Lalvin EC-1118 to bottle carb

[Twotaureanbrewing]

Ive been using wyeast 1056 to make some of my IPAs, DIPAS, ales..ect with really good results. Love the strain, how it works, how healthy it always is and the flavors it imparts.

However in my higher ABV beers, 9% +, my beer hasn't bottle carbed very well. Thin with little to no fizzy. Ive used anywhere from 5-6oz of corn sugar with no improvement. Guy at LHBS said yeast is dropping off due to abv levels and suggested using Lalvin EC-1118 to bottle carb. Was a little hazy on how to do that.

I think he said add it to secondary a day before I bottle, then rack over to bottling bucket and proceed as usual. Is this right? Any suggestions when or how to add the EC-1118?

 

[Nico93]

high abv beer needs time to fully carb , 5/6 oz of sugar doesn't mean nothing without batch volume but if it's a 5gallon batch it's a lot!
a lot of sugar doesn't resolve your problem because your problem isn't sugar quantities, your problem it's time
wyeast 1056 can carb up to 10-12+% abv so i don't think you need ec1118, if you want faster carbonation you can repitch a little bit of fresh yeast (1056/t58/cbc01/f2 ecc...)
i haven't used ec1118 a lot but if i remember well is a high attenuative yeast (right?) if you repitch you need a yeast that eat only simple sugar to avoid bottle bombs!

 

[Twotaureanbrewing]

Yes, 5 gallon batch and yes thats a lot of sugar! Got desperate so I kept adding sugar over various batches.

How long is enough time for 1056 to carb high abv beers? 3 weeks? 2 months? Neither seemed to make a difference. Ec1118 is said to impart little to no flavor in the beer. Yes, bottle bombs is def what Im concerned about avoiding. What would be a a little bit of 1056?

 

[Nico93]

first of all go back to a normal ammount of sugar, if yeast doesn't eat, adding more sugar doesn't change nothing! it's only a big source of danger!

i think that one month is enought with a 9% beer, you keep the bottle to a high enought temperature?

there are a lot of yeast usable for carbs

for example:

safbrew t-58
lallemand cbc 01
safbrew f2

you can add 1-2g of fresh yeast during bottling to speed up carbonation

 

[secondbase]

I use ec-1118 for bottling sours and higher gravity beers. I simply boil my priming solution, cool to ~110º and pitch 2g of ec-1118 and let it bloom for 15-20 minutes. Add this to your bottling bucket, rack the beer on top and bottle like normal.

 

[kh54s10]

I have bottled a few beers with high alcohol percentages. I have not added any different yeasts and have gotten good results. One is a 10% ABV Russian Imperial Stout that was oaked and aged for at least a month. It was fermented with 2 packages of rehydrated US05 yeast, which is the same strain as 1056.

You shouldn't be having any problems in the 9-10% range.

If you try anything I would go back to traditional priming levels of sugar and add yeast as suggested by secondbase.

 

[mblanks2]

I use ec-1118 for bottling sours and higher gravity beers. I simply boil my priming solution, cool to ~110º and pitch 2g of ec-1118 and let it bloom for 15-20 minutes. Add this to your bottling bucket, rack the beer on top and bottle like normal.

This!

 

[Twotaureanbrewing]

I use ec-1118 for bottling sours and higher gravity beers. I simply boil my priming solution, cool to ~110º and pitch 2g of ec-1118 and let it bloom for 15-20 minutes. Add this to your bottling bucket, rack the beer on top and bottle like normal.

Thanks! Def going to use that procedure. After a lot of Googling, and internet seaching, seem this is the way. Amount of yeast varies, Id rather start lower (avoid bottle bombs) and work up.

 

[Twotaureanbrewing]

I have bottled a few beers with high alcohol percentages. I have not added any different yeasts and have gotten good results. One is a 10% ABV Russian Imperial Stout that was oaked and aged for at least a month. It was fermented with 2 packages of rehydrated US05 yeast, which is the same strain as 1056.

You shouldn't be having any problems in the 9-10% range.

If you try anything I would go back to traditional priming levels of sugar and add yeast as suggested by secondbase.

I tried normal levels of sugar, then increased, will go back to normal now.

