Barleywine problem & question

About a month ago I brewed up my first barleywine attempt. The OG was 1.086 (target of 1.092). Double pitched with 2 tubes of WLP#001 (no starter). Within 24 hours of pitching, I had nice, steady bubbling going. The beer was fermented in a water bath at a constant 67-68 degrees. I just racked it over to a better bottle for long term storage and the gravity is 1.051 (target of 1.020).

Should I just pitch a packet of dry yeast to hopefully get fermentation started up again? I was thinking about waiting till Friday and seeing what signs the airlock shows. I'm out of town for work 4 days/week which is both good and bad. Good because I can't mess with it, and bad because I can't check on it.

My second question is about bottling it. I really don't want to keg it since it will hoard up a keg and spot in the fridge, but was wondering what people recomend for bottling. I was thinking about crash cooling, and using gelatin or posassium sorbate to knock out the old yeast, then using the tablets to carbonate (I've never used them before). A brewer friend from work said he thought the tablets still require some yeast. Anyhow, its a long ways off, but just wanted to start working on a plan for that as well.

Couple of questions:

1. Did you aerate the snot out of your wort before pitching? Oxygen is always important, but it's super critical when brewing big beers. During the lag time oxygen is used by the yeast to create sterols and build up strong cell membranes for multiplying (I think I'm using those terms correctly... read Chris White's Yeast for more info). Without enough oxygen, the yeast won't be able to build up as large/strong a colony in your wort and you could end up with a stalled fermentation. In big beers, experts recommend oxygenating before pitching, and then oxygenating AGAIN about 10-12 hours later. Normally, you don't want to add oxygen to a fermenting beer, but at such an early state, there isn't enough alcohol present for the staling/oxidation reactions to occur.

2. How much time passed between pitching and racking to secondary? Are you sure fermentation was stopped? Airlock activity is not an indication of fermentation progress. Sometimes a bad seal will allow CO2 out and you'll think there's no airlock activity when the yeast are still happily munching away.

With your current gravity readings, you're already at 4.5%, give or take. It's very difficult to restart fermentation once it stops. There's a chance you racked too early, that it was still fermenting away when you did. Alternatively, it's possible the yeast were too stressed due to lack of adequate oxygenation (see above) and stopped. If the yeast floculated and settled, and you racked, there is definitely not enough yeast to continue working. Ordinarily, I'd suggest giving things a stir and increase the temperature a few degrees. That may not work for you if there is little yeast left. Short of blending this batch with another batch of wort that's mid-fermentation, I'm not sure what to suggest. Some people have luck dumping a starter in at high krausen. You can try that.

suggestion: get a alcohol tolerant yeast (like wlp099, or 090), make a nice big starter, and pitch it into your stalled beer when the starter is at its most active (high krausen).

iron_city_ap said:

I was thinking about crash cooling, and using gelatin or posassium sorbate to knock out the old yeast, then using the tablets to carbonate (I've never used them before). A brewer friend from work said he thought the tablets still require some yeast.

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you do not want to kill off the yeast if you plan to bottle. your friend is correct - the carb tabs require yeast because the tabs are only sugar. brewers, as a general rule, don't use potassium sorbate.

sweetcell said:

suggestion: get a alcohol tolerant yeast (like wlp099, or 090), make a nice big starter, and pitch it into your stalled beer when the starter is at its most active (high krausen).

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This is what I would do as well.

you do not want to kill off the yeast if you plan to bottle. your friend is correct - the carb tabs require yeast because the tabs are only sugar. brewers, as a general rule, don't use potassium sorbate.

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This is correct, and I'll also add that gelatin is a fining agent, not a preservative. Potassium sorbate is a preservative, not a fining agent. Killing the yeast with a preservative is not necessary at all.

Also, given that it may take 4-6 weeks to fully carbonate a big beer like this, are you sure you want to bottle it and not force carb in a keg?

pfgonzo said:

Couple of questions:

1. Did you aerate the snot out of your wort before pitching?

2. How much time passed between pitching and racking to secondary?

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I definately aerated the snot and then some out of it. It was just over 4 weeks between pitching and racking.

sweetcell & LovesIPA, thanks guys. I'm going to order some new yeast, make a nice big starter and pitch it this weekend. I thought about force carbing then bottling it, but, I'm kinda worried about not doing it right. I have alot of time between now and then to make up my mind about it.

Okay. I have some WLP099 on the way. I'll do a double sized starter, aerate the hell out of it (since I can't exactly aerate the beer now) and cross my fingers.