Extract Winter Warmer

I brewed this a couple of weeks ago...

11# Pale LME
2# Caramel/Crystal Malt 80L
.13# Roasted Barley
2oz Northern Brewer 45min
1 Whirloc
Danstar Nottingham
OG 1.080

When I put it in Beersmith, it read that it would come out BLACK...I wanted dark, but not black...so I thought that I overshot it with the 80L.

After two weeks of continuous bubbling, I figured it was time to transfer to secondary. It was still bubbling, but I've read on here that you can't tell by the bubbles...go by the hydra. So I opened her up, and to my surprise she was my original target color. I drew a sample and unfortunately she was still a little high 1.030...but the taste...WOW! I normally don't like the taste of wort, but this ish was TASTEY!

I decided to leave her in the primary for another week or so, to let the yeasties continue whatever they're doing that makes it taste like that. lol

Hopefully I didn't eff it up too much by moving it around and opening the lid...anyway, I can't wait for this one to be done!!!

How long do you guys noramlly leave the higher gravity beers in primary? What should I expect the FG to be at?

 

I just bought my first.... bigger beer... Should be a dark Belgian 7.5%abv.

I'm on your heals hoping mine goes as well as your's seems to have already!

Cheers and fingers crossed.:rockin:

 

I'd probably leave it in the fermenter for 3 or 4 weeks.

Nottingham attenuates around 75%, so I'd expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.020, just from looking at the numbers.

I don't have any practical experience with Nottingham in big beers, though, so your results may vary.

 

What he ^^^ said...

At 75% attenuation, you'd be looking at around 1.020 FG. That seems reasonable for extract and 2# of crystal. As far as how long to leave it, as long as it takes. Not trying to be a smarta$$, just the facts. I'd be very comfortable leaving it for up to a month in primary. I've left beers in primary as long as 3 months when I got busy or was out of town. I wouldn't really recommend going quite that long, but the threat of autolysis is overblown by many. Swirling the fermenter will actually help get the yeast off their lazy butts and working again if they decided to go all union on you. Don't shake the crap out of it, but a nice gentle swirl to get the yeast into suspension.

Hope this helps. Let us know how it turns out.

Terje

 

Thanks guys. SWMBO has me up against the clock to get this beer kegged and ready for Thanksgiving...lol...but I don't see it happening.

I tell her "This beer is worth waiting for!" :cross:

 

My Holiday Ale started out at ~1.074 when i brewed it on Sept 5th, and I just bottled it this past weekend - it ended at 1.020 with Nottingham and used 2lbs of various steeping grains and non-fermentables.

I'd say that without a stepped fermentation or some other way to dry it out a bit, you're going to end up with some sickly-sweet beer. I'd say leave it in primary as long as you can - at least until the 12th to give it two weeks in the keg.

 

^^^ That sounds about right.

Looking at the Calendar...would I find any advantage in transfering it to a carboy on the 12th, and then kegging it on the 19th?

 

You'd get a week of clearing, which definitely isn't going to hurt the beer. I say, for the little extra effort of sanitizing and racking to a carboy it'll be worth it. 1 week isn't much, but better than nothing and it'll continue to clear in the keg. Just remember that there may (will) be some sediment on the bottom of the keg on that first pour.

Terje

 

That'll be my plan then!

 

Personally, I would leave it in the primary for as long as you can. You can keg it a couple days before Thanksgiving, cool and force carb it.

Eric

 

Am I about to ruin a good brew by kegging it too soon?

Tell me yes, and I'll buy something commercial for Thanksgiving. I just don't want to "rush" this beer before it will be it's best...

 

I know, it sucks to wait, especially when you don't have any homebrew to drink.

But I think you would regret it if you kegged now. Keep it in the primary for as long as it takes to get the FG down and let it clean up. You brewed a big beer, take your time. It will be worth it.

Eric

 

You have time. Keep it in the primary another week or so, then you can move straight to keg by the weekend of the 20th. If you want to move through a secondary you can move it this coming weekend, or mid week next week, to give it a week or so in secondary. Secondary really isn't necessary, but if it is something you feel better doing, by all means secondary it.

If worst comes to worst you can kick the gas up a bit the first couple days in keg to force carb, and have a carbed up beer in about 3 days. You won't hurt it by kegging to soon on this schedule. Looks like you will be at better than 4 weeks when it goes into keg. If it still tastes a bit green, or still seems like there is some flavor melding to do, then just don't drink it. It will continue to age in the keg just fine. Pick up a six pack or two just in case you don't think it is ready. I'm sure you can put the extra beer to good use if you decide to drink your kegged beer.

 

I was under the impression that it has to age at cellar or room temps...

Doesn't the cold temp and pressure do something to the conditioning process?

EDIT: I just did a hyrdometer reading, and despite continuous bubbling..lol...it hasn't changed in a week. (1.030) What should I do to help the yeasties move that reading down another .010? repitch?

 

IMO, don't rush it. My winter warmer was brewed back on June 30th. 1.078 OG. Left it in primary for a month. Then let it bulk age in a secondary for two months. Bottled at 1.016 and they have been in bottles since early September. I've been tasting it along the way and time has had a considerable effect and it just keeps getting better.

I'm sure it will still be fine on your current schedule, but the more time you can give it the happier you'll be.

 

1030 is too high. Winter Warmer is a style that needs 4-6 months to age unfortunately.

You need time on the yeast to bring the gravity down.

Eric

 

Raise the temp to 70 and swirl the fermenter to get things going again. If the yeast has floculated you need to get it back up into suspension.

 

I just did this yesterday evening. Would this be considered a "stuck