min. 1 teaspoon Irish Moss @ 15 min, Used WPL001 Ale yeast & added 11grams Nottingham rehydrated dry yeast because of the high gravity. Primary fermented in a 6.5 gallon plastic bucket for 7 days and secondary 6 gallon carboy for 7 days @ room temp then I put it in my basement for 3 days @ 58deg to clear. Then bottled for 3 weeks. It was good at two weeks but it was better at 3 weeks.
The basement thing was just using the current weather temps to experiment with clearing the beer and it seemed to work. Hops can be switched but the Alpha% is what is important. This was a good... great beer at about 7.8%ABV. My OG was 1.084 but I screwed up and added .5gallon of water and forgot to redo the hydrometer reading.
I just did this recipe again today and can't wait to taste this batch. Hope this helped! -DRWeaver-

[chris1kanobi]

How high are you thinking of going? You could go to about 9% with regular yeast and oxygenation methods, but if you want to go above that I would reccomend a big starter and pure oxygen or fish pump aireation device. Also, it will take much longer for the beer to ferment and mature.:D

[YamahaXS]

as with any high gravity beer, make sure you get a good sized yeast starter going.

[S.F.B.]

I have done a couple of high gravity beers recently. A Scotch ale that weighs in at 8.5%ABV and a Barley Wine at 12.5%. I pitched the S.A. with Wyeast 1728 Scottish ale yeast and then pitched the barley wine over that yeast cake. Both took around 10 days to ferment. I also aerated both with an aquarium pump. If you want to kick around the numbers for your IBU's and Gravity, go to the recipator, http://hbd.org/recipator/, and plug in some #'s. It does all of the calculations.

[Beerconnoisseur]

...is champagne yeast. You can use a normal beer yeast, like White Labs' Dry English Ale yeast (to 10% alcohol), then finish out with champagne yeast if you want to go higher than that.

[barley ben]

I have heard that that method works well but can't give you any personal experience since I have never done it.

[Fast_Eddy]

I recently read that using a three yeast cocktail is a good way to go:

1) Ale yeast
2) Lager yeast
3) Champagne yeast

I'll try to reread that section of book and see if I can give more info.

[trickrick]

Originally posted by S.F.B.
I pitched the S.A. with Wyeast 1728 Scottish ale yeast and then pitched the barley wine over that yeast cake. Both took around 10 days to ferment. I also aerated both with an aquarium pump. If you want to kick around the numbers for your IBU's and Gravity, go to the recipator, http://hbd.org/recipator/, and plug in some #'s. It does all of the calculations. [/B]

Is this some thing only used with high gravity beers that are hard to ferment ?
Do you pitch over the yeast cake in your secondary fermenter? Can you remove the yeast cake, store it and use it later? how long will it keep?

Hey, THANK YOU!! to all who have contributed their information and knowledge.

[toneyc]

In the December issue of BYO, there is an article on brewing big beers in which they discuss several available yeasts, including champagne yeast. In the Jan-Feb issue, Mr. Wizard rails against the use of champagne yeast because it produces a very dry beer.

:)
Toney.

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by trickrick
Is this some thing only used with high gravity beers that are hard to ferment ?
Do you pitch over the yeast cake in your secondary fermenter? Can you remove the yeast cake, store it and use it later? how long will it keep?

Replied to your e-mail.

[paul84043]

I made my barleywine from a St Pats kit using champagne yeast in both the primary and the secondary. It ended up being anything BUT a dry beer...very flavorful and smooth.

[Sunriver]

I have brewed a Imp stout that had a OG of 1.110 and it turned out OK. It still need some years on it to smooth it out though.

It ended up as a stuck fermentation so I added 2 more cultres of different yeast to kick start it after 3 days.

[Blkandrust]

Originally posted by YamahaXS
as with any high gravity beer, make sure you get a good sized yeast starter going.



What do you consider a "good sized" yeast starter?I use 1qt yeast starters,but i have not brewed a high gravity brew,YET.

[chris1kanobi]

For anything above 9%, I would reccomend using a previous yeast cake or brewpub slurry. A previous yeast cake, is like using a 5 gallon starter, and a gallon of trub from the local microbrewery would be like a 10-15 gallon starter. Basically, you can't pitch too much yeast into a big beer, and the more the better. On my last batch I pitched a previous cake and fermentation started in 1/2 hour. It was finished in 3 days, but I will leave it in the primary for at least 10.