# S04 alcohol tolerances?



## simo hart (7/5/15)

Anyone know what the alcohol tolerances are for s04? 
I brewed a stout with 1x can of coopers stout and 1x can of black rock dark extract and got an ABV of about 4.7%. In 19l.

I would like to take the ABV to somewhere around the 8% mark any one got any ideas?


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## wide eyed and legless (7/5/15)

S-04 would do it though it will be a bit slow reaching final gravity.


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## MHB (7/5/15)

Interesting question, but to get to 8% ABV with what you have added, you will need to put your Jesus hat on - as a miracle will be required!

3.2Kg of LME with about 80% solids is adding about 2.56Kg, dissolved into 19L and the OG is going to be around 1.054.
You have made 4.7% Alcohol so your FG should be about 1.018 (having taken off around 35 points), to get 8% alcohol you would need to take off 60 points and they just aren't there.

S-04 will go to about 10-10.5% Alcohol (given enough fermentable), what ever you have used hasn't done a very good job, only about 65% apparent attenuation so it is possible that your brewing conditions aren't ideal or the yeast hasn't been at its best, couple of other possibilities... so maybe adding some more yeast would dry it out a bit more, but not another 3.3% worth.
Making 8% beer calls for a bit of planning.
Mark


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## manticle (7/5/15)

If you're talking about making this one just under double its current strength you will need to add more fermentables like dex or malt (a lot of extra) or try freeze distilling, eisbock style. Is that what you mean or are you talking about the next beer?


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## wide eyed and legless (7/5/15)

I think he is talking about his next beer.


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## RoneMac (7/5/15)

I have experienced nothing but disappointment with S-04. I found that the yeast really wanted to drop out at the earliest possible opportunity.
I have heard of other brewers having similar problems with that strain not really getting the SG below 1.020, however I have heard plenty of stories where it just done the job without any hitches. I unfortunately fall into the former group.
I managed to get my best results with this strain when keeping the temperature close to the described upper limit.


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## wide eyed and legless (7/5/15)

RoneMac how many times have you used it? Are you pitching enough? I would say Safale S-04 would have more happy users than disgruntled ones. Have a look at the Fermentis info on it.
http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFA_S04.pdf


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## simo hart (8/5/15)

Iv already kegged the first recipe and im looking to ferment another one with a higher ABV. I dont think i had a problem with the s-04, i was if it is still the right yeast to use in a higher percentage stout.


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## simo hart (8/5/15)

So is s-04 a good yeast to use to reach a 8%ish stout or would there be a better suited yeast for the job?
And how would i up the ABV to 8%? (Would i just use dextrose?)


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## RoneMac (8/5/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> RoneMac how many times have you used it? Are you pitching enough? I would say Safale S-04 would have more happy users than disgruntled ones. Have a look at the Fermentis info on it.
> http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFA_S04.pdf


I have to say that I haven't used it a lot. My pitching rates are always fine. I even did a late re-pitch on one batch to see if that would get it fired it up again.
I'm not surprised that there are more happy than disgruntled users, in general, I am a big fan of Fermentis. Their US-05 is an absolute staple with me. For some reason I just get a lot of trouble with S-04. We just don't seem to get along very well.
Personally, I don't intend on using S-04 again (if I can help it). There are other yeast strains available that I have a lot more success with and give me an end product that I am happy with.


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## Markbeer (5/6/15)

I have used S04 to 11.5% using a whole cake from a previous batch with aeration. Even carbed in the bottle.

Fermented out in under 3 days.


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## panzerd18 (5/6/15)

Pitch two packs of yeast to take into account the higher gravity.


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