I have about 200 batches under my belt. Most were extract/specialty grain. I have done 3 all grain. Almost all were 1.060 and under.
I did an all grain RIS 2 weeks ago and pitched onto US-05 yeast cake from the American Rye. Starting refacto reading was 1.089 Also aerated with O2 and use yeast nutrient. Fermented at 66F
Opened to transfer to secondary today and all looks normal. Fermentation seemed to have stopped after about 5 day but I gave it 2 weeks. Took a sample and tastes OUTSTANDING. Secondary will get vanilla beans and bourbon oak chips. Hydro reading however appears to be 1.028??
here is the recipe:
Denny Conn’s Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter ::: 1.079/1.017 (6 Gal)
Grain Bill (70% Efficiency assumed)
13 lb.- 2-Row Pale Malt
2.5 lb. - Munich Malt (15 L)
1.5 lb. - Brown Malt
1 lb. - Crystal Malt (120L)
1/2 lb. - Crystal Malt (40L)
1.25 lb. - Chocolate Malt (edited - Thanks Denny)
Extras :
Kentucky Bourbon (Jim Beam, Knob Creek, etc.)
Real, Whole Vanilla Beans (Extract just won’t do)
Oak Chips or Cubes
Hop Schedule (37 IBU)
1 oz - Magnum Hops (60 min)
1/2 oz - E.K. Goldings (10 min)
Yeast
White Labs California Ale Yeast (WLP001) - 1800 ml starter
Mash/Sparge/Boil
Mash at 153° for 60 min.
Sparge as usual
Cool and ferment at about 68° Add Vanilla Beans after primary - rack 7 to 14 days
Add Bourbon at bottling (1 to 1.75 cups - don’t overdo this!)
Infuse Bourbon beforehand with Oak Chips/Cubes if you want.
My question is this:
Should I leave in primary for another week or so or transfer to secondary? Maybe it is all done. I know my starting OG was higher due to higher efficiency. Mash was right at 152F. I am thinking that there is enough yeast in suspension that secondary will be fine and if not… it does taste great the way it is. There was a lot of CO2 in the sample so maybe that is messing up the hydro… letting it settle out and will recheck.
Thanks for the help.
Paul
