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Is it ok to just wing it, cause recently I just dumped in three cans of blueberries into my wort and am fermenting it. The citric acid in one of the cans apparently didn't affect the yeast because it's blowing off stuff. I got a 1.032 specific density out of it and all seems to be going well, what with the yeast I scraped off the bottom of the fermenter last time I brewed beer. Am I right, go ahead and wing it, just keep meticulous observations so that I can get it right next time? I'm worried about too sweet beer. How high of an alcohol content can brewing yeast get before it konks out? I ask because I'd like to dump two cans of malt extract in and thus dobblebock but don't want to waste time and effort to test the limits. If there were an easy way to test the limits I would, maybe someone out there knows. Guess I could set up a temporary lab, but I'll probably never use this yeast again if I crap up and lose the strain. My last brew was 4.2%, can't you get it up to 7% or is it higher? I tried this homebrew stout the other day this guy made and it was awesome, what with it's thick body and sincere chocolate undertones. What was the name of it?? the guy didn't have labels. Sincerely, G_cowboy ps. yes I did remove the blueberries and leaf hops

Reply to
G_cowboy
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No, I didn't leave the blueberries in the wort, I just wanted undertones of blueberries as the yeast has a delicious imparted flavor. One part I did screw up, one of the cans of blueberries I forgot to mash with a wooden spoon and when I went to pour the wort in the fermenter they were all sitting on the bottom untouched

Reply to
G_cowboy

Um, there's a lot of your post I can't really make out, but most ale yeast will easily go to 10% ABV or above. Did you dump the blueberries into your primary fermenter? That will work, but the fermentation will blow off most of the flavor and aroma. I prefer to add them to a secondary fermenter.

--------->Denny

Reply to
Denny Conn

That doesn't really matter. So, if I understand you, you added the blueberries to the fermenter, but then took them out? Could you describe your procedure better? Did you just add the blueberries to leftover yeast in your fermenter???

---------->Denny

Reply to
Denny Conn

scuse me, no merely put them in the boiling mixture and strained all, I've heard you get tannin extraction if you leave them in the fermentor, and plus, I'd like to harvest sediment for my next brew of beer.

Reply to
G_cowboy

The usual way to do it is to add the grains to cold water and start heating it up. When the water reaches 170F, remove the grains. Temps over 170 can extract tannins.

-------->Denny

Reply to
Denny Conn

I read somewhere that the temperature the grains are steeped at is important, too. At 140, some of the extract can be converted to alcohol, and at 160 and over, it is no longer fermentable, with 150 being the midline. Don't know how much truth there is to this, but I thought it was interesting.

Reply to
Bill Hall

Pretty close, Bill. The lower the temp, the more fermentable the wort, meaning less body and more alcohol. Temps over 170 denature the enzymes used to convert the grain starches into sugars for fermentation. But most of the grains you steep (crystal, roasted barley, etc.) have already had the enzymes denatured by the malting process and don't require conversion. In that case, the main issue is keeping the temp under 170 so you don't extract tannins.

----------->Denny

Reply to
Denny Conn

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