Brewferm Tripel Kit 1.080OG - 1.028SG 14 days ?

[tarmac]

Hello all, this is my first post. I'm a huge beer enthusiast - most fond of Trappist/Belgians, Westmalle Tripel being my favorite. I travel abroad often for business and have had the pleasure of drinking many different beers in their native countries.

My wife bought me the 9l Brewferm Kit and Deluxe Beer Making kit (6.5 glass carboy, 6.8 gal bucket, siphons, hydrometer, etc etc) - everything needed to brew beer for Christmas.

I followed the kit instructions precisely. My OG was 1.080, temperature corrected. I measured my SG this morning (14 days later) and it was 1.028. (65% attenuation). The FG in the kit instructions say 1.010 FG after 10 days. I will take another reading tomorrow and compare but judging by the appearance in the primary - almost no krausen, and 1 bubble every 2ish min, I think it may be done.

Any experience with this kit? Is it "safe" to bottle (no bombs) if it does not drop below 1.028? Should I attempt to revive fermentation somehow? Any other suggestions....wait longer?

I want to brew some more! I've already bought 2 more 6.5 gallon carboys + airlocks and they're occupied too I'm hooked!

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[ColoHox]

The usual advice applies here...be patient. The first brew causes a lot of anxiety, but it is best to let it do its thing. You would be fine to let it sit for another week, at least. Although, that OG seems high. Does it fit with the recipe?

1.028 is too high to bottle. Keep the beer in primary for a while longer. Check the gravity again after a week and see what is happening. If you are stuck at ~1.020 (which can happen with some extract beers for some reason) you can try pitching more yeast. If you are stuck higher, the combination of temperature, gravity, and ABV might have beat the hell out of your yeast, but you could still pitch more. Just because there is no krausen and reduced airlock activity, does not mean there is nothing happening.

 

[tarmac]

The usual advice applies here...be patient. The first brew causes a lot of anxiety, but it is best to let it do its thing. You would be fine to let it sit for another week, at least. Although, that OG seems high. Does it fit with the recipe?

1.028 is too high to bottle. Keep the beer in primary for a while longer. Check the gravity again after a week and see what is happening. If you are stuck at ~1.020 (which can happen with some extract beers for some reason) you can try pitching more yeast. If you are stuck higher, the combination of temperature, gravity, and ABV might have beat the hell out of your yeast, but you could still pitch more. Just because there is no krausen and reduced airlock activity, does not mean there is nothing happening.

Thanks ColoHox! I'll let it go longer and take another sample next week. The reason I posted is the "instructions" indicate it should hit 1.010 FG within 10 days and it's been 14 days to reach 1.028. I'll be patient!

Recipe is:

• 8l (2.1 gal) Water
• 3.3lb Can of Brewferm Tripel LME
• 550g (1.21 lb) Light Candi Sugar (crystal form dissolved in the water above)
• 1 packet included dry yeast (unknown type, rehydrated as per instructions) pitched at 68 F.

It's been fermenting in 6.5gal glass carboy in a room 63-68 degrees the entire time. This morning I moved it upstairs where the temperature is closer to constant 70 and swirled it lightly-no sloshing.

 

[RonPopeil]

imo you probably need more yeast. a 1.080 beer is going to need a good amount of healthy cells to attenuate properly. odds are the kit yeast didn't cut it.

don't bottle. simple sugars will send that yeast into OD and you'll have a mess. best option is to get some yeast.

1.028 might be too high to use champagne yeast so you'll probably want a belgian strain.

throwing some simple sugars in would probably dry it out too unless the yeast is done.

 

[tarmac]

Thanks, I think you're both right. The nameless "ramen packet" looking dry yeast didn't do it's job. I'll get the WL500 Belgian Trappist from my local shop tomorrow. I called and they had 2 vials.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Cyclman]

In the future, use a yeast calculator. Belgians are particular with temps, sometimes they need to be heated if in a cold environment to dry them out fully. If you're planning on doing big beers, I would also highly recommend an O2 injector. I am drinking a dubbel right now, nice and dry, strong!!!

 

[chickypad]

Thanks, I think you're both right. The nameless "ramen packet" looking dry yeast didn't do it's job. I'll get the WL500 Belgian Trappist from my local shop tomorrow. I called and they had 2 vials.

You probably want to do a starter and pitch it at high krausen.

 

[DogStar]

I brewed this kit about 6 months ago. I don't usually do kits but I thought I'd give it a go after hearing good things. It turned out OK but tastes more like a barley wine than a tripel. It's good though.

Mine stuck half way through but I gave the FV a good shake to get some oxygen into the wort and it started again in about an hour. I always make notes. It got down to 1.009 after 12 days.

I would guess yours has done the same. A good shake or stir will probably fix it. Adding more yeast won't make any difference if there's not enough oxygen in the wort and it will affect the flavour of the finished beer.

 

[tarmac]

Thanks for the tips everybody. I'm going to swirl it to mix rouse the yeast as well as put in an aerated starter. I'll update in a week!

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[tarmac]

Added a starter, yeast nutrient, and a hearty swirl - down to 1.020... an additional 0.008 in 8 days. Now it's totally flat, airlock silent with the "hat" piece sitting on the vent tube.

I'll most likely bottle it the 25th (making it 4 weeks in primary).

 

[tarmac]

In case anybody finds this, I'll follow up;

The beer never got below 1.020, and it tasted malty sweet 2 weeks after bottle. It's now been rougly 6 weeks since then and the taste has changed for the better dramatically. It's now perfectly carb'd and the malty sweetness may have slowly attenuated more because it's barely detectable. It has evolved to a decently drinkable beer. Sitting in my dark basement at ~52F.

I don't recommend this kit, but I will say it has proven to me as a new brewer the power of time and aging on the flavor of your beer.