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nduetime

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i have a couple of question regarding my last batch and am not sure if where it should be addressed. if there is a more appropriate section, by all means.
i was brewing a belgian triple from a book that i have not tried to brew before. my "lhbs" didn't have any sweet orange peel which was one of the ingredients nor did they have the right yeast. recipe called for wyeast 1214 but they didn't carry wyeast products. i had to use belgian abby (wlp530) instead of suitable alternative of trappist ale yeast (wlp500) because they didn't have that either.
brewed it back on September 26th maybe...exact date has slipped my mind. it was my first batch using oxygen. left late the next day for work out of town without any activity. oh yeah...batch size is 2.5 gallons. didn't use a starter because i figured the whole vial of yeast along with oxygen would be suffecient. left before activity started. came back on Sept 30 at about high krauesen.
i usually transfer based on time between bubbles without any problem. transfer to secondary at about 1 minute between bubbles and bottle at about 2 minutes. however, its still less than 30 seconds between airlock activity. og was 1.084, the highest to date for me. i know i should have had a starter which would have increased lag time with less chance for off flavors too. but does the lack of a starter explain the long fermentation? the only way to tell if i should transfer would be to take a sample, maybe i'll do that tomorrow. if i don't transfer tomorrow, i won't be back in town to do so until nov 5 or 6. is that too long in primary? fg should be around 1.016-1.019. anyone have any suggestions?
also, it's fermenting pretty warm because it's my only my second batch in my new place since i last brewed over a year ago. warmer temps aid in faster fermention correct? if it helps, my american wheat i brewed the day before is at about 3 -4 minutes, in secondary, two points from projected fg at transfer and tasting great. i know it's much lower gravity of beer but should it ferment that much quicker?

*correction*
that wheat is 7 minutes without airlock activity and it's still going to be awhile...i'm just tired of waiting, watching the clock. time to bottle that one!!!!!! YES!!!!
 
nduetime said:
i have a couple of question regarding my last batch and am not sure if where it should be addressed. if there is a more appropriate section, by all means.
i was brewing a belgian triple from a book that i have not tried to brew before. my "lhbs" didn't have any sweet orange peel which was one of the ingredients nor did they have the right yeast. recipe called for wyeast 1214 but they didn't carry wyeast products. i had to use belgian abby (wlp530) instead of suitable alternative of trappist ale yeast (wlp500) because they didn't have that either.
brewed it back on September 26th maybe...exact date has slipped my mind. it was my first batch using oxygen. left late the next day for work out of town without any activity. oh yeah...batch size is 2.5 gallons. didn't use a starter because i figured the whole vial of yeast along with oxygen would be suffecient. left before activity started. came back on Sept 30 at about high krauesen.
i usually transfer based on time between bubbles without any problem. transfer to secondary at about 1 minute between bubbles and bottle at about 2 minutes. however, its still less than 30 seconds between airlock activity. og was 1.084, the highest to date for me. i know i should have had a starter which would have increased lag time with less chance for off flavors too. but does the lack of a starter explain the long fermentation? the only way to tell if i should transfer would be to take a sample, maybe i'll do that tomorrow. if i don't transfer tomorrow, i won't be back in town to do so until nov 5 or 6. is that too long in primary? fg should be around 1.016-1.019. anyone have any suggestions?
also, it's fermenting pretty warm because it's my only my second batch in my new place since i last brewed over a year ago. warmer temps aid in faster fermention correct? if it helps, my american wheat i brewed the day before is at about 3 -4 minutes, in secondary, two points from projected fg at transfer and tasting great. i know it's much lower gravity of beer but should it ferment that much quicker?

*correction*
that wheat is 7 minutes without airlock activity and it's still going to be awhile...i'm just tired of waiting, watching the clock. time to bottle that one!!!!!! YES!!!!

Well, i know you're anxious, especially with your schedule, but concerining the abby, IMHO, i think you might wait till you get back. I'm just speaking from experience here, because the only beers i can brew with my water is Belgians, and German lagers, without going through the PITA of water adjustment. So they are the ones i am most familiar with. If you are getting bubbles at 30 sec., she's still happily munching sugar. Besides, a few extra days in primary is not going to change the world, or your beer.:)
 
I've come accross some post recently regarding the length of time beer sits in primary. early on when i first started brewing i had thought that i had read somewhere that if it sits in primary too long, off flavors can start to produce. never brewing a beer of this gravity has me a little nervous given my work schedule. in it will stay until i get back. thanks for the help-b.
 
off flavors may or may not appear in your beer but it will take a long time.. like a month or so. You will be fine!
 
high gravity beers take longer to ferment. your long lag time was due to the oxygen and shortage of yeast. they took a long time to get going, but they should be able to do the job. if you would have had a starter, you would have had more yeast...that's why it may have shorter fermentation.

there's no way to tell if she's done if you don't take a reading. don't transfer to secondary until it has reached it's final gravity...you can't rely on those bubbles.

as long as there is some activity now, it will be fine in the primary for another month, i say. no worries, leave it :)
 
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