Very good, i'm looking into an aeration setup now. Been a long time coming. I wanted to grab a stir plate and flask next, but I think this jumped ahead on the priority list considering I still use a large amount of dry yeast. I can wait until late next year for the starter setup.cwier60 wrote:Rick, it sounds like you pitched an adequate amount of yeast, but I can attest that oxygenation really helps. I got an oxygenation system a few months ago and have seen a marked improvement in my fermentations. Given a healthy pitch, the recommendation I would make is to add the sugar a few days into the fermentation after krausening. Jamil Z often recommends this for drying out Belgian tripels, quads, or "imperial" saisons. Really should be no different for any HG brew. The simple sugars really help out the tired yeast, whereas if those simple sugars are in the boil and the initial fermentataion, then the yeast has a tendency to ferment the simple sugars first, resulting in a higher FG because they "give up" after the easy pickings.
Nice to also have the confirmation this sugar strategy is standard practice for some styles. I had searched out Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA clones, just to see what they did to achieve the 18% ABV, and it seemed everyone was in agreement with this method (probably from experience brewing the types you mention).