belgian wit ferm temps

[joyceman]

Looking for advice on where to ferment my Belgian Wit. The Belgian Wheat Wyeast Activator pack recommends tems in the range of 65-70. My basement usually hangs around 61-62 and my upstairs is around 70-71.

Is it better to go high or low with this strain.

 

[turkeyjerky214]

If your basement's ambient temp is 62º, the fermenting beer will be higher than that. I'd go with the basement.

 

[TimTrone]

Start fermentation on the low end, and slowly raise the temp throughout fermentation. That ensures you get the proper attenuation with that strain. I usually end up wrapping a heating pad around it after I get down to 1.02 or so.

 

[DaytonBrewing]

I kept mine at the low end and it never cleared out the sulfur smell.

 

[joyceman]

Went low to high as TimTrone suggested and the beer came out excellent. Thanks for the tips all.

 

[weremichael]

I just kegged a wit last night and it did have some residual sulfur smell (which I actually like in wits). I pitched at 62F and let it naturally rise to 65F. Then over the course of the next few days I rose it up to 70F. The final four days it sat at 74F. I had the other half of the 39l batch sitting next to it the whole time and it never got above 70F. The taste difference is that the one at higher temps was more peppery and reached a lower TG of 1.008. It's sister is now warming up to 74F so I can keg it for a party at the end of the month.