Belgian Trippel Stalled!... I think.. Help Please

Ok so here is my story. I am currently fermenting a belgian tripel (this is only my second go at this home brewing process) and I think I may have stalled out the fermentation. Over the first couple days I had the beer fermenting in my kitchen at a temperature between 70-74 degrees. Then the weather changed and i moved it into the basement which sits a lower temperature, roughly 68 degrees.

Following this I was doing some reading and read that tripels like ferment at higher temperatures. Is it possible with all of my moving around and temp changes that I stalled out the yeast. Or am I being impatient?

I brewed this on September 22nd, so it has been 16 days. This is much longer that the kit says it takes. The max OG it calls for is 1.020 and I have been sitting at 1.027 for atleast three days now. There are no signs of bubbles threw airlock or on top of the beer itself. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

I would move it back up to the warmer area of the house and see if the fermentation kicks back up.

Give it a little more time. A slightly warmer temp may help finish up the beer. Otherwise, leave it for another 5-7 days.

It's true that many Belgians strains like the warmer temps. I've found that allowing the yeast to build up temp naturally (start @ 64F and let build to 72-74F) results in higher attenuation.

The yeast should clean up the beer in a few more days. After 7 days, cold crash it, and transfer.

I will definitely give it more time. But if for some reason by the end of the week the gravity does not reach the suggested OG would it still be safe to bottle?

RyanKoP said:

I will definitely give it more time. But if for some reason by the end of the week the gravity does not reach the suggested OG would it still be safe to bottle?

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You should be fine. I suggest crash cooling the beer before attempting to bottle/prime. If you were kegging it would be an easy decision but to avoid making bottle bombs you should crash cool the beer first.

Even though the beer has clarified from the cold temps (3-4 days), there will still be enough yeast available to create the re-fermentation (CO2 buildup) you are looking for. Bottling Belgian beers can get a little tricky but if you pay extra attention to the amount of sugar when bottling, you'll be fine.

Another option is to add a vial of Belgian yeast into 5 gallons of fermented beer. Carefully mix and then bottle. If I were you, I'd avoid this for this batch. At 1.027 you've got enough residual sugar that the yeast may take off ......and bottle bombs will result.

Brew on!

Warm it up and give it a lot more time. Belgian yeasts can take a long time to get the last few points. Do not bottle until you are absolutely sure it is done.

Here is a great quote from Brew Like a Monk...

"Let the fermentation finish, perhaps at a higher temerature. I can take as long to get the last few points of attenuation as it does the first 80%"

Belgian yeasts are different than most ale yeasts. They do not like to have the temp drop after they start. If it does it can be difficult to get them to start again. The only time I had a a way overcarbed brew was when I bottled a tripel that I thought was done, but obviously it was not. Not bombs but very close. Now I routinely give them plenty of time to finish. It has been only 16 days, give it at least 2 more weeks and even more time would be better.

^^^ The Gospel

Beergolf gives excellent advice on Belgians.
I enjoyed Brew Like a Monk. It has lots of good info on the personalities of Belgian beers and brewing them.

What yeast did you use?

Since this is only your second brew, you may find you don't even like Belgian beers.
However; if you do, BLAM is the book that gives you an honest look at how their made and the keys to the process. A recipie book, it's not, but you won't find better info on how to brew them.