Yeast addition to Imperial Stout before bottling

I am making a batch of Barley Wine and the instructions say to add a second packet of yeast before bottling since it is a high ABV. My question is if this is necessary for Imperial Stout too or if it would improve the batch. I won’t be bottling for several more months and will be putting it in an oak barrel to age next week.

If you age a big beer like a BW or RIS in bulk (before bottling) it wouldn’t hurt to add a neutral bottling yeast to ensure carbonation. Find one that has a high ABV tolerance.

I agree w/ Loopie, but I’m not sure about adding the whole packet, as the original seems to imply. I don’t make beers big enough to require re-yeasting, but I thought it was like a grain or two per bottle.

How high is the ABV? Above around 12%, I would recommend champagne yeast, either EC-1118 or Pasteur champagne. About half a packet is all you need, and it’ll work better if you rehydrate in water first. If you add it dry, it’ll just float for awhile and eventually clump at the bottom.

Also, WLP-099 is a great bottling yeast, but it’s slow. :cheers:

[quote=“porkchop”]How high is the ABV? Above around 12%, I would recommend champagne yeast, either EC-1118 or Pasteur champagne. About half a packet is all you need, and it’ll work better if you rehydrate in water first. If you add it dry, it’ll just float for awhile and eventually clump at the bottom.

Also, WLP-099 is a great bottling yeast, but it’s slow. :cheers: [/quote]
Actually, even at lower ABV it might be better to use one of these champagne yeasts. A lot of beer have alcohol tolerances between 9 and 11%, and if you hit the limit for that yeast, it won’t carbonate in the bottles for you. An indication that you might be at the limit is if your attenuation was lower than you thought it would be, and/or the beer ended up sweeter than it should have considering the amount of bittering used.

I’ve had trouble with carbonation on my big beers. Danstar CBC-01 (cask and bottle condition) yeast has worked well for me.