In February of 2013 I brewed a RIS. OG was 1.110 and FG was 1.024. I was hoping for a FG in the 1.030 range. After adding some lactose to secondary, the FG gravity has crept up to 1.028. The lactose did add a little more sweetness than I had wanted.
I would still like a little more body to this beer without adding sweetness. Is there anything I can add to the secondary to add more body? I am thinking I would like this one in the 1.032-1.034 range. The Lactose was added the first of October. Will the sweetness dimish over the next couple of months?
Is there any reason to leave this in bulk aging at this point vs. bottling it?
I doubt that the sweetness will fade much, but the flavors will start to meld together and it could even out. You could try adding maltodextrine for some more body. I’m not sure what flavor contribution you might get from it though. You’d probably have to dissolve the powder in some water and boil it for a bit, but that would bring down the gravity of your beer slightly through dilution.
If it were me, I’d go ahead and bottle it. It would be wise to re-yeast at bottling time. Rehydrate a pack (or half a pack) of dry yeast, and add that to your bottling bucket when you bottle. Be careful not to pour hot priming solution over your yeast, or you’ll kill it. You should rehydrate your bottling yeast, since it’s going into such an extreme environment. A lot of people like Safale S-04 for a bottling yeast, since it ferments fast and clean, and sets up a really firm sediment.
You might also consider just bottling the beer as-is, with no more monkeying around. It will age and improve over the years. Lastly, be very careful not to oxidize the beer during packaging. If you can, flush your bottling bucket with CO2 before racking, and use O2 absorbing caps. Rack gently! You won’t want this one to oxidize.
Good luck. :cheers:
Good advice, but can’t use S-04 for re-yeasting. ABV for this beer is over 11%, and S-04 has a limit of somewhere between 10 and 11%. You might want to go with a wine yeast for this one.
I didn’t think of that! Good point. I’d be concerned about the wine yeast chewing through more of the fermentables and overcarbing the beer. Which other strains might work for bottling yeast?
The other thing that’s worth mentioning is that carbonation should result in a perception of increased body in the final beer.
Cote des Blancs has an alcohol limit of 12-14%, which is low by wine yeast standards. I don’t know what ale yeasts I’d try…
S-05 would do the job.
I have come to believe the opposite: that carbonation lessens the perception of body (ie, a more-carbonated beer tastes thinner).
