Charlottesville Area Masters of Real Ale

 
My seventh batch, a Black Cherry Wheat got an ABV of 5.05%.

My eighth, a Porter is a respectable 4.52% ABV. 

Time to test the advertised truism, that homebrew gives you less of a hangover!

I am stoked and soon to be stoned!

Congrats on all the batches.  Sounds like you are cranking them out.

What do you mean by a proper ABV batch?  Were you having problems before?

Lots of them, mostly SG issues that I have worked out with help from others, like Evan and Greg (Spidey)

Thanks.

Since you asked, I would appreciate advice on where I am now.

I have been having trouble getting SG high enough.  That problem is solved.  Now I may run into another problem.

If I raise SG to say 1.055-6 and am getting the FG down below 1.020 I am great, but I expect I may have trouble sometimes with poor yeast efficiency.

If this happens, do you recommend I:
1 use more than 1 yeast pack to start
2 use liquid yeast to start
3 repitch if FG is too high after is stabilizes?

I started using standard Munton's dry yeast.  I learned firsthand, and hat it confirmed that this yeast can be insufficient.  Now I have tried Munton's Gold, Safale 05 and 06 and Windsor std yeasts.  All have done good, but FG still at 1.020.  I want to get it just a wee bit lower to:
1 avoid potential for bottle bombs
2 increase ABV to 6% or close
3 avoid adding so much sugar in raising SG in my goal of getting higher ABV

I do not want some silly 8% frankenbrew/Cool Colt 45 monster.  I know the effect this can have on taste.  My first 3 batches were near 2% ABV and that is like rootbeer.

Is this a reasable goal, or should I not expect to be able to attain more than 5% on a good brew?

Sorry I missed you at the meeting last week.  It was my first.  Good dudes all around.  I live in Ruckersville, so I may not be a regular.  I would certainly participate in any tastings, special events, or meeting topics that would be educational for my neophyite self.

Tweaker = Mike

Some people say that the key to brewing is making a nice environment for the yeast, and there is something to be said for that.  If the conditions are not right for the yeast, it might not ferment at all, or the yeast will be strained in an unhealthy way affecting the flavor of the beer and effectiveness of the strain.

I used to not be a fan of dry yeast, but the quality of it has changed dramatically over the last 10+ years for the better.  I used the Safale 05 on my batch last weekend and that was a robust porter weighing in at a 1.071 OG.  All I did was pour the packet directly into the fermenter (didn’t even re-hydrate it) and it was down to a 1.019 in a couple of days.  Not I think seriously about using the Safale anytime a recipe calls for Cal Ale.

I guess I have three things to say about yeast.  I’m a big fan of liquid yeast.  They come in more specific strains, which can make or break a style, and they often can be directly pitched into the carboy.  But, if you really want the best results, I suggest you start making yeast starters.  They might seem a little bit intimidating but they are simple to do, they increase your cell count (so you have an army, instead of a squad, of cells ready attack your wort) and they are much, much cheaper than buying multiple vials or smack packs of yeast.

Also, make sure your wort in the right condition when you pitch your yeast.  That means making sure your wort is the right temperature and you won’t stun it by pitching it into a 90 degree liquid, and that you’ve introduced a lot of good, sterile oxygen.  I used to just rock the carboy back and forth, and get it frothy and that certainly works, but I’m a huge advocate of aeration wands now.  You can go the more extensive route of an aquarium pump and all that stuff, or you can just simply hook this thing to the end of a drill for a minute or so and stir up the wort with remarkable results.  Yeast needs oxygen and you want to saturate your brew as much as you can before the yeast is pitched.

Last, final gravities are dependant on the batch.  My robust porter I’m mentioned earlier will end at less than a 1.019, but not much less.  It is a bigger beer and I mashed it at a higher temperature so it would end a little higher and thicker in your mouth.  That is fine for that beer, but that final gravity would unacceptable for a saison or many other beers.  Piching a big, healthy yeast culture is a great start and having the wort oxygenated and at the right temperature will get you there.  Unless you have a dedicated cooler, keeping your carboys cool enough in the summer in Virginia is the hard part.  If you are fermenting at 80+ degrees, many ale strains will poop out on you.  Cooler is better for most styles and keeping it in a tub of water with a t-shirt over it for evaporative cooling helps keep down the esters and gets you closer to the right final gravity.  (You might need to invest in an immersion chiller someday.  Maybe not this close to the end of the summmer though....)

This is a small piece.  You need to do these things on the front end, because it is really hard to pitch new yeast once a batch is stuck and to have it work.  It almost never works for me.  There are many factors, but you are determined to make better, like we all are, and that is half the battle.

I'm glad to have you aboard.

I will research making yeast starters.  I am glad you such good things to say about Safale, because this is easy and available to me.

Adding yeast does not work to further FG.  That is too bad.

I recently bought a drill operated aerator.  This is just one of the things I have done to improve my process.  Things are much better now.

I have been putting the carboys in the bathroom.  It is the coldest room in my house.  As long as I set the A/C to 70 I get the beer to stay at a constant 66-68.  As an added bonus, when I go cut some rope, I can stare longingly and amazedly at nature's delicious bounty before my eyes.

Yeast starters can do a lot to aid in your overall yeast health and they are really easy to do.  You basically make a small volume of wart (a quart or half gallon) at around 1.040 gravity.  Use DME to make this volume up.  You then boil the wart for 15 min to make sure it is sterile.  You can also add a pinch of yeast nutrient if you have any.  Then cool this down to about 75 degrees F and pitch your yeast.  Then, the night before you brew, you stick the whole thing in the fridge.  This way, the yeast settles out to the bottom and you can just pitch the slurry into your wart.

The idea behind the starter is to get your yeast very active and increase your cell count, prior to pitching into your wart.  You should start the process two days before brew day.  Good luck!