WLP570 Golden Strong

[Babbage78]

I have a question regarding a batch i brewed up on 02/24/14. I brewed a Golden Strong Ale recipe that was mashed at 147 for 2.5 hours, purposely underpitched (still made a starter) and lightly aerated. I started fermentation at 62 F and let it rise naturally to 74 F. I have also read in countless posts that this yeast strain is a slow worker and almost never flocs out. Despite all this, this is the 8th day of fermentation and the gravity has dropped from 1.086 to 1.008 and it seems as if fermentation has finally halted. Gravity hasn't moved, will check tomorrow one more time.

I'm surprised that primary fermentation occurred so quickly. I'm wondering whether I should let it rest at 74 or maybe even a little warmer for a few more days or whether I should move straight to secondary. Secondary question...during my reading of Brew Like a Monk, I noticed that many of the breweries claimed to ferment for about 5-8 days and then crashed their beer to 32 F for secondary, where they would let it sit for anywhere from 2-4 weeks. It makes sense to me to follow in the footsteps of the pros but this information seems to directly contradict what I read here on hbt.

I continue to read in tons of posts about people leaving these beers in primary for 3-6 weeks and then leaving it in secondary for another 3-4 weeks and then bottling. hbt hasn't led me astray as of yet but I'm just wondering why the info seems to contradict each other. I of course am still going to lager the beer for at least a month before I start sampling but i'd like to hear everyone's opinion on the matter. Thanks

 

[CadillacAndy]

I have a question regarding a batch i brewed up on 02/24/14. I brewed a Golden Strong Ale recipe that was mashed at 147 for 2.5 hours, purposely underpitched (still made a starter) and lightly aerated. I started fermentation at 62 F and let it rise naturally to 74 F. I have also read in countless posts that this yeast strain is a slow worker and almost never flocs out. Despite all this, this is the 8th day of fermentation and the gravity has dropped from 1.086 to 1.008 and it seems as if fermentation has finally halted. Gravity hasn't moved, will check tomorrow one more time.

I'm surprised that primary fermentation occurred so quickly. I'm wondering whether I should let it rest at 74 or maybe even a little warmer for a few more days or whether I should move straight to secondary. Secondary question...during my reading of Brew Like a Monk, I noticed that many of the breweries claimed to ferment for about 5-8 days and then crashed their beer to 32 F for secondary, where they would let it sit for anywhere from 2-4 weeks. It makes sense to me to follow in the footsteps of the pros but this information seems to directly contradict what I read here on hbt.

I continue to read in tons of posts about people leaving these beers in primary for 3-6 weeks and then leaving it in secondary for another 3-4 weeks and then bottling. hbt hasn't led me astray as of yet but I'm just wondering why the info seems to contradict each other. I of course am still going to lager the beer for at least a month before I start sampling but i'd like to hear everyone's opinion on the matter. Thanks

8 days of fermentation at those temperatures sounds about right. A couple of questions -

How much simple sugar did you use?
How did you add the sugar? To the boil, or staggered over the course of fermentation?

Based on my experience, and without knowing the answers to the above questions, I would probably keep the beer at 74F for at least another couple of days, and maybe even raise it up to 78F if you're able to, just to try to squeeze another point or two out of it. I would also probably pull a sample to see how it tastes, just so you have a reference point.

Once you get a steady FG reading over 3 or 4 days, I'd cold crash it and then rack to a secondary or keg. I usually use at least 1 dose of gelatin to get my BGS to clear, as well as extended lagering in a keg under about 30psi.

 

[Babbage78]

I used a pound of simple sugar in the boil. I actually wanted to add it staggered during fermentation but adding it during fermentation made me realize that i should probably cut down on my boil volume to account for the added liquids that the sugars would have been mixed with. Then I'd probably get more/less hop utilization and it all proved to be more math heavy than I had originally thought. As a matter of fact, if you have experience with that I'd love to hear what process you use?

Actually forgot to mention that I did taste my last sample. This is my first high gravity ale so I was blown away by just how boozy it smelled but it was surprisingly drinkable, green but I can tell its on the right track. Wish I could speed time up a bit lol.

About the lagering at 30 psi, wouldn't that overcarbonate the beer? I usually only set it to about 10-15 psi if I'm gonna let it sit for an extended period of time. What temp do you usually keep the keg at while lagering?

 

[CadillacAndy]

I used a pound of simple sugar in the boil. I actually wanted to add it staggered during fermentation but adding it during fermentation made me realize that i should probably cut down on my boil volume to account for the added liquids that the sugars would have been mixed with. Then I'd probably get more/less hop utilization and it all proved to be more math heavy than I had originally thought. As a matter of fact, if you have experience with that I'd love to hear what process you use?

Actually forgot to mention that I did taste my last sample. This is my first high gravity ale so I was blown away by just how boozy it smelled but it was surprisingly drinkable, green but I can tell its on the right track. Wish I could speed time up a bit lol.

About the lagering at 30 psi, wouldn't that overcarbonate the beer? I usually only set it to about 10-15 psi if I'm gonna let it sit for an extended period of time. What temp do you usually keep the keg at while lagering?

Adding all that sugar to the boil explains the quick fermentation. I wouldn't worry about that. I usually make a simple syrup with the sugar I use in my BGS and add it about 1 quart at a time over 2-3 days as fermentation starts to slow.

I usually go for a 4+ volumes of CO2 because I'm bottling from the keg. I hit it with 30psi and let it sit, then hit it again several days later. Repeat for a bit. I don't think it's possible to overcarbonate this style if you're bottling from the keg. You'll lose so much carbonation. If you're bottle conditioning, use a carb calculation chart.

 

[treehousebrewing]

Yeast does a lot of work after it reaches FG in the fermenter. It will clean up after itself, re-consuming acetaldehyde and DMS and a lot of the other nasties that contribute to off flavors in beer. A lot of the reason people leave it alone for a bit of extra time is to ensure that the beer is "cleaned up" before they move it off the big population of yeast that lives in the primary. My recommendation would be to leave it be for another week or two before moving it to keg or secondary or whatever.

 

[Babbage78]

Just wanted to post an update on the batch. I decided to let it sit for another week at warm temps to see if I could drop the gravity any lower and it actually dropped down to 1.006 (which makes me all jolly inside, never made a 10.5% beer before). Right now i've got the bad boy lagering and will probably keep it like that for another 3-4 weeks before I sneak another taste. Here's what I got from my sample today.

Very subtle yet complex flavor, getting a lot of apriot/pear but not in an overbearing manner and a light warmth from alcohol and spiciness near the end. Hop bitterness seems perfectly in balance. Excited to try the aged/carbonated product!

Thanks to anyone who helped me with my questions!