Mad Zymurgist
02-28-2004, 10:59 AM
Hail all beer zealots,
This is my situation. I'm making my 3rd batch ever, it's a high gravity Hoegaarden Grand Cru mimick, starting at about 1.060. The primary fermentation was aggressive for the first 24 hours and then quickly subsided into a secondary that bubbled at a rate of 10 bubbles per minute. Over the next 2 weeks it slowed to a rate of 6 bubbles per minute, but has held steady. It's been 21 days now and the bubbling continues at 6 bubbles per minute.
I was afraid that a wild gusher strain was at work, so, I decided to check the gravity and attenuation. It started at 1.060. Now, it's at 1.030. The target is 1.010. The bit I tried was quite sweet so I think the fermentation is just sluggish. I gave it a swirl and put it in the warmest room in our house (about 75 C) to see if I could wake up the yeast. It just continued at the same rate. So, I bought another 5-gallon carboy and racked it to a secondary fermentor last night, then pitched a fresh batch of Belgian Wit Ale yeast.
It's been a few hours and I've got a layer of krausen across the top which is a good sign. The rate is about 10 bubbles/minute still though. At least I got the beer off of the trub. I hear the sediment starts to impact once dead yeast are metabolized via glycolisis. There were definitely dead yeast cells floating around. I'm going to sit a few days and see what happens. I can't bottle when it's still bubbling so much. Also, I can't stand how sweet the beer is. The flavor would be awesome if the sweetness would go away.
Here are my questions:
1) The Belgian Wit yeast seemed to poop out early. Does anyone know if it's particularly sensitive to high alcohol content? If I use a more aggressive yeast to finish the ferment, will it ruin the taste? (i.e. - I hear champagne yeast works for high gravity)
2) I used a recipe that called for 7 lbs light extract, plus 2 lbs of honey. Has anyone else noticed that honey takes longer to ferment? I've been reading that mead (using only honey) can take a very long time. I'm wondering if the sugars are different and the yeast strain is having difficulties with it.
3) I had a dilemma when racking the beer last night. I didn't want to oxidize the beer and ruin the flavor, but I wanted my yeast to thrive in a well-aerated environment. So should I aerate when racking to a secondary or not? I know it's too late this time, but it would be nice to know for next time. I just siphoned carefully without splashing and hoped that the wort would aerate enough with the transfer to give the yeast a nice place to live. I couldn't bring myself to shake it up. I hate stale beer even more than sweet beer.
4) What is the minimum bubbling rate before I can bottle?
Thanks in advance.
This is my situation. I'm making my 3rd batch ever, it's a high gravity Hoegaarden Grand Cru mimick, starting at about 1.060. The primary fermentation was aggressive for the first 24 hours and then quickly subsided into a secondary that bubbled at a rate of 10 bubbles per minute. Over the next 2 weeks it slowed to a rate of 6 bubbles per minute, but has held steady. It's been 21 days now and the bubbling continues at 6 bubbles per minute.
I was afraid that a wild gusher strain was at work, so, I decided to check the gravity and attenuation. It started at 1.060. Now, it's at 1.030. The target is 1.010. The bit I tried was quite sweet so I think the fermentation is just sluggish. I gave it a swirl and put it in the warmest room in our house (about 75 C) to see if I could wake up the yeast. It just continued at the same rate. So, I bought another 5-gallon carboy and racked it to a secondary fermentor last night, then pitched a fresh batch of Belgian Wit Ale yeast.
It's been a few hours and I've got a layer of krausen across the top which is a good sign. The rate is about 10 bubbles/minute still though. At least I got the beer off of the trub. I hear the sediment starts to impact once dead yeast are metabolized via glycolisis. There were definitely dead yeast cells floating around. I'm going to sit a few days and see what happens. I can't bottle when it's still bubbling so much. Also, I can't stand how sweet the beer is. The flavor would be awesome if the sweetness would go away.
Here are my questions:
1) The Belgian Wit yeast seemed to poop out early. Does anyone know if it's particularly sensitive to high alcohol content? If I use a more aggressive yeast to finish the ferment, will it ruin the taste? (i.e. - I hear champagne yeast works for high gravity)
2) I used a recipe that called for 7 lbs light extract, plus 2 lbs of honey. Has anyone else noticed that honey takes longer to ferment? I've been reading that mead (using only honey) can take a very long time. I'm wondering if the sugars are different and the yeast strain is having difficulties with it.
3) I had a dilemma when racking the beer last night. I didn't want to oxidize the beer and ruin the flavor, but I wanted my yeast to thrive in a well-aerated environment. So should I aerate when racking to a secondary or not? I know it's too late this time, but it would be nice to know for next time. I just siphoned carefully without splashing and hoped that the wort would aerate enough with the transfer to give the yeast a nice place to live. I couldn't bring myself to shake it up. I hate stale beer even more than sweet beer.
4) What is the minimum bubbling rate before I can bottle?
Thanks in advance.