The reason you have to add it after you pitch the yeast is because the recipe calls for 5.5# of sugar to be added in a 2.5 gallon batch. Not only is that a ton of sugar, but yeast have a tendency to eat the less complex sugars first over the sugars you get from the grain.
In other words, if I added all that sugar to the boil, the yeast will pig out on that and be too tired to convert the sugars from the grain. So the idea is to get them working on the more complex sugars and then just keep feeding them for a period of time so they keep doing their thing.[/quote]
Whoa, whoa, whoa…don’t do that! That amount would be questionable in a 10 gal. batch. In 2.5, it’s insane. Look for another recipe.
The reason you have to add it after you pitch the yeast is because the recipe calls for 5.5# of sugar to be added in a 2.5 gallon batch. Not only is that a ton of sugar, but yeast have a tendency to eat the less complex sugars first over the sugars you get from the grain.
In other words, if I added all that sugar to the boil, the yeast will pig out on that and be too tired to convert the sugars from the grain. So the idea is to get them working on the more complex sugars and then just keep feeding them for a period of time so they keep doing their thing.[/quote]
Whoa, whoa, whoa…don’t do that! That amount would be questionable in a 10 gal. batch. In 2.5, it’s insane. Look for another recipe.[/quote]
Honestly, if it wasn’t my brother’s favorite beer, I wouldn’t bother trying to brew it. But since he bought me everything to get started into home brewing, I figure I owe him something special. :cheers:
Honestly, if it wasn’t my brother’s favorite beer, I wouldn’t bother trying to brew it. But since he bought me everything to get started into home brewing, I figure I owe him something special. :cheers: [/quote]
Well, at least the recipe came from a reputable source! I know Sean, the guy whose website it came from. But lemme tell ya, as a new brewer you’re asking for trouble trying to brew a 21% beer! You’re gonna need a TON of yeast. At least the entire slurry from a 5 gal. batch of a 1.050 beer. You’re gonna need a way to aerate. Maybe you should wait a while on this one until you get the basics down.
[quote=“Denny”]
Well, at least the recipe came from a reputable source! I know Sean, the guy whose website it came from. But lemme tell ya, as a new brewer you’re asking for trouble trying to brew a 21% beer! You’re gonna need a TON of yeast. At least the entire slurry from a 5 gal. batch of a 1.050 beer. You’re gonna need a way to aerate. Maybe you should wait a while on this one until you get the basics down.[/quote]
I didn’t realize I was going to need that much yeast… I was figuring on using the slurry from the 1.058 beer I just did (2.5 gallon Amber Ale), but it sounds like I’ll need more than that. I do have a fresh tube of WLP-099 in the fridge though. I was kind of hoping to take a shot at this before the boiler gets turned off for the year so that I would be able to set the fermenter in next to it to raise the temp towards the end of the fermentation process to help the yeast.
Of course, you are correct, from what I’ve read it’s a challenging beer for an experienced brewer to produce, much less someone just getting started like myself. Maybe I should brew my brown ale kit and give myself some more time to think this over.
[quote=“lil_Blue_Ford”]I didn’t realize I was going to need that much yeast… I was figuring on using the slurry from the 1.058 beer I just did (2.5 gallon Amber Ale), but it sounds like I’ll need more than that. I do have a fresh tube of WLP-099 in the fridge though. I was kind of hoping to take a shot at this before the boiler gets turned off for the year so that I would be able to set the fermenter in next to it to raise the temp towards the end of the fermentation process to help the yeast.
Of course, you are correct, from what I’ve read it’s a challenging beer for an experienced brewer to produce, much less someone just getting started like myself. Maybe I should brew my brown ale kit and give myself some more time to think this over.[/quote]
I think that’s a smart idea. I understand your reasons for wanting to make this, and I recall the excitement of being a new brewer trying something new. But I think you;d have a much greater chance of producing the kind of beer you want if you waited until you had a bit more experience.
