I'm baffeled, it doesn't take much. I'm wanting to brew a 20%ABV beverage from table sugar. Tried several ways. The latest is to use DADY. seemed to work for the first 2 days and then went dormant. Boiled up 5 gals of water for 10 mins. cooled to 91 degrees F. pitched the DADY. left open top. thought I was on my way and then stalled. Re-heat to 88.0 that started the yeast again. and then --- stall. I started at 1.16 OG. now down to 1.090. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.
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hard question - at least for me
- Thread starter simpleton
- Start date
I'm baffeled, it doesn't take much. I'm wanting to brew a 20%ABV beverage from table sugar. Tried several ways. The latest is to use DADY. seemed to work for the first 2 days and then went dormant. Boiled up 5 gals of water for 10 mins. cooled to 91 degrees F. pitched the DADY. left open top. thought I was on my way and then stalled. Re-heat to 88.0 that started the yeast again. and then --- stall. I started at 1.16 OG. now down to 1.090. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.What are you wanting to produce, besides high alcohol?
I'm not familiar with DADY. I'm assuming it's yeast, right?
Yeast eat sugars, but many prefer a specific type of sugar and they need some of the nutrients in malt or fruit juice to reproduce and ferment at their best. I'm GUESSING that's why your yeast stalled. I'd suggest starting with dry malt extract or fruit juice with an appropriate yeast for those sugars, then add more sugars (juice, table sugar, honey, etc) once the wort/must is fermenting vigorously.
Start with any beer or wine yeast with a high alcohol tolerance. Once the fermentation slows a bit, add the sugar and a yeast with a high alcohol tolerance and an appetite for simple sugars.
Hopefully someone else will provide better advice.
I'm not familiar with DADY. I'm assuming it's yeast, right?
Yeast eat sugars, but many prefer a specific type of sugar and they need some of the nutrients in malt or fruit juice to reproduce and ferment at their best. I'm GUESSING that's why your yeast stalled. I'd suggest starting with dry malt extract or fruit juice with an appropriate yeast for those sugars, then add more sugars (juice, table sugar, honey, etc) once the wort/must is fermenting vigorously.
Start with any beer or wine yeast with a high alcohol tolerance. Once the fermentation slows a bit, add the sugar and a yeast with a high alcohol tolerance and an appetite for simple sugars.
Hopefully someone else will provide better advice.
Oginme
Grandmaster Brewer
First, I am no expert in this, but I did sleep at a holiday inn once...
You are asking the yeast to do a monumental task. Right now, it would appear as though you have somewhere around 9.5% alcohol (by volume) and still a very heavy load of simple sugars. The combination may have taxed out the yeast you used. Since your base is just sugar, there is little in the way of proteins and minerals for the yeast to bud and reproduce successfully without weakening the yeast cells as they do so.
Going back and thinking about how I would work this issue, I think Durrettd has something with using some more complex sugars to start and then feeding it simple sugars once you have the yeast population well established and healthy. I've done this with Belgian ales quite well, though I am not targeting anything near what you are looking to get. Once you have taxed the yeast, I would take a page from German brewing and do a freeze concentration as is done with eisbocks.
Also start with a yeast which has more tolerance for a high alcohol content. Remember, the alcohol is poison to the yeast .
You are asking the yeast to do a monumental task. Right now, it would appear as though you have somewhere around 9.5% alcohol (by volume) and still a very heavy load of simple sugars. The combination may have taxed out the yeast you used. Since your base is just sugar, there is little in the way of proteins and minerals for the yeast to bud and reproduce successfully without weakening the yeast cells as they do so.
Going back and thinking about how I would work this issue, I think Durrettd has something with using some more complex sugars to start and then feeding it simple sugars once you have the yeast population well established and healthy. I've done this with Belgian ales quite well, though I am not targeting anything near what you are looking to get. Once you have taxed the yeast, I would take a page from German brewing and do a freeze concentration as is done with eisbocks.
Also start with a yeast which has more tolerance for a high alcohol content. Remember, the alcohol is poison to the yeast .