Pitched the wrong yeast!

[Tim_B]

Hi everyone, I brewed the Cottage House Saison recipe last weekend, which I didn't hit my OG from the mash so I added a little extra honey and some DME. But, not too worried so that aside, I ended up pitching Wyeast 3724 instead of 3711! Had no choice but so go ahead and see how it turns out. I understand that 3724 needs to be kept in the 80's and I thought that I'd be able to keep it there, but it's been pretty cool here in Chicago and it's sitting at around 75-78.

It was going well for the first two days but now it's pretty much stopped all activity, so I checked the gravity and it's at 1.040. I don't have any way to get the temp up right now and I'm wondering If I can just go pick up a pack of 3711 and pitch it in. What do you think?

Oh, by the way, I stole some of the gravity sample and it smells and tastes great! Still sweet of course but it's got that Saison aroma and taste to it so I'm really hoping this one comes out ok. Thanks!!

 

[JamesM]

Anything you can do to raise the temp would help, maybe a heating pad for an hour or so. You can also try to stir it up and re-suspend the yeast, but careful not to splash around too much. Adding a different yeast strain won't hurt, but the first strain has so much of a lead at this point you probably won't get too much of the character you're looking for, I wouldn't bother.

 

[Tim_B]

Thanks JamesM, I did stir it a little to no avail. But, now that I think of it I do have a heating pad! Should I do it for like an hour a day? How do I maintain it?

 

[BigRob]

You can definitely use 3711 to finish off your saison, it's a pretty common technique when dealing with 3724 stuck fermentations. Otherwise, patience, it will finish eventually, takes a month or so.

 

[Tim_B]

Cool BigRob, I'll go with patience first trying to get it warmed up a little bit and checking the gravity every now and then. If it doesn't move then I'll get it finished off with 3711. Thanks!

 

[scubastan]

Get a nice 40 gallon tub fill it with 80F water.. then get a Aquarium heater. The extra water in the tub acts as a nice buffer to keep the temp constant. I got both tub and heater for about $20 at walmart. Make sure you get the heater that you can adjust the thermastat. Also make sure to test the water temp with a secondary method after the heater turns on and off. The one I get runs about 4F colder then what is marked on the heater.

 

[kingwood-kid]

I think you subconciously chose the right yeast. Let the 3724 do its thing at 80+ for a couple weeks. If the gravity is over 1.010, harvest a bunch of yeast so you can use it next time, then let 3711 take it down to 1.002 or thereabouts. 3724 isn't the easiest yeast to work with, but to me the flavor it provides is better than 3711.

 

[Tim_B]

OK, so I tried getting the temp up and waiting a bit, but it pretty much stopped at 1.030. Since I know I'll be needing the carboy as a secondary for another beer I went ahead and pitched 3711. It brought it down to 1.010 a week ago and it is still there today. If I bottle this at that gravity do I need to use less priming sugar or do I put the amount I planned? Thanks!

 

[BigRob]

If 3711 is stopped at 1.010, prime it like you would any other beer. That's only if 3711 is really done, I haven't personally had it finish at 1.010 for me.

 

[Tim_B]

Thanks, It's been in the primary for over 5 weeks and at 1.010 for a week so I hope it was done...went ahead and bottled. Tastes great though, can't wait til it carns up!