Wyeast 3724 ferm temp schedule

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slarkin712

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I know that there must be 50! threads on Wyeast 3724, but I'd like to have my very own. So... I just pitched 3724 into a Saison with OG 1.070. I pitched at 65F yesterday and plan on ramping the temperature up to the upper 80's. I've read that it should be kept relatively low the first couple days. Should I keep it under 70F the first couple days or what? I plan on ramping the temperature 2F everyday. Is this a good schedule or should I ramp them up any faster? I appreciate any opinions.
 
Someone else with more knowledge of Jamil's recommendation can answer your specific question, but a couple of months ago I made a saison with 3724 starting at 82 and going to 88. It was a great beer. I'm making another one now. I started at 70 and I'm at 88 now. I get just a little burp on the gas bubbler every 10 seconds or so, so it is going to take a while.
 
I know that there must be 50! threads on Wyeast 3724, but I'd like to have my very own. So... I just pitched 3724 into a Saison with OG 1.070. I pitched at 65F yesterday and plan on ramping the temperature up to the upper 80's. I've read that it should be kept relatively low the first couple days. Should I keep it under 70F the first couple days or what? I plan on ramping the temperature 2F everyday. Is this a good schedule or should I ramp them up any faster? I appreciate any opinions.

After things start fermenting I would ramp it up rapidly. Maybe 4 degrees per day. Perhaps you just let the fermentation activity take the temp up naturally.
 
A sad update. Nearly 24 hours after pitching the ferment activity seemed to stop. I allowed the temp to free rise, but it never rose (and the ambient temp was 68F). The temp got to 68F and then stalled. I then ramped the temp up to 75F, and then 80, then 85F. Still no activity. I popped open the lid on my ferment bucket and there was a very thin layer of krausen. Gravity was 1.055. I stirred the bucket carefully to help the yeast get back into suspension. Hope this gets it going. I've got some Wyeast 3787 that I top cropped 3 weeks ago. Maybe I'll get a small starter going and pitch the 3787 at high krausen. I can't draw a final conclusion, but I suppose I pitched at too low of a temp.
 
Just keep it warm and it will do its thing. I'd say get it up to 90 and just sit back and relax.
 
Just keep it warm and it will do its thing. I'd say get it up to 90 and just sit back and relax.

Thanks for the affirmation. But, just in case I got a starter going on some Wyeast 3787. I'll ramp it up to 90F now and wait it out. How long should I wait before pitching more yeast?
 
+1 on keep it at 90F and be patient...and shake it often. If you want a classic Belgian Saison, let the 3724 do its thing. If you want some kind of Trappist/Saison/Dubbel mongrel, pitch the 3787 on top of the 3724...it will probably be good beer, but it won't be a 3724 Saison with 1.055 left to go.

I pitched a 3724 (6L stir plate starter/12 gallons) the day before you started your batch. Pitched @ 80 and let it rise to 90 in 12 hours and kept there. Its gone from 1.060 to 1.024 and still has steady airlock activity (bubble/2 sec). I shake my fermenters several times a day to keep the yeast in suspension and take CO2 out of solution, and I make certain that the temp stays at or just above 90F.
 
Checked it again this morning with temp at 90F all night and still no activity. My bucket is sealed well and there is no airlock activity. It's like the yeast just dropped and went dormant. I've been swirling the bucket to help rouse the yeast, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Is there a chance that the yeast wake up?
 
Still no activity, so I think I'm pitching more yeast. I've located some 3724 and 3711. I'm going to make a small starter for one of these and let it go for 4-8 hours and then pitch into my starter. Should I aerate the beer in my bucket again, or will shaking the heck out of my yeast starter provide enough oxygen? Again, my beer is at 1.055 and started at 1.070. Oh, and I'm going to pitch at 78-80F and then ramp it up to 90F.
 
DO NOT aerate the fermented beer.

pitch the starter at high krausen when the yeast is most active. I would not use 3724 again. I'd use a more reliable strain like 1056. Maybe 3711 would be OK. I don't have a lot of experience with that one. A belgian yeast may be a good option like 1214 or 3787. You will need something that is more tolerant of tough conditions and is know for good attenuation.

3724 is VERY problematic and does not fully attenuate even under good conditions.
 
DO NOT aerate the fermented beer.

pitch the starter at high krausen when the yeast is most active. I would not use 3724 again. I'd use a more reliable strain like 1056. Maybe 3711 would be OK. I don't have a lot of experience with that one. A belgian yeast may be a good option like 1214 or 3787. You will need something that is more tolerant of tough conditions and is know for good attenuation.

