Advice/Help

[CaptChet]

First off, Merry Christmas! Hope Santa was good to everyone!

Ok, I just started my 2nd batch on the 22nd, a Belgium Wit. A brief history on this batch as I had problems from the start. First, the recipe I got from the forum said to mash flaked wheat by itself, which I now know is not correct. Lesson learned. Second I mixed this recipe up with a hefe recipe and bought a hefe yeast. Went back to the LHBS and bought Safale s-33.

So I incorrectly mashed the flaked wheat, boiled that along with some top off water and 3# Extra light DME and 1# Wheat DME, bittering hops, orange and corriander. Used my new IC and got temp down to 70 deg in 8 mins. Aerated and pitched rehydrated S-33. OG was 1037. That all went well IMO. Yeast was pitched around 9:30-10PM, at 7AM the fermenter was going nuts, good krausen etc. But the temp of the fermenter was at the highest temp which is 78 on the temp strip on the fermenter, so it could have been above that. That happened overnight. I moved it to a much cooler spot and got temp down to 68 on the strip. Heavy visible fermentation continued the rest of the day but began to fall of during the night and was almost done within 36-40 hours at a constant 65 deg. Took SG reading yesterday which was 1021. I sampled the beer and there is a taste I can not put my finger on. My wife and I both read Palmers section on after tastes and both can not describe it. Maybe slightly nutty? A little sharp to the tongue? but it has a silky mouthfeel. A slight hint of alcohol. Took another SG today and its unchanged at 1021. Color is very light straw and krausen is gone.

Any ideas, opinions and help is appreciated!

Thanks
Chris

 

[northernlad]

Most of what you are tasting is beer still in fermentation. All sorts of grossness is still prevalent.
Give it 3-4 weeks in the fermentor and everything should be just fine.

 

[Yooper]

Steeping the flaked wheat by itself is ok- the worst that can happen is a bit of a haze, and wits are cloudy anyway.

I've never used S33, but you already know that the temperature got a bit too high. That sound be ok for a Belgian, although not ideal.

I don't know why it seems to have stopped at 1.021 but I'd wait a bit and check it again in a week.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

First off, Merry Christmas! Hope Santa was good to everyone!

Ok, I just started my 2nd batch on the 22nd, a Belgium Wit. A brief history on this batch as I had problems from the start. First, the recipe I got from the forum said to mash flaked wheat by itself, which I now know is not correct. Lesson learned. Second I mixed this recipe up with a hefe recipe and bought a hefe yeast. Went back to the LHBS and bought Safale s-33.

So I incorrectly mashed the flaked wheat, boiled that along with some top off water and 3# Extra light DME and 1# Wheat DME, bittering hops, orange and corriander. Used my new IC and got temp down to 70 deg in 8 mins. Aerated and pitched rehydrated S-33. OG was 1037. That all went well IMO. Yeast was pitched around 9:30-10PM, at 7AM the fermenter was going nuts, good krausen etc. But the temp of the fermenter was at the highest temp which is 78 on the temp strip on the fermenter, so it could have been above that. That happened overnight. I moved it to a much cooler spot and got temp down to 68 on the strip. Heavy visible fermentation continued the rest of the day but began to fall of during the night and was almost done within 36-40 hours at a constant 65 deg. Took SG reading yesterday which was 1021. I sampled the beer and there is a taste I can not put my finger on. My wife and I both read Palmers section on after tastes and both can not describe it. Maybe slightly nutty? A little sharp to the tongue? but it has a silky mouthfeel. A slight hint of alcohol. Took another SG today and its unchanged at 1021. Color is very light straw and krausen is gone.

Any ideas, opinions and help is appreciated!

Thanks
Chris

CaptChet sounds like the high temperatures during the initial fermentation created a load of Diacetyl which may never fully ferment out of your beer.

Beer that hasn't fully completed the initial fermentation step is likely to have a slick buttery taste to it, an indicator that more time is needed to complete the fermentation.

Next time try to hit the lower end of the yeast's optimal temperature range as early on in the fermentation process as you can to inhibit diacetyl creation.

 

[Yooper]

I don't know if you're tasting diacetyl but it doesn't really sound like it.

In any case, I wanted to mention that one of my favorite resources for yeast is the actual yeast manufacturer's website. All of the major brands have great information about each strain right on their websites. Here's the info on S-33:
http://www.fermentis.com/fo/pdf/HB/EN/Safbrew_S-33_HB.pdf

No matter what any recipe says, I recommend always following the instructions for the yeast strain you're using. You're not too far off of the suggested fermentation temperature, so try not to worry about it!

Young beer sometimes has some odd tastes- green apple, for one. Those flavors fade once the beer matures a bit, and it's hard to tell what the final taste will be in the end from such a young sample. Give it some time, and check it again in a few days or a week, however long you can stand to wait!

 

[CaptChet]

Thanks or the help. I was/am hoping it is just young beer but just wanted to see if it is not, if there is anything I can do early to change that flavor. My concern now is that due to the high temps, the fermentation happened very fast and is now done. If that is the case what can I do, if anything to further ferment? It did not take long for the temp to get high and could not have been high that long as I pitched late and was up early to check it and got it moved to cooler temps. Lesson learned! Its easier/safer to start cooler than to work the other way.

Again thanks for the comments and advice!

Chris

 

[Conan4480]

Just a question. Could you re-pitch to finish out fermentation?

 

[jonmohno]

I would swirl it gently and bring up the temp some before doing that.

 

[CaptChet]

Just a question. Could you re-pitch to finish out fermentation?

That is what I am wondering