Re-yeast prior to bottling tonight?

[Invertalon]

Hello everyone!

Two weeks ago I brewed an imperial stout with an OG 1.080 and FG of 1.028 (may have dropped a little more since I checked… Took two readings days apart and got the same FG, but I raised the temp and swirled the fermenter a bit afterward. I will re-check today).

I used Nottingham, about 1-3/4 packets, rehydrated for 5.5 gallons.

My FG is a bit high, but it may make sense… I mashed at around 155F and had a pretty heavy hand at roasted malts (8.2% Chocolate, 8.2% Patagonia perla negra roast barley, 1.4% Black Patent).

My question is… I still have about ¼ packet of Nottingham left. I was thinking to ensure carbonation to pitch that into the bottling bucket, rehydrated, but I know only after two weeks and a 2 day cold crash there *should* be plenty of yeast in there to bottle carb. I just want to make sure the beer wasn’t too robust or stressful on the yeast to do the job in there. I would rather not pitch more yeast if I didn’t need it.

I fermented at 60F for the first week, raised to 64F for the next few days and end at 68F before cold crashing at 40F the last two days. It has only been about two and a half weeks since pitching the yeast. The hydro samples have been outstanding… Not very sweet at all, well balanced. Amazing malt flavors. Really digging this one.

So what are your thoughts? Just let it rip as-is or add that yeast? I will be bottle conditioning until mid to late November, so if it is a little sluggish that is fine.

 

[HoodedCrow]

I am a huge fan of Nottingham yeast. I have used it for about 40 brews, and I love it.
It is generally good to about 14% ABV, and I have never gotten close to that. Your ABV should be about 7%, so you should be pretty safe here.
I would think you are fine to bottle as is.
If you are nervous, you have two options.
1) Add the hydrated 1/4 pack of Nottingham to the bottling bucket. Have a beer and sleep well.
2) Save the dry yeast and bottle without it. Keep the bottles at room temperature. After 2 weeks, put one in the fridge overnight. If it is not carbonated at all, you can pop the cap off of each bottle, drop 3 grains of dry yeast in, recap and shake. I have only ever done this once (years ago) and the beer was sadly not worth the effort.
I don't think you have done anything to exhaust such a robust yeast. But you should do what will make you sleep at night. Good luck and happy brewing.

 

[Invertalon]

Thanks, I appreciate you easing my mind!

I went ahead and just bottled as normal, not re-yeasting. I did about 4 gallons of the stout as normal and the other 2-gallons or so conditioned with maple syrup. Look forward to seeing if I can detect any difference in the finished product... I will let you know how it goes!

 

[Invertalon]

Just as an update...

I did not re-yeast and bottled as mentioned above... I checked one bottle a week in and it was practically fully-carbed already. Checked the FG again once I shook a sample flat and the FG was back to where it was prior to conditioning, just to confirm it.

I will trust the yeast more often going forward, that is for sure. Wish I did with my lager as the re-yeasting ruined the wonderful clarity I had... Although it is getting back with long fridge time.