I had my barley wine in the primary for two weeks. No activity through the >airlock. I racked it to secondary on Saturday and now it is actively >fermenting again. The primary is of the plastic bucket type and the >secondary is glass carboy (5 gallon). I did leave a little space and now >that is filled with bubbles. The OG was 1.133 and SG at racking time was >1.062. I have it under my steps in the basement and it is a little warmer >than it was a few days ago (10 degres F). Did I perhaps disturb the yeast >enough to get them going again? Slightly higher temps helping? Is this >normal for such a high gravity beer?--- Synchronet 3.17a-Linux NewsLink 1.108
Thanks.
The barleywine was underpitched, from the sound of it. BTDT. Take a
look at the pitching guides in books or on-line -- they aren't
fiction. You should have the equivalent of 8-10 slap packs of healthy
yeast. Wyeast is now selling "seasonal" yeasts that handle 14%
alcohol -- I'd be looking at something along those lines, and using
yeast starters to culture sufficient quantity.
I bottled a barleywine last weekend. It started at about 1.20 SG, and attenuated to 1.030 (the high amount of sugar left in your BW is
another clue that you pitched insufficient yeast). It bubbled nicely
though primary and nicely through secondary. Earlier editions of the
same recipe, with less yeast, didn't.
I used two slap packs of Wyeast Imperial, IIR. Each was doubled in a
2L flask, and that yeast was then multiplied again in 3L starters.
Earlier edition used London yeast (IIR) simply doubled in the 2L
flasks, and this was never sufficient for barleywine (too high FG, no
foam after bottle conditioning).
Think of yourself as a yeast babysitter, because that's what a
high-gravity brewer is.
Eelloin
Eel Loin <eelloin@yahoo.com> wrote in >news:ub3st4tqv8k1an9srosmv159k3f854ktc2@4ax.com:--- Synchronet 3.17a-Linux NewsLink 1.108
The barleywine was underpitched, from the sound of it. BTDT. Take a
look at the pitching guides in books or on-line -- they aren't
fiction. You should have the equivalent of 8-10 slap packs of healthy
yeast. Wyeast is now selling "seasonal" yeasts that handle 14%
alcohol -- I'd be looking at something along those lines, and using
yeast starters to culture sufficient quantity.
I bottled a barleywine last weekend. It started at about 1.20 SG, and
attenuated to 1.030 (the high amount of sugar left in your BW is
another clue that you pitched insufficient yeast). It bubbled nicely
though primary and nicely through secondary. Earlier editions of the
same recipe, with less yeast, didn't.
I used two slap packs of Wyeast Imperial, IIR. Each was doubled in a
2L flask, and that yeast was then multiplied again in 3L starters.
Earlier edition used London yeast (IIR) simply doubled in the 2L
flasks, and this was never sufficient for barleywine (too high FG, no
foam after bottle conditioning).
Think of yourself as a yeast babysitter, because that's what a
high-gravity brewer is.
Eelloin
Thanks for the tips. I did use two packs of dry yeast which I rehydrated, >but did not use a starter. It was also cold for part of the primary, so >that slowed things down too. The secondary is settling down quite nicely. >I took a reading about two weeks ago and it was down to 1.040.
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