Belgian Quad-high FG-need to prime?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

dizzyfun

Active Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
37
Reaction score
1
Location
Redmond
Brewed a Belgian Quad a couple months ago. It's spent almost 6 weeks in secondary. Here's a brief rundown of the recipe:

5 gallon batch
8 # Belgian Pale Malt
8# Belgian Pilsner Malt
2# Corn Sugar
40oz Belgian Candi Sugar
Wyeast Trappist High Gravity yeast
misc hops but that won't effect gravity
OG-1.110
Gravity at day 9 (transfer to secondary)-1.050
Gravity yesterday at 6 weeks-1.038

It has good residual sweetness. My question is with a high gravity beer, do I need to repitch some yeast before priming? Or is there enough sugar left unconverted by the yeast to just bottle without priming? Or do I just bottle as usual?
Thanks for any input.
 
I bet you are fine! A few more months, then maybe worry about it... but 2 months should be fine without having to add anything..
 
I should also mention that I made a large starter with this yeast. Used 1 smack pack in DME starter then after a day or 2 added more boiled and cooled DME/water and let it sit another day before pitching into wort.
 
I dont have a ton of experience, but just did a 15g wheat wine that went 1.100 to 1.019 in ten days. We put in on 2 huge yeast cakes from a much larger batch and then added 2 viles wlp530 at day 4 so there was no lack of yeast. It sat in primary for a month and half, a small amount of brewers yeast was added at bottling with the usual corn sugar and the damn things are not carbed after a month of sitting at 68 degrees. There is some carbination in the beer, but not enough to even get head. Its very frustrating as the beer has a great flavor and a lot of money into it and the no carb thing is really bothering me.
 
You really used highly fermentable base malts and adjunct sugars in this one. I'm willing to bet the reason the yeast is crapping out on you is the alcohol level. My gut feeling is that there is still plenty of fermentable sugar in this beer. You might try the Belgian trick of pitching some champagne yeast before you bottle.
 
I dont have a ton of experience, but just did a 15g wheat wine that went 1.100 to 1.019 in ten days. We put in on 2 huge yeast cakes from a much larger batch and then added 2 viles wlp530 at day 4 so there was no lack of yeast. It sat in primary for a month and half, a small amount of brewers yeast was added at bottling with the usual corn sugar and the damn things are not carbed after a month of sitting at 68 degrees. There is some carbination in the beer, but not enough to even get head. Its very frustrating as the beer has a great flavor and a lot of money into it and the no carb thing is really bothering me.

Give it another month or two. That is a high OG, and it might just take that long to get properly carb'd.
 
Oh sorry, failing at reading, why did you transfer to secondary when the beer was still at 1.050? Yeast still had a lot of work to do. Id wait for some more experienced brewers to confirm, but if it were me id make a quick starter with that same yeast and repitch. Leave it alone for a week or 2 and see where its at.
 
ABV should be around 9.5% right now, with roughly 65% attenuation. That's a very fermentable wort, and that yeast can easily tolerate more than 9.5%. With a re-pitch of an active, highly oxygenated starter, you should be able to get to at least 12%, which would be around 1.018. Once you get the gravity down where it ought to be and stable, you'll have to add sugar to prime. Some champagne yeast at bottling would be very cheap insurance.
 
Rechecked FG, it was correct. I've hydrated some champagne yeast and thinking about adding it tonight or tomorrow.
 
Rechecked FG, it was correct. I've hydrated some champagne yeast and thinking about adding it tonight or tomorrow.

There's a lot of fermentation to do yet. I think you should pitch a new starter of a Belgian and warm it up. This "champagne yeast as magical fix" notion that's around seems misguided to me. You're nowhere near the alcohol limit for a high gravity ale yeast.
 
Back
Top