Trappist High Gravity 3787 Yeast and Low Temperature/No Starter

I'm making a Belgian Dubbel that comes out at around 8% ABV. The yeast I chose was the 3787 Westmalle strand, which I've heard is the most estery if it ferments a little warm. We keep our house at 60 degrees, so I'm curious if I can make up for the esters that I'd normally get at high temperatures by simply underpitching my yeast. Thoughts?

i'd never advise under pitching to achieve esters. use a pitch rate calculator and pitch the right amount of yeast, especially in a higher gravity brew. to get the warmer temp esters, look into the many ways one can control fermentation temps, but with ambient temps being 60, the beer will ferment warmer than that and you'll probably be in the proper temp range to get some of those esters.

A starter is recommended and I would suggest doing one, especially for a beer that big

Not recommended but better than pitching in a beer that big without a starter. If the recipe calls for a lot of sugar you can leave it out of the boil, which will bring the OG down. The yeast will then work on a lower gravity wort. Then a few days later add some of the sugar, let it go for a few days and add the rest. This is less stressful on the yeast, but agin not ideal.

3787 will work fine in the mid to upper sixties. If you can keep it there it will work. Just be careful about letting the temp drop after the initial fermentation slows. You risk stalling the fermentation if the temp drops. Find some way to keep it from dropping. But it is better to keep the temp up a little higher than that.

A container to hold the fermenter is a water bath and an aquarium heater works great. You can even ramp up the temp at the end to really help the brew finish.

Leaving the fermenter right by a heat vent keeps my temps up a few degrees.

I have 2 batches of different tripels that I used 3787 for this winter and fermented in my basement with ambient temp around 60F (range is about 58-61F). They came out with plenty of Belgian flavor, no complaints. The temp in the beer was about 65. I did not use a starter but pitched 2 packs. I did move them close to my heater after 4 or 5 days to finish fermentation a couple of degrees higher.

I the future I think I will purposely try to keep the ambient temp around there for my belgians.

If you don't make a starter you will likely get a stuck fermentation. In general, I would always recommend making a starter anytime you use liquid yeast.

sjbeerman said:

If you don't make a starter you will likely get a stuck fermentation. In general, I would always recommend making a starter anytime you use liquid yeast.

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The only reason I ask this is because somewhere in Brew Like a Monk, the author suggests that many Belgians severely underpitch their beers by American standards to achieve their characteristic flavors. I was curious if I could do the same with the 3787 to make up for temperature (since I usually don't make starters for a lot of big Belgian beers - I usually only do it when I use a new yeast)

kinkothecarp said:

The only reason I ask this is because somewhere in Brew Like a Monk, the author suggests that many Belgians severely underpitch their beers by American standards to achieve their characteristic flavors. I was curious if I could do the same with the 3787 to make up for temperature (since I usually don't make starters for a lot of big Belgian beers - I usually only do it when I use a new yeast)

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Oh wow, I'd be tempted to do the same, how many times have you done it? What effect did it have on the beer?

beergolf said:

A starter is recommended and I would suggest doing one, especially for a beer that big

Not recommended but better than pitching in a beer that big without a starter. If the recipe calls for a lot of sugar you can leave it out of the boil, which will bring the OG down. The yeast will then work on a lower gravity wort. Then a few days later add some of the sugar, let it go for a few days and add the rest. This is less stressful on the yeast, but agin not ideal.

3787 will work fine in the mid to upper sixties. If you can keep it there it will work. Just be careful about letting the temp drop after the initial fermentation slows. You risk stalling the fermentation if the temp drops. Find some way to keep it from dropping. But it is better to keep the temp up a little higher than that.

A container to hold the fermenter is a water bath and an aquarium heater works great. You can even ramp up the temp at the end to really help the brew finish.

Click to expand...

I have read that Westmalle keeps a monk on watch at all times to prevent ambient temperatures from falling while the beer is fermenting (they open ferment and top crop) and avoid yeast stall. Because once it's stalled, the only solution is to pitch more yeast.

They also say that Westmalle yeast will perform well into the 70s and even mid-80s. Not willing to try it, but it's certainly an option for you lads in warmer places!

specharka said:

I have read that Westmalle keeps a monk on watch at all times to prevent ambient temperatures from falling while the beer is fermenting (they open ferment and top crop) and avoid yeast stall. Because once it's stalled, the only solution is to pitch more yeast.

They also say that Westmalle yeast will perform well into the 70s and even mid-80s. Not willing to try it, but it's certainly an option for you lads in warmer places!

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True.But if you are trying to ferment at the lower end of this yeasts temp range you have to be very careful as fermentation slows. Active fermentation adds temp, as it slows the temp will drop. You cannot let it drop so as fermentstion slows you will have to add some heat, to keep it up to the same temp.