Chimay yeast (Trappist ale?)

[naturebrew]

I was given a jar of yeast from a fellow brewer which began as Chimay bottle dregs. My friend brewed a Belgian table beer on it before I got my hands on a jar of the yeast from his fermenter. I brewed an all DME 4% brew on it to build up the yeast cake, I kegged it after 3 weeks, it only reached 1.019. My 2nd batch is an all grain Belgian table beer, mashed at 153F, estimated ABV for the recipe is 4%, after 8 days it is at 1.009. For this ferment I added a brew belt and have raised the temp to 74F following the end of active fermentation.

I have never used this type of yeast before, not sure what its terminal gravity should be, if I am close to it now, will brew a Dubbel on the yeast cake this weekend. Does anyone have any experience with this strain?

 

[Beerswimmer]

It's probably my favorite Belgian yeast because of how fruity it is. Start fermentation around the mid 60's, then let it get as warm as it wants. Heat it if you need to to keep it in the 70's, and even 80's. A ferment longer than 2 weeks means something isn't right. It has a higher alcohol tolerance than most people think. It won't really finish too dry, but it can rip through really high gravity beers and still down to nearly dry. Secondaries aren't really needed with this yeast if it's allowed to ferment properly(the way it want to, warm). It's good in all types of Belgians. Enjoy!

 

[naturebrew]

Thks for the info beerswimmer, I will keep it at 74 until the weekend and then use the cake to ferment my dubbel. I think the DME batch I brewed finished high because of the DME and perhaps because I left it at 70 or so for the entire 3 weeks. The all grain version dropped to 1.009 in 8 days so thats promising.

 

[joshesmusica]

Yeah, these trappist strains are usually let to just rip through the sugars at an incredible pace, and allowing the temp to rise really high. As Beerswimmer said, start it in the mid-60s, then just let it go. Or if you have to heat it, then don't be afraid to once fermentation starts slowing down. Lower 70s is possibly even too low for the end of fermentation, especially if it had previously gotten up to the 80s.

 

[naturebrew]

Good info, will ramp it up a few degrees more to finish it, thks.

 

[joshesmusica]

Look for the book "Brew Like a Monk." Very good read, tons of info relevant to your endeavors here.

 

[Beerswimmer]

I also wait to add my candi sugar until high krausen has dropped.

 

[joshesmusica]

I also wait to add my candi sugar until high krausen has dropped.

Why?

 

[day_trippr]

Probably to avoid losing the character contribution through CO2 scrubbing...

Cheers!

 

[Beerswimmer]

Why?

A personal belief that it helps to prevent a stall. The yeast eats the harder grain sugars for a few days, then the easier candi sugars at the end.

 

[ImNoExpert]

I was under the impression that Chimay bottled with a different yeast than they fermented with. Maybe I'm mistaken and thinking about something else?

 

[joshesmusica]

I was under the impression that Chimay bottled with a different yeast than they fermented with. Maybe I'm mistaken and thinking about something else?

I'm pretty sure they don't. From what I understand, all the Trappist breweries bottle with their primary strain.

 

[ImNoExpert]

Interesting stuff!

"Some Belgian beers are bottled with the original fermentation yeast. But in many cases the fermentation yeast is a mixture of strains. Often, there is an unintentional mixture of strains, meaning wild yeast contamination. Chimay is one beer that sparks a lot of debate about what yeast is in the bottle. It is in fact bottled with the primary fermentation yeast, but the yeast is no longer the same when collected out of the bottle (for some of the reasons stated earlier). That is probably why many people who have collected it, and used it, think that it is not true Chimay yeast."

http://byo.com/hops/item/1333-round-it-up-collecting-yeast-from-bottles