Wyeast Scottish Ale Yeast - OG = 1.087... do I need more yeast?

[BrewingChip]

Hey everyone,

Just brewed NB’s 3 gallon BIAB BBA Porter. Ended up with an OG of 1.087 for the 3 gallons I yielded. I pitched the Wyeast Scottish yeast, but am afraid that the OG is too high for this yeast and could result in a high FG.

I have 2 packs of US-05 in my fridge in case of emergencies... should I make a starter with one of those and pitch into the beer, or do people think my beer will be fine?

Because of COVID-19, I’m unable to get another pack of the Scottish yeast along with other supplies, so I’m hoping that what I’ve done and what I have lying around will help this brew.

P.S. - I want this beer to have a pretty high ABV, so anything I can do to help achieve that is what I want.

 

[brownni5]

How old was the yeast you pitched? That info is needed to give advice.

Low initial cell count won't necessarily lead to a high FG. The risks from too little yeast pitched are more about possible off flavors from a long lag time.

If you decide to go that route, a starter from the 05 wouldn't be necessary.

 

[BrewingChip]

How old was the yeast you pitched? That info is needed to give advice.

Low initial cell count won't necessarily lead to a high FG. The risks from too little yeast pitched are more about possible off flavors from a long lag time.

If you decide to go that route, a starter from the 05 wouldn't be necessary.

I just received the brew kit from Northern Brewer last week and brewed this today. The yeast says 2/26/20.

 

[brownni5]

My calculator says you have about 70 billion yeast cells and you "need" about 190 billion - that's a pretty big underpitch. All I know about that yeast is that it's pretty clean, but even so, it could produce a lot of esters since they will be stressed initially. Since you have another clean yeast on hand, you might consider sprinkling that packet in too. Or, you can let it ride.

 

[BrewingChip]

Just took a reading about a month after pitching. The yeast brought it down from 1.087 to 1.023, good for 8.4% Abv not including the bourbon. Fermented like crazy about 2 days after pitching. Tastes super toasty/roasty!