Bottling Barley Wine

[grizfan20]

Quick question for those who have bottled Barley Wine before. I purchased a packet of 05 ale yeast from my local store and plan on bottling tomorrow night. The directions call for adding the entire packet of yeast to the bottling bucket, but other information I have read indicates 1/2 of a packet will also work just fine. I have no plans to brew again until at least March, so I would hate for good yeast to go to waste, but also do not want to risk over carb/bottle bombs. This is my first time brewing a BW and do not want to screw it up on the last step.

Long story short, based on past experience, does anyone have a recommendation on the proper amount of yeast to add at bottling?

[uberculture]

Too much yeast won’t cause bottle bombs, too much sugar will. Half a packet is probably enough, but a full packet won’t hurt anything.

[porkchop]

+1 - half a packet is plenty. What’s your ABV, though? US-05 works great for bottle conditioning… right up to about 10-12% ABV. If you’re in this ballpark, or higher, you might consider something with a higher alcohol tolerance. Also, I’ve had better luck rehydrating and adding to the bottling bucket than adding dry, as the yeast is kind of hard to dissolve without some serious stirring and risking oxidation.

[mabus]

I rehydrated half a pack of CBC-1 (Cask & Bottle Conditioning) yeast from Lallemand for a barleywine I bottled in March. Boiled the water with the priming sugar and put the yeast in there when it cooled down. Let it rest for about 15 minutes. The BW was a little over 10% and I didn’t think US05 or any other “typical” ale yeast would be able to do the job entering that kind of environment. CBC-1 is made for this job. I just poured the liquid into the bottling bucket and racked over it. A little gentle stirring and bottled it. I went a little light on priming sugar but they have just enough carbonation for the style.

[grizfan20]

Thanks for the advice guys. I never thought about rehydrating the yeast in the priming sugar, that’s a great idea. I appreciate the insight.

[mrv]

@porkchop

+1 - half a packet is plenty. What’s your ABV, though? US-05 works great for bottle conditioning… right up to about 10-12% ABV. If you’re in this ballpark, or higher, you might consider something with a higher alcohol tolerance. Also, I’ve had better luck rehydrating and adding to the bottling bucket than adding dry, as the yeast is kind of hard to dissolve without some serious stirring and risking oxidation.

Yeah, a full pack just leaves more sediment on the bottom of your bottles.

[rookie_l_a]

@mrv

[quote=“porkchop”]+1 - half a packet is plenty. What’s your ABV, though? US-05 works great for bottle conditioning… right up to about 10-12% ABV. If you’re in this ballpark, or higher, you might consider something with a higher alcohol tolerance. Also, I’ve had better luck rehydrating and adding to the bottling bucket than adding dry, as the yeast is kind of hard to dissolve without some serious stirring and risking oxidation.

Yeah, a full pack just leaves more sediment on the bottom of your bottles.[/quote]

The last time that I added yeast before bottling a high gravity beer I added it a week before I planned to bottle to allow some of the additional yeast time to settle out before bottling.

[s2y]

I also add yeast prior to bottling. I had a few big beers that were severely under carbonated. I haven’t had that problem since adding yeast as I bottle.