JohnV3 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 9 days ago I put together a 15 litre batch of belgian golden that had a OG=1078. Yeast piched at 22degrees, since then the fermenter has been at about 18-19 degrees. I used a full sachet of WYEAST (Ardennes)and 3 days ago the gravity reading was 1030. Today it's 1027. Should I expect much more activity over the next few days or should I just get another sachet of the same yeast and throw it in.....with the amount of alcohol already in the beer, is it better to opt for a high gravity yeast or is that a moot point at this stage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 with such a high OG I would go for something like EC1118 what FG were you hoping for? another option is to raise the temps a bit, say to 20 for another 3-4 days and check gravity.. if the readings are still moving, fermentation has not finished and it may need a bit of help to finish, (ie raise temps, swirl to re-suspend yeast etc) toward the end yeasts can get a bit lazy and sleepy.. if you are trying to get to a 1010 type finish it will be a 9%+ beer and Im not familiar with that yeast so cannot attest to it's properties, hence the idea of using the EC1118 as it's tolerant to quite high alc. levels. Hope this gets you going in the right direction. step 1 warm it up. wait 3 days and check Hydrometer step 2 stir it up. wait 3 days and check Hydrometer step 3 (after all other avenues are exhausted) EC1118. wait 3 days and check Hydrometer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 just looked up that yeat and it says up to 12% ([love]) so I would go steps one and 2 at the same time and head to 3 if you dont nake it near your expected FG.. How does it taste? and residual sweetness still there? Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnV3 Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 aiming for 1020....still a tad sweet..I'll bump the temp up and se if it helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 ive taken them as high as 21-22 if they are having trouble finishing and Ive found this to help. Then adjust priming amounts to suit (assuming bulk priming) it's been a while since Ive had to stir up the yeast but this can also help if they have gotten a bit lazy[ninja] Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnV3 Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 Thanks for your advice. I just went to http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=136. This strain of yeast will also go up to 12% (good news) and it will do it's job between 18 & 24 degrees. The fermenter is upstairs so it should get to 21-22. What's the impact to priming ( I use drops) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 How old was the yeast and was the pack well swollen prior to pitching? What is the recipe? An absence of simple sugars will make for a higher expected FG. Yes, if struggling to get to expected FG, you could drop the priming rate to half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnV3 Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 The yeast pack was very swollen but I am not sure of the date (smelled good). The recipe I am following is as the follows, but for a 15 litre batch and I replaced the 12.5lbs of pilsen malt with 250g pilsen malt and two cans of Coopers light LME.....Finally, I used only 500g of sugar. http://www.clubhomebrew.com/index.php?page=recipeDetail&filter=VTBrewer&id=20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 The date is not so important, as long as the pack is swollen. Looks like the recipe is asking for a mash temp of around the 63C mark. This should give more simple sugars compared to what the Light Malt cans offer. Also, I think you are about 150g short of white sugar. So you probably have more complex sugars and less simple sugars than the recipe asks for... Taking all this into account, 1027 may be about right - the recipe suggests 1020. I reckon you could leave it as is for another 5 days (14 days total) then bottle into PETs. If the FG still seems high, use half priming rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnV3 Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 Good news...the fermenter is showing 20 degrees and the airlock is bubbling, albeit somewhere between 15 & 60 seconds between burps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 bubbles are not a sign of fermentation though.. only your hydrometer will tell you that.. could be just releasing o2 as a consequence of you moving it.. give it a few days and take a reading, till then relax and have a home brew[cool] yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnV3 Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 oooooh.[crying] I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope the hydrometer brings [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnV3 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 1023 as of yesterday.[happy] fingers crossed..I'll leave it for a few more days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeonardC2 Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I was going to say 1.018 myself,as this is what I've seen on other sites with this sort of brew. But let your hydrometer & taste be your guide. Just make sure of a stable FG,as always... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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