3522 - Belgian Ardennes Yeast

I am brewing a Belgian Pale Ale this weekend with the wyeast 3522 Ardennes strain. I've never used this one before and want to know thoughts on temperature. My basement is about 66 right now and stays constantly between 66 and 68. I'd like to ferment low but don't want to go TOO low.

The temp range on the yeast is 65 to 85 and I was wondering what results could be expected from the extreme low end.

 

In general the Belgian yeasts like it pretty warm to completely attenuate. I just pitched some 3522 into a batch on Sunday and it's going like gangbusters at 75F. No experience with fermenting it cooler than that, though.

 

+1, start it cool and ramp it up. That will encourage attenuation and give you that belgian yeast character. If you are going to ferment low, IMO, it sort of defeats the purpose of using such a characterfull yeast. You might as well promote the flavors the yeast can provide.

 

If you can wrap a big sleeping bag around your fermenter, you may be able to trap enough of the heat generated by fermentation to make the yeast really happy.

 

When I made my belgian strong, I had it in 72 ambient at the end, the fermenter was wrapped in two towels and two big blankets.....the ferment approached 80 degrees....it is delicious beer.

Trust EvilGnome6 when it comes to belgian brewing, he has guided me through my first belgian and it was succesfull......raise temps and feed it sugar incremenatally.....that is key.

 

I have the ability to use an aquarium heater in a large tub of water to keep the temperature above 65. I was hoping not to have to use that since I don't have a temperature controller, only the (somewhat reliable) dial on the thermometer itself. I guess I can test it out in the tub prior to fermenting to hone in on the right temperature.

What is the typical temp difference between the fermenting beer and ambient?

 

At the peak of fermentation it is about 5-8 degrees F. That's with an uninsulated glass or plastic fermenter.

 

I've used this yeast on several belgian pale ales at 68F, great beers and one of my fav yeasts

 

Thanks for the help. I'll let you know how it turns out.