WLP565 Belgian Saison I Help

Hey guys, I need a little advice here.

I started fermenting my saison with WLP565 last week. Actually before I pitched, I had a starter going for about 36 hours. The starter peaked super fast only evidenced by the krausen residue on my flask.

So I aerated and pitched and have been fermenting at about 77F since last Thursday. The ferment started okay but the airlock never really bubbled. I have a 3 piece air lock and the plastic dome piece was definitely lifted by CO2 creation but no typical bubbles. Then around late Sat or early Sun, the dome piece slid down and now its resting on the air tube. Did my fermentation stall? What should I do? I ferment in sankes so I can’t see inside.

Any help would be appreciated.

Did you measure the specific gravity? It seems to be mentioned in every other thread here and it has become something of a basic tenet: airlock activity is not a reliable indicator of fermentation. Measuring the specific gravity is really the only way to accurately monitor your fermentation.

I am just about to use WLP565 for the first time and my understanding is that it can be a tricky yeast to get to ferment out completely.

You really need to be able to take gravity measurements. Airlocks don't really indicate anything. Even with a perfect seal, afetr main fermnet is done, it'll still be going for awhile. The ony way to tell for sure is to have it go for 2-3 days without changing. If you just left it alone for 3 weeks, it should be complete and gives time for yeast to scrub off.

Michael raises a good point in that it's possible for gravity to remain the same for a few days, but have a stalled ferment. You should be able to glean enough data from the manufacturer, and other users on what your projected FG should be (or range). Try searching that yeast here, or user reviews on the White Labs site.

Thanks guys. I'll do some gravity readings over the next week and report back.

I just used the WLP565 yeast in my saison...I had it in primary for about two weeks. After a gravity reading of 1.014 I transferred it to secondary (both primary and secondary at 75 degrees) and it appears to have started fermenting again. I'll have to check the gravity in another few days to confirm. Not sure if this is normal...but I do have a half inch krausen.

WLP565 needs some heat to finish out quickly. I usually get my fermentation temps into the low 90s within 36 hours, with fermentation being completed in less than 72 hours.

My suggestion is to crank up the temperature. Rock the fermenter to kick the yeast back into suspension and let the temperature rise. It might be hard to hit 95F considering it is the winter though.

WLP565 is my predominant summer yeast strain because I don't have to worry about temperature controls hardly at all and can hit the low 90's no problem.