Eight days ago, I pitched a smack pack of Wyeast 3278 Lambic Blend into a 1.045 gravity version of Northern Brewer's Northern Lambic Gran Cru kit. My concern is that it's still sending a bubble through the airlock every ten seconds, implying that it's still got sugar to chew on. My expectation is that it would easily have reach terminal gravity by now, having fermented at around 70 degrees the whole time. Here's why I'm worried:
First, a few facts and a little history. This beer is an aged sour, meant to be bottled in no less than 18 months from brew day and more like 3 years. 3278 is a mixture of yeast and bacterial cultures.
When the order was shipped, it took a week for delivery, during which the summer temps between Minnesota and my house in Virginia were quite warm. I SHOULD have smacked the pack with more time to let it swell enough to gauge viability or made a starter but I didn't. I just smacked before brewing and pitched about 3 hours later. It swelled a small bit but I wasn't worried, having always had success in the past. Plus, this was just a 1.045 beer, not some big barleywine or a lager that required a millions of cells. In retrospect, this was a mistake. I subsequently smacked some other Wyeast packs from that shipment and found them to be non-viable. True to their word, NB is making good and sending me replacements. However, I really don't know for sure how my pack was affected by the heat.
Anyway, my theory on how this batch *may* be going wrong is this: what if the temps were high enough to kill the yeast portion of the culture, leaving only the bacteria, which eat through the sugars more slowly and ferment to a much different taste profile? I don't want to wait three years to bottle and find out this batch is terrible.
Some important info: it took over 24 hours to see the first signs of beginning fermentation. That was my first clue that my pack might not be up to snuff. Just as I was ready to over-pitch a pack of Roseleare that I had, it started to bubble. Over the next 12 hours a small krausen formed, which has been visible continuously since it appeared.
Ok, you ask, so why not just take a gravity reading (and a taste) to see what's going on? I know, this is what I should do to get more information but I'm afraid to possibly introduce outside contamination for what could be dubiously interpreted information. What if it doesn't taste too weird at this point (what is a half-done sour fermentation SUPPOSED to taste like anyway?) and the gravity is 1.015 or so. How would I know if it got there by action of the yeast or the bacteria?
My question is for anyone with knowledge or experience with 3278 in general or this recipe kit in particular. How does this strain behave? Should it be taking this long to finish? What tastes would an all-bacterial, dead yeast version of 3278 blend produce (worst case scenario)?
I know, I know, worry ruins homebrew. I hear you quoting Papazian ("Relax, don't worry, etc..."). But I am worried. I don't want to wait three years and find out this one was a turkey.
First, a few facts and a little history. This beer is an aged sour, meant to be bottled in no less than 18 months from brew day and more like 3 years. 3278 is a mixture of yeast and bacterial cultures.
When the order was shipped, it took a week for delivery, during which the summer temps between Minnesota and my house in Virginia were quite warm. I SHOULD have smacked the pack with more time to let it swell enough to gauge viability or made a starter but I didn't. I just smacked before brewing and pitched about 3 hours later. It swelled a small bit but I wasn't worried, having always had success in the past. Plus, this was just a 1.045 beer, not some big barleywine or a lager that required a millions of cells. In retrospect, this was a mistake. I subsequently smacked some other Wyeast packs from that shipment and found them to be non-viable. True to their word, NB is making good and sending me replacements. However, I really don't know for sure how my pack was affected by the heat.
Anyway, my theory on how this batch *may* be going wrong is this: what if the temps were high enough to kill the yeast portion of the culture, leaving only the bacteria, which eat through the sugars more slowly and ferment to a much different taste profile? I don't want to wait three years to bottle and find out this batch is terrible.
Some important info: it took over 24 hours to see the first signs of beginning fermentation. That was my first clue that my pack might not be up to snuff. Just as I was ready to over-pitch a pack of Roseleare that I had, it started to bubble. Over the next 12 hours a small krausen formed, which has been visible continuously since it appeared.
Ok, you ask, so why not just take a gravity reading (and a taste) to see what's going on? I know, this is what I should do to get more information but I'm afraid to possibly introduce outside contamination for what could be dubiously interpreted information. What if it doesn't taste too weird at this point (what is a half-done sour fermentation SUPPOSED to taste like anyway?) and the gravity is 1.015 or so. How would I know if it got there by action of the yeast or the bacteria?
My question is for anyone with knowledge or experience with 3278 in general or this recipe kit in particular. How does this strain behave? Should it be taking this long to finish? What tastes would an all-bacterial, dead yeast version of 3278 blend produce (worst case scenario)?
I know, I know, worry ruins homebrew. I hear you quoting Papazian ("Relax, don't worry, etc..."). But I am worried. I don't want to wait three years and find out this one was a turkey.
