Highest OG to start fermenting?

[anotherbeerplease]

I just brewed a stout, OG is 1.129. I am hoping that's not too high to throw yeast into? I don't want a finish at 1.040...

 

[Dgallo]

I just brewed a stout, OG is 1.129. I am hoping that's not too high to throw yeast into? I don't want a finish at 1.040...

If you made a good starter it will not be a problem getting started, The possible problem will be finishing. What yeast did you use and what was your mash temp? The reason I ask is You needed to use a high alcohol tolerant yeast strain. If you finish at 1.040 you’ll have about an 11.5 ABV so if you want it to finish lower than you need one that can tolerate that. Your final gravity will also Be effected by mash temp. If you mashed higher 154 or better, you’ll have extracted more complex sugars that the yeast can not convert and end up with a higher FG.

 

[anotherbeerplease]

Mash was 146 for 90min. During boil I separated a gallon and boiled down into a thick syrup and readded, I think that's where I forgot to take into account for the OG. Anyways I'll just see what happens... Yeast is WLP 500 and planning on pitching Super High Gravity WLP099 in a few days

 

[Qhrumphf]

WLP099 will definitely attenuate it. But WLP500 probably will on its own as well.

Heavy caveat, I threw WLP099 (the one and only time I'll use it) into a Barleywine and it ate it WAY down. IIRC it went from 1.110 to 1.004 or something like that. And this was mashed at like 154.

Later learned White Labs has added it to the list of STA1 yeasts (ie having S. cerevisiae var diastaticus genetics). And it certainly behaved like diastaticus the one time I used it.

So, that may not be the result you want.

 

[anotherbeerplease]

Wow okay, thanks for the info. Was the flavor of the Barleywine okay despite the dryness?

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I recently brewed a Wee Heavy that started at a very similar OG. I poured it onto a yeast cake of Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale and that yeast was unable to fully attenuate. My FG was 1.038. I had to use champagne yeast to prime. The beer was too sweet for me. I don’t consider it one of my successes.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Wow okay, thanks for the info. Was the flavor of the Barleywine okay despite the dryness?

Thin and boozy. Not what I wanted. Hence why it was my first and last go with that yeast. I tossed some Brett and oak in there in a last ditch to salvage. I still have almost all of it 6 or 7 years later. It never got better. One day I'll just dump the rest of it.

 

[kevin58]

The gravity at which you pitch yeast is not as important as whether the yeast can tolerate the alcohol that will be developed. The key to fermenting high alcohol beers is to... use yeast nutrient... make a starter with an appropriate cell count for the beer you're making... and aerate/oxygenate well. Very well. It won't hurt a big beer that size to aerate/oxygenate once before pitching the yeast and again about 12 - 18 hours later.

 

[anotherbeerplease]

Cool thanks guys. It's def fermenting a lot now. So I'm gonna reoxygenate it today and maybe throw some more nutrient at it as well.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

The gravity at which you pitch yeast is not as important as whether the yeast can tolerate the alcohol that will be developed. The key to fermenting high alcohol beers is to... use yeast nutrient... make a starter with an appropriate cell count for the beer you're making... and aerate/oxygenate well. Very well. It won't hurt a big beer that size to aerate/oxygenate once before pitching the yeast and again about 12 - 18 hours later.

Hi Kevin, I always find myself fascinated by those variables that people “know” to be true. I think that bias doesn’t just affect perception of how the beer tastes, but even our processes. My personal process bias is that more primitive processes will make better beer, so I find adding pure oxygen into my wort distasteful and have certain rationale that support my claim. I’m certainly not disputing what your saying about oxygenation as wrong. Here’s a Brülosophy exBeeriment that depending on who reads it could be read to support either side of the argument.

 

[505-Brewer]

You will want some residual body to balance that big of a beer. If you can get to 1.030 or 1.035 that should be fine. You could also get some enzyme to help further breakdown your wort. A common use for enzyme was to help along big beers (RIS, B Wine) before the BRUT ipa craze came along. Ramp temps to high end throughout fetm is another solid strategy. Good luck.

 

[anotherbeerplease]

Think I'm gonna pitch the 099 anyways, why not, and also add 7-10lbs additional sugar during ferment and see what happens. Who knows where it will finish but should be a nice slow fireside sipper for many years to come.