I've had my strong stout in secondary for 3 weeks and it's time to bottle. My question is, with an abv of just over 12% will the regular 12oz. bottles be ok? Or do I need to step up to thicker glass to prevent making bombs? What's the cutoff with the 12oz. bottles?
The ABV won't have any impact on the pressure within the bottle. What makes a difference in pressure is the desired CO2 level CO2 is determined by you the brewer by the amount of priming sugar used. You set CO2 level by style guidelines or personal preference. I don't really see stouts as a highly CO2ed brew. So unless you like your stouts particularly high in carbonation, you'll be fine. One side question I have for you, why are you bottling at 3 weeks in secondary? I'd let that run MUCH longer, like 8 months plus. At that point, you'll want to re-pitch yeast, making sure you've selected a yeast with enough alcohol tolerance; one you could consider is US-05, which you're right on the threshold to.
Well, here is what we did, in primary we pitched White Labs WLP007 English ale yeast. Then going into secondary it got cherry purée,chocolate nibs, vanilla, and whiskey soaked oak. We also pitched White Labs WLP099 a yeast with high alcohol tolerance.
@Windfisher sounds very tasty, send me a bottle . . . just kidding. My rule of thumb, of course tasting is always better than any rule of thumb, is 1.5 weeks per degree Plato original gravity. My guess with a 12% finish, you're around 28 Plato or 1.120 specific gravity. At 1.5 weeks per Plato you're at 10 months aging. Granted, this can be a combination of aging in the carboy and bottle. However, I'd leave it in the carboy for a few months longer.
First, thanks for your response. I took a gravity reading this morning and was at 1.044. The original gravity was 1.113. (So I'm off of my target of 12%)I was expecting my gravity to be closer to a 1.020. I would have to think the fermentation is finished and at this point it's just conditioning. However I'm still getting a bubble out of the breather every 10-12 seconds. I haven't been able to check the gravity in the last 3 weeks because I travel a lot and haven't been home. My experience is somewhat limited, it's only my 3rd batch of beer. (I never went extract, instead jumped into all grain out of the gate). That why I'm looking for some wisdom here. Again thanks!
My yeast shit out on me around 12% abv. I would let it sit and check gravity now and again in a month.
A big stout is the last place I'd be looking to get a highly carbonated beer, and also to be worrying about bottle bombs. Your beer has quite a bit of time yet to sit and figure itself out. Brew something else in the meantime and ignore your stout until the leaves change.
I agree with @SFACRKnight, check gravity now and then the next month or even longer; I wouldn't count on it being done yet . . . could still get a few more points out. @MostlyNorwegian idea to be distracted brewing another beer is a good one. You're big stout is very young and will get better in time; you're not going to get the best out of this brew for a little time.