Ive heard and read what your saying, just hasnt worked out for me. Maybe 1056 and S05 arent exactly the same, maybe my yeast isnt as healthy. I make starters and my yeast attenuates to 80% plus often times ending up with a higher abv than projected. I don't have any problem with 7%...its basically 9% and above that do not carb properly. Ive read even though yeast strain are good to 10 or 11% that when you get close, at bottling the yeast are "tired" and that your wort/beer will finish off but carbing is another story. My LHBS guy told me the same. Am I doing something wrong? Why do my 9% + not carb enough? I also found this thread, contacted the guy and got some go confirmation.

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=166237

 

[kh54s10]

Thanks! Def going to use that procedure. After a lot of Googling, and internet seaching, seem this is the way. Amount of yeast varies, Id rather start lower (avoid bottle bombs) and work up.

You can't get bottle bombs from yeast. They eat sugars and produce co2. Once they have eaten all the sugar available no more co2 will be produced no matter how much yeast is present.

 

[kh54s10]

I tried normal levels of sugar, then increased, will go back to normal now.

Ive heard and read what your saying, just hasnt worked out for me. Maybe 1056 and S05 arent exactly the same, maybe my yeast isnt as healthy. I make starters and my yeast attenuates to 80% plus often times ending up with a higher abv than projected. I don't have any problem with 7%...its basically 9% and above that do not carb properly. Ive read even though yeast strain are good to 10 or 11% that when you get close, at bottling the yeast are "tired" and that your wort/beer will finish off but carbing is another story. My LHBS guy told me the same. Am I doing something wrong? Why do my 9% + not carb enough? I also found this thread, contacted the guy and got some go confirmation.

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=166237

9% is approaching the threshold for the yeast so maybe a more alcohol tolerant yeast is needed. I just have not had the problem.

 

[Tony Scott]

I use ec-1118 for bottling sours and higher gravity beers. I simply boil my priming solution, cool to ~110º and pitch 2g of ec-1118 and let it bloom for 15-20 minutes. Add this to your bottling bucket, rack the beer on top and bottle like normal.

So, you add yeast to the cooled down sugar water to hydrate, then mix it in the batch and straight to bottle?

Thank you

 

[Tony Scott]

So, you add yeast to the cooled down sugar water to hydrate, then mix it in the batch and straight to bottle?

Thank you

 

[mac_1103]

So, you add yeast to the cooled down sugar water to hydrate, then mix it in the batch and straight to bottle?

Well, that is what he said seven years ago, but I wouldn't do it that way. The concentrated sugar solution could shock the yeast. Rehydrate the yeast in plain water. Add the sugar solution and yeast slurry separately. Mix well before bottling.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

FWIW, over the last six months, I have been dry pitching (no re-hydration) CBC-1 into bottle with no apparent problems. Typically, I hold the bottles at 75F for the 1st week.

I have some EC-1118 that I will try with some upcoming batch.

 

[Tony Scott]

I appreciate your reply. I have been getting inconsistent carbonation in some batches. Could I use a "syringe" to shoot yeast slurry in to each bottle, then fill? Thank You

 

[Tony Scott]

I appreciate your reply. I have been getting inconsistent carbonation in some batches. Could I use a "syringe" to shoot yeast slurry in to each bottle, then fill? Thank You

Also, should I use ice bath to cool down yeast slurry from 90F to room temp before I add to the batch?

 

[mac_1103]

Could I use a "syringe" to shoot yeast slurry in to each bottle, then fill?

This is actually what I do now for big beers that I bottle condition. I'm sure a lot of people will recoil from my process due to oxidation concerns, but I'm talking about imperial stouts and quads, not NEIPAs. So anyway, I boil the priming sugar and let it cool. Rehydrate the yeast and let it cool. Pull some beer from the fermenter. Add the yeast to the beer, then the sugar. Mix it well and dose each bottle with the syringe. Then fill on top of that. There are all sorts of ways to do this.

 

[mac_1103]

Also, should I use ice bath to cool down yeast slurry from 90F to room temp before I add to the batch?

If you're impatient. But you can rehydrate in a pretty small volume so it should cool pretty quickly anyway. The priming sugar is going to take longer.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I have some EC-1118 that I will try with some upcoming batch.

I bottled a batch (classic American Pale Ale recipe) recently with 4 of the bottles using EC-1118 and the rest CBC-1. I didn't see a difference in bottle conditioning time and didn't taste a difference side-by-side. I'll probably continue with some side-by-side use over the next year.