COMPETITION: Super High Gravity Brewing 2017

[Zorco]

I don't follow?

I get chasing tail though...

 

[malt junkie]

A brew a week for the next 7-10 weeks just to keep fresh cake upto it. Lots of tail chasing.

 

[Coldspace]

Dedication... Hopefully your hard work pays off and pushes past the 20%

 

[manticle]

Did this article pop up somewhere in this thread or the first?

https://byo.com/mead/item/51-21-alcohol-all-grain-beer

 

[barls]

ask barry morgan about the light beer at anhc that he was drinking.
it was a 16% 5 year old braggot. if i had entered right it would of made the nationals.
i actually need to brew a new version for next anhc

 

[Zorco]

Did this article pop up somewhere in this thread or the first?

https://byo.com/mead/item/51-21-alcohol-all-grain-beer

That was a good read. I like that my approach has some similarities to his. I wish I'd only racked half of the wort in as per my original plan. I've been generous with O2 early on and when I checked this morning fermentation was still progressing nicely.

 

[Zorco]

Ferment update, completely consistent ferment rate. Aroma is changing. Colour is getting slightly lighter, but the viscosity is about the same.

I'm starting to wonder if a mega boil is the right approach to a SHG beer. This attempt could fail badly on the FG rule.

 

[peteru]

Only one way to find out. And you are firmly on the path.

Go yeasties, go!

 

[Yob]

Ferment update, completely consistent ferment rate. Aroma is changing. Colour is getting slightly lighter, but the viscosity is about the same.
I'm starting to wonder if a mega boil is the right approach to a SHG beer. This attempt could fail badly on the FG rule.

Cake, cake, cake...

 

[Yob]

Did this article pop up somewhere in this thread or the first?
https://byo.com/mead/item/51-21-alcohol-all-grain-beer

Quote
I then added only 1.0 gallon (3.8 L) of OG 1.246 wort to the 1-gallon (3.8-L) starter. I oxygenated the combined wort for 15 minutes with oxygen (O2) and affixed an airlock. For oxygenation, I used a small welding oxygen cylinder I bought just for brewing. If you are using air, you should probably aerate longer.

15 effing minutes?? Dafuq?

 

[sp0rk]

Am I missing something as to why carboys are needed?

If I'm aging this for months, I'm not leaving it in plastic to potentially oxidize
Also I want a couple for doing big batches of mead
That or I can just follow Yob's lead and buy the stainless olive tanks

 

[malt junkie]

For something like this I'd be going stainless or glass, a conical would be Ideal, as you could dump yeast at will (removable catch jar best) and not have to rack.

 

[malt junkie]

A thought popped into my head, what sort of gravity it a kit prior to dilution? and are the same long boil methods used in creating them?

 

[sp0rk]

A thought popped into my head, what sort of gravity it a kit prior to dilution? and are the same long boil methods used in creating them?

Kits are created via Vacuum distillation/evaporation
Boiling to reduce that volume would considerably darken the wort and it'd probably taste like burnt toffee
I was thinking, I have an 80L kettle, if I do a 70L batch at 1.060 and boil down to 23L, I should hit 1.182OG
If it ferments out to 1.025, You'd hit 20.61% ABV
I really couldn't be bothered boiling down THAT much, though

 

[Zorco]

Kits are created via Vacuum distillation/evaporation
Boiling to reduce that volume would considerably darken the wort and it'd probably taste like burnt toffee
I was thinking, I have an 80L kettle, if I do a 70L batch at 1.060 and boil down to 23L, I should hit 1.182OG
If it ferments out to 1.025, You'd hit 20.61% ABV
I really couldn't be bothered boiling down THAT much, though

First beers at mash in mate! It takes the bother away [emoji57]

 

[sp0rk]

Or I could just do 2 x 35L BIAB batches and boil each down to 23L in my keggle
Add enough hops to hit say 10IBU, just to make sure NCing is safe
Then combine both in the big kettle (at a later date) and boil down to 22L
I'll have to think about this...
Maybe even take a long weekend off from work to do this :beerbang:

 

[Zorco]

Fermentation Update Folks. (Thanks for those who are interested)

The activity in the fermenter has slowed now and the manoeuvre to the second cake is all set up. I sanitised my hydrometer and dropped her in. Liquid is showing 1067. Without any prior experience 1192 --> 1067 seems like a reasonable effort. The 099 has had plenty of love and care, lots of O2, nutrient, and a damn good cake to begin with so my initial reaction is that I hoped this gravity would have been lower for a settling gravity.

But the beast which is 099 is equally new to me in this type of application so it just might be having intermission. I rouse up the yeast cake regularly and every time I do I see CO2 bubbles rising in uniformity around the vessel. It has me thinking that while 099 can handle the ethanol levels, it can't invigorate itself up from the cake at the bottom to get the work done. A hunch I have is that I need constant agitation to get this to final. But from my perceptions of what's going on, I think each of the agitations is achieving only 3 points under some sort of 1-e^t function.

The next cake will tell the story. I've asked this question before but the answer was no good. I want to see what the next cake can do before being overcome by the ethanol. Can the yeast metabolise sugar BEFORE cell death from the ethanol?

A parallel plan is the enzyme game. I'm getting some of this tomorrow
http://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/64865/Bioglan-Digest-Eze-40-Capsules


Also, if the 099 can handle 25% ABV, then what are the parameters of my ferment that are not ideal for it to rock on (other than agitation which I've guessed). My mash was low but maybe concentration of non-fermentables will prevent an FG below 1039. SO, this could catch me out where as the main game will be to use a lot more simple sugars... currently I'm where I am with only malt sugars.


That's all for now.

I'm skipping the ginger beer for now lagerfrenzy and kerr. This game has my attention and effort for now.

Cosdog.

 

[malt junkie]

I think your confusing the issue. The 099 will live in 20%+ alcohol but the little pitch (by commercial standards) you gave it might not get the job done. I'd be getting another brew on for a second cake of 099, take half a cup of slurry from it for another cake, obviously after this next cake starts to slow.

having your cake and not yet able to eat it! I get the frustration.

was there too much cake in this post?

 

[Zorco]

I think your confusing the issue. The 099 will live in 20%+ alcohol but the little pitch (by commercial standards) you gave it might not get the job done.

What do you mean? I ran a starter for the 099 for about a week and the cake grown in the 5L flask was significant. I think I'll check again at pitch rates online. (When you say commercial standards, can you give me some examples? Equations for yeast mass ∝ OG ∝ Volume etc?)

 

[malt junkie]

What do you mean? I ran a starter for the 099 for about a week and the cake grown in the 5L flask was significant. I think I'll check again at pitch rates online. (When you say commercial standards, can you give me some examples? Equations for yeast mass ∝ OG ∝ Volume etc?)

simply put it's a huge beer. It'd be like 1 guy trying to please 15 nimphomaniacs, hell you'd do your best, but end of the day you'll run out of steam. pitch big pitch often. And commercial pitch rates are somewhere around double what you or I would do, but in this case it wouldn't really matter, no organism is having a party in 15% alcohol for a prolonged period, so a fresh pitch is the go, however the strain's tolerance to the high ABV will as you pointed out determine bag for buck. I think Yob said some thing like 10 points a cake, this is now the territory your in, 099 I would think would do better than the 10 points.

You got way lower than I thought you would with the initial pitch, remember this is extreme brewing.