Big Belgian - should I repitch?

[MathMan]

This is my second "big boy batch" of beer (after Mr. Brew) and my first complete recipe (not a kit). I've read a couple books and read posts on this site and others. Suffice it to say that I feel well read on the pros and cons of what I've done thus far, but I can't figure out what to do in this situation.

I've got a big Belgian (OG about 1.074) and it's been in a 5 gallon secondary for about a week. I took it out of primary a few days after it reached the expected final gravity of 1.014. It fermented at about 70 degrees and I've got it in the garage at around 50 degrees now, but the airlock hasn't done anything since I placed it in the garage. The yeast strain is Wyeast 1388 "Belgian Strong Ale", of which I pitched two activator packs at the primary fermentation temperature. It bubbled well at first even plugging my fermented and prompting me to get a blow-off hose, but has since (apparently) stopped.

Now my concern is that the yeast is either too cold, done eating, or just dead and I don't know whether to: a) re-pitch something in the secondary (I think this is a bad idea but may be wrong); b) go ahead and bottle the beer (now or after a few weeks), but re-pitch right before or at the time of bottling; or c) leave it in primary for another few weeks and prime before bottling as usual.

Another thought is to move it in from the garage and back to a higher temp, but after reading some other recipes they all leave the secondary fermentation at a lower temperature.

Finally, my intention was to make the brew a Trippel with a few Dubbel flavors, so I'm going for a well-carbonated final beer. For this reason, I'm leaning toward option 'b' above.

Any help you all could give me is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[lumpher]

sounds like it's done fermenting. 1.074 og and 1.014 fg is great, especially when that's the posted fg. i did a 1.083 belgian a while back, and primaried 5 weeks, secondaried 5 weeks, then bottled

 

[Steverett]

No bubbling is normal for a secondary, especially at that temp. The yeast is done making alcohol for the most part, so it's also not going to make much more CO2 at this point. Just bottle normally (and make sure you bottle condition somewhere warmer -- more like 70F)

 

[sjbeerman]

You have 80% attenuation, which is perfect! I say bottle it. You have plenty of yeast remaining to get the carbonation you desire. To get the desired CO2 volume, I would calculate the amount of sugar to add based on the batch volume and temperature. I believe that beer should be carbonated between 3-4 volumes.

 

[Sheldon]

sjbeerman, forgive my stupidity, but how do you arrive at the 80% attenuation statement.

Sheldon

 

[VTBrewer]

(og - fg) / og

(74 - 14) / 74 = 81%

 

[phatuna]

attenuation:
http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/homebrew_terms.html

 

[Sheldon]

mucho gracias amigos.

Sheldon

 

[MathMan]

Thank you all for your responses! I think I'll let it sit in the secondary a bit longer and go ahead and bottle as expected. I'm still not sure if I should re-pitch when bottling (it seems like everytime I've made up my mind, I hear something on Brewing Network or read something here to change my mind!). Oh well, some day I'll have a kegging system and not worry about having enough yeast to carbonate! Thanks again!

 

[Calder]

I figure you had a steady reading for a couple of days before you racked. If you did, then it is done and you can bottle. Would recommend leaving it a week or 2 before racking in future to allow the yeast to clean up; clean up diecetyl, convert fusel alcohols to esters, etc. By moving it to a cold environment; although it had reached FG, you put the yeast to sleep and a lot of it has now dropped out of suspension, so it will take a long time in the bottle to clean up.

Bottle what you have now, and next time let the yeast work a little longer at ferment temps.

Yes, there is plenty of yeast to carbonate the bottles. You do not need to add any more. If you are really worried about it, move the racking cane across the yeast in the bottom of the fermenter to bring a little back into the liquid. The yeast is only asleep, not dead.

 

[MathMan]

To help wake up the yeast before bottling, would it be benifitial to move the secondary closer or up to fermentation temperatures?

To be honest, there are a few things I'd definitely redo with my process; but I know that's part of the process!

 

[Steverett]

Just move it to somewhere warmer after you bottle, it will wake the yeast up either way. You may just have to leave it in the bottle a little longer (like 4-6 weeks). Just taste it every week starting at 3 weeks until its delicious. Cheers!

 

[MathMan]

Just wanted to give a quick update. I bottled my beer 9 days ago, but of course had to try it after one week. I am happy to say that the beer tasted great with pretty good carbonation after just one week of being bottled. Just want to thank everyone for their input!

 

[paul7]

(og - fg) / og

(74 - 14) / 74 = 81%

thank you-im surprised i havent seen this equation elsewhere already

 

[Jamison]

FWIW I just did a SDB with an OG 1.09 and FG 1.02 (78% attenuation). It carbed up nicely, but it took about a month in the warmest room in my house, which was about 75 degrees. I only used about 4 oz. of corn sugar per the recipe, I will up that a bit next time.

 

[schweaty]

Don't be afraid to keep the fermented beer in the primary for a couple weeks after fermentation is over! Let the yeast clean up the byproducts they left in the beer. There is no adverse side effect to leaving the beer in primary for months! Trust me, I and many other brewers around here have done so many, many times! Especially considering it's a Belgian it will only benefit from an extended conditioning period. Try not to drink them really fast as I guarantee that your last will be your best and you'll wish you saved more!