Beer Yeast Alcohol Tolerance Q
- Thread starter Zem
- Start date
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I have worked with 2 ale yeasts from White Labs and I have a third going now. They report:
Notes on alcohol tolerance:
Very High: Over 15%
High: 10-15%
Medium-High: 8-12%
Medium: 5-10%
Low: 2-5%
So for WLP029 German Ale/ Kölsch Yeast, the one I just started, it is rated for 5 to 10%, I think about 8 percent in a mead must from my 2 other tries. I don't brew beer, but the one thing that I have heard is that there are higher sugars in a beer wort, so the attenuation percentage can be thrown out the window (most of the sugar in honey is fermentable).
Good thread is here.
Liff
Notes on alcohol tolerance:
Very High: Over 15%
High: 10-15%
Medium-High: 8-12%
Medium: 5-10%
Low: 2-5%
So for WLP029 German Ale/ Kölsch Yeast, the one I just started, it is rated for 5 to 10%, I think about 8 percent in a mead must from my 2 other tries. I don't brew beer, but the one thing that I have heard is that there are higher sugars in a beer wort, so the attenuation percentage can be thrown out the window (most of the sugar in honey is fermentable).
Good thread is here.
Liff
I've used white labs WLP530 and Safale S04 in metheglins. WLP530 is rated to 15% and Safale went to 10% with no problem bottle conditioning at that concentration, but I have no idea what it will go to. I'll be using White Labs California V ale yeast in an upcoming group brew with liff. I find these yeasts work nicely in meads if given proper nutes and tend to make a more quickly drinkable mead. Just my 2 cents.
Hey Wolfie!
I made a batch of JoeM's 'Basic Braggot' (do a search for the recipe - it is a good one) in August of 2006 and used a vial of White Labs Dry English Ale Yeast (WLP002). Mine finished @ 9.6% ABV. This is the only mead that I've used a beer yeast in and was (and still am, as I still have some of this braggot left!) very pleased with the finished product.
As a matter of fact, I'm going to make an AG version of this recipe sometime within the next 6 weeks or so and intend on using the same yeast.
Regards,
- GL63
I made a batch of JoeM's 'Basic Braggot' (do a search for the recipe - it is a good one) in August of 2006 and used a vial of White Labs Dry English Ale Yeast (WLP002). Mine finished @ 9.6% ABV. This is the only mead that I've used a beer yeast in and was (and still am, as I still have some of this braggot left!) very pleased with the finished product.
As a matter of fact, I'm going to make an AG version of this recipe sometime within the next 6 weeks or so and intend on using the same yeast.
Regards,
- GL63
Wolfie,
The US-05 is the same strain as the White Labs WLP001 and the Wyeast ???? (the number escapes me). It's the "Chico" strain used by Sierra Nevada in most of their beers. It's easy to get this one to 10%-12% but I wouldn't push it much higher.
I've used it for Imperial Stouts and Olde Ales in the 10%-12% range quite a bit. Just be sure to use a big starter if you use the White Labs or Wyeast liquid versions.
The US-05 is the same strain as the White Labs WLP001 and the Wyeast ???? (the number escapes me). It's the "Chico" strain used by Sierra Nevada in most of their beers. It's easy to get this one to 10%-12% but I wouldn't push it much higher.
I've used it for Imperial Stouts and Olde Ales in the 10%-12% range quite a bit. Just be sure to use a big starter if you use the White Labs or Wyeast liquid versions.
Actually, I meant S-05, not S-04 (just looked at the old packet.) It worked great and fermented very clean. Flocculation was nice it and took off like a rocket with a very short lag period. The only reason I'm not using it this time around is 'cuz white labs is in my home town and I need to get some more experience with their ale yeasts in meads :cheers:
4-5 oz (weight) of sugar (i.e. corn or cane, 100% fermentable) is the standard range for priming 5 gallons of beer. This should give you somewhere around 2-2.5 volumes of CO2. If you use honey, you'll need to add a little more (honey is 20% water after all 
). You can also adjust to your preferences (lately I'm on an English-pub-style low-carbonation kick). I like to use <a href="http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/brew/widgets/bp.html">this priming widget</a> someone once posted as a guide.
). You can also adjust to your preferences (lately I'm on an English-pub-style low-carbonation kick). I like to use <a href="http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/brew/widgets/bp.html">this priming widget</a> someone once posted as a guide.AKueck is spot on. I much prefer corn sugar as it is almost flavorless so won't affect the flavor of you're brew and tends to carbonate faster than honey will, but if you're a purist....just don't use cane sugar. Yuck. The 4-5 oz. corn sugar translates to about 3/4 to 1 cup worth of sugar. Just dissolve it is about 2 cups boiling water and put it in your bottling bucket. Then rack your brew on top of it, stirring gently every so often during racking and bottling. This will prevent unevenly carbonated bottles which will happen without doing this.
Rember too you can always finish with a wine yeast to go higher. There hasnt been alot of this as far as ive seen starting with beer yeasts and finishing with wine to get high and dry. Might not be what your looking for this time but keep it in mind for the future.
:happy10:
:happy10:
