Why are "little" beers so much easier?

big stuff requires a lot more attention to detail, planning, and really good technique

on a big beer there are many things that can go wrong (same as small beers) but when you take things up a notch the flaws shine more.

Typical areas that cause issues in all beers but are amplified in higher OG ones

1. Pitch Temp (hugely important)
2. Ferm Temp (need way to maintain cool temps during ferm)
3. Too little yeast (need lots on high OG)
4. Unbalanced recipe (full boil? not enough IBU, etc.)
5. Aeration (need lots of O2 in a big beer)
6. Scorching extract (lots of sugar in small pot)
7. Not enough IBU's (need to do full boil)
8. Need a way to chill full boil
9. Lots of extract = sweeter beer with high FG (need sugar to dry out)

 

Without much more information is say culprits could be under pitching or not having enough yeast for the higher gravity or it might be the concentration of extracts sugars and hop utilization. I'm no expert on extract brewing but it is my understanding sometimes higher gravity pre boil wort can affect hop utilization thus not getting the results you are looking for.

 

It's generally agreed by brewers that it's the good low ABV brews which are the most difficult.There's simply nowhere to hide your mistakes.

 

Came to say the same thing as Marquis, but if the problem is with higher gravity beers, then poor yeast management and lack of temp control are the likely culprits.

 

My money is on underpitching the yeast.

 

Good counterpoint, but I do agree with ryane that one is more prone to making those mistakes with high gravity homebrews. I think fermentation quality takes more managing. I've never had a mild or a bitter that seemed hot or finished to high (just speaking from my own experience; not saying it doesn't happen) but these problems did show up in my early high gravity beers and meads; they mostly have been tamed in my later brews, in which I paid greater attention to pitching rate, wort aeration, and temperature control.

 

That is your problem. Take a few minutes and read this.

 

Take a look at the source of your recipes too. You can follow a recipe exactly and have perfect technique, but the recipe may not be accurate for the beer that you are expecting to get.

 

Sounds like you are underpitching your big beers. Check out the yeast calculators at www.mrmalty.com and www.yeastcalc.com

 

I think the reason my 7.0 and up beers have come out so good is that I ...

1. made a starter
2. pitched below 70F (i.e. I have a good wort chiller)
3. had good fermentation temperature control (freezer/controller)

Not that I have made a LOT of them, nor were any particularly WAY BIG, but certainly my PtE thingie remains one of my best ever, with big success on first attempt at a DIPA.

Definitely make a starter anytime you use white labs or wyeast, don't just pitch a single pack/vial. A single pack/vial just isn't enough yeast for a five gallon batch. Typically fresh (assuming optimally so) the manufacturers claim there are about 100 billion cells per pack/vial. Expect somewhat less than that, keeping with reality and all.

You need a "generic" quantity of 200 billion cells for an "average" beer. Yes, it's a gross generalization, but it's not too far off from what your yeast calc / beersmith is going to tell you when you make an average ABV (5-6.5%) beer. So you can see that 1 pack / vial is nowhere near enough.

Multiply the needed amount by some factor (> 1) for higher gravity beers. Use a calculator tho, don't try to guesstimate how much yeast you need when you're making a higher gravity beer. You can already see that one smak pak ain't gonna do it, even for a regular ol' beer.

At some point I'll get around to trying the lower ABV beers, like 4%-ish probably on my first attempt. I would love something along the lines of levitation to be a regular in the lineup.

 

Good read. Turns out, much like a martini, starters are to be stirred, not shaken.

 

Snappy reparte...LOLZ ...but shakin' a yeast starter is the more better technique.

 

I'm not sure if you're just joking around with kdb150, but I'd have to say that a stirplate starter is more better (more efficient for growth) than a shaken starter.

 

The general rule of thumb for an ale is 1 million yeast cells per milliliter of wort per degree plato up to 16 degrees Plato. Above that and you should use 1.5 million yeast cells/ml/Degree Plato. So don't multiply by "Some Factor", multiply by 1.5.

To the OP, if your ale fermentations are taking longer than 4 days, than you are not treating your yeast well. At work, we expect fermentation to take about 60 hours, but sometimes it takes as much as 72. This is with adequate active yeast, aeration, and temperature control.

 

Stirring is all fine and good for yeast, but like 007, I prefer my martinis shaken, not stirred. And with gin, for goodness sake!!

 

Oh absolutely on the gin. If you ask me, the fact that ordering a "martini" in most places will get you a vodka abomination is a sure sign of the downfall of western civilization.

 

Gin, and stir with fruit mixers, shake with booze. so gin martini, shaken, dirty