3724 is VERY problematic and does not fully attenuate even under good conditions.

You're probably right. Why try to fight with the 3724. I'll pitch the 3787 that I made a starter for. The beer should still come out nicely. I'll tackle the 3724 next time.
I still don't understand why the 3724 stops so soon, before it really even got going all the way. The Wyeast smackpack was about 2.5 months old, so I did a 2 step starter to get the appropriate cell counts. In between steps I crash cooled and decanted the wort. And did the same after the last step. In the flask it looked like I had a lot more yeast than I started with, so I assumed it had grown correctly. Is there something wrong with my process? This is what I do with all other yeast strains.
 
3724 is just a royal pain in the ass. If I use it I'd just expect to have a problem and have to repitch with another strain or bret.
 
I don't think that i would recommend crash cooling the last starter step that you intend to ferment with. I think it is best to pitch it while fermenting.
 
3724 is VERY problematic and does not fully attenuate even under good conditions.

So not true. You do need to treat it right. Proper temp control and it works just fine. Just pitch and slowly raise the temp until you get to the high 80's to 90 and it does it's job. I always get it to finish low with no problem. The last brew I did was down to 1.004 in 10 days. I just bottled at 1.002. I like the flavor profile from this yeast.
 
Update: I pitched some 3787 from a starter that was cooled and then decanted last Thursday(6-21-12). This pitch never showed any signs of fermentation and a gravity check verify this(still at 1.050). So I made another stater of 3787 and pitched at high krausen(~14 hrs) on Saturday afternoon. I added oxygen from an aeration stone for ~20 secs. Some say not to do this, but I want the yeast to have some O2 and I'm still very far from my FG. I figure the new pitch should consume this O2. Fermentation finally restarted 7-8 hours later at a temp of 71F. Since then I've continued to ramp the temp up slowly to 75F. The ferment hasn't been as vigorous as 3787 usually is, and there is no blow-off. I'm going to keep ramping the temp to keep the ferment going and hope that the FG gets to 1.008-1.010.
 
So not true. You do need to treat it right. Proper temp control and it works just fine. Just pitch and slowly raise the temp until you get to the high 80's to 90 and it does it's job. I always get it to finish low with no problem. The last brew I did was down to 1.004 in 10 days. I just bottled at 1.002. I like the flavor profile from this yeast.

This is my experience as well. I get 90+ % apparent attenuation regularly with this yeast.

I wonder if many of the stuck fermentation stories are because of people having some daily temperature fluctuations during their fermentations and when the temps drop at night later on in fermentation the yeast floculate and stop fermenting? I generally ferment in a chest freezer with a dual stage temp controller and can keep that from happening.
 
This is my experience as well. I get 90+ % apparent attenuation regularly with this yeast.

I wonder if many of the stuck fermentation stories are because of people having some daily temperature fluctuations during their fermentations and when the temps drop at night later on in fermentation the yeast floculate and stop fermenting? I generally ferment in a chest freezer with a dual stage temp controller and can keep that from happening.

You probably are right. The more steady you can keep the temp the better. I use a big cooler and an aquarium heater. it holds the water temp to within 1/2 degree. Never changes at all. The mass of all that water keeps it very steady.
 
Another update: I checked on it last night and it was still fermenting, with about a bubble every 6-8 seconds in my airlock. I took a peak inside the bucket and there is no krausen at all. Took a gravity reading as well, 1.030. I've got the temp ramped up to 77F. I'm wondering which yeast is getting the ferment done. Whenever I've used 3787 I've had a long lasting krausen, so it might not be that one. Also, the hydro sample was super cloudy, so there is plenty of yeast in suspension, and it's quite tasty. Given the info I've provided should I continue to ramp the temps up as if the 3724 is active? Or will I get some seriously off flavors from the 3787 at high temp (above 80F) if it's active? I'm going to try to be patient and just leave it at 77F for the next couple of days and see if the ferment activity remains steady. If it slows and is not near FG I think I'm going to ramp the temps again into the mid 80s.
 
This ferment completed as I had hoped. I continued to raise the temp up to 86F. Gravity was down to 1.009 in a week and 1.006 after three weeks when I decided to bottle. Beer has some great citrus taste with a little spice. Still not sure if 3787 or 3724 finished, but the flavors I am tasting are not the typical flavors of 3787.
 
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