navethechimp
Member
Premise:
Two weeks ago I brewed a strong Belgian blond (1.082) and it didn't go so hot (no pun intended). I was planning on mashing around 149-150F, and by also adding a pound of sugar, I was planning it to be on the dryer end. Anyway, I was using a new floating thermometer for the first time, since my previous one broke, and I was very disappointed when I realized it was totally bogus. There is no way that the temperature it was giving me was right (it was saying my mash was 100F when just feeling the temperature by hand indicated that it was blatantly wrong). Before I even thought about that, I was trying to correct with hot water, and when I realized what was happening I had to start correcting in the other direction with ice. This is a good lesson on checking new thermometers before brewday!
I was going to dump it since I really had no solution at this point, but figured, what the hell, what if I was lucky enough to fall at a somewhat decent temperature and get enough enzymatic activity that I'd get reasonable fermentability? What's a few dollars in hops and a few more hours work when I've already committed myself to this?
So it's been in the fermenter for two weeks and the fermentation is more or less finishing off around 1.062. I'm open to accepting process anomalies and all, but I wasn't going for a 2.5% barleywine here you guys!
Possible solution:
Throw some brettanomyces at it and see if the bretts can eat up the massive amount of "unfermentable" sugars. Supposedly bretts can eat up any sugars you throw at it, even after the primary yeast has fermented the simple sugars. I've only brewed one beer with bretts (and it was amazing), but it was used more conventionally. This seems a bit goofier.
Anyone familiar with brettanomyces behavior and how it would fair in such an environment? I'd rather dump it than anxiously watch the carboy for 6-12 months to no avail.
Thanks! And I'm open to any other radical weird ideas, too!
Two weeks ago I brewed a strong Belgian blond (1.082) and it didn't go so hot (no pun intended). I was planning on mashing around 149-150F, and by also adding a pound of sugar, I was planning it to be on the dryer end. Anyway, I was using a new floating thermometer for the first time, since my previous one broke, and I was very disappointed when I realized it was totally bogus. There is no way that the temperature it was giving me was right (it was saying my mash was 100F when just feeling the temperature by hand indicated that it was blatantly wrong). Before I even thought about that, I was trying to correct with hot water, and when I realized what was happening I had to start correcting in the other direction with ice. This is a good lesson on checking new thermometers before brewday!
I was going to dump it since I really had no solution at this point, but figured, what the hell, what if I was lucky enough to fall at a somewhat decent temperature and get enough enzymatic activity that I'd get reasonable fermentability? What's a few dollars in hops and a few more hours work when I've already committed myself to this?
So it's been in the fermenter for two weeks and the fermentation is more or less finishing off around 1.062. I'm open to accepting process anomalies and all, but I wasn't going for a 2.5% barleywine here you guys!
Possible solution:
Throw some brettanomyces at it and see if the bretts can eat up the massive amount of "unfermentable" sugars. Supposedly bretts can eat up any sugars you throw at it, even after the primary yeast has fermented the simple sugars. I've only brewed one beer with bretts (and it was amazing), but it was used more conventionally. This seems a bit goofier.
Anyone familiar with brettanomyces behavior and how it would fair in such an environment? I'd rather dump it than anxiously watch the carboy for 6-12 months to no avail.
Thanks! And I'm open to any other radical weird ideas, too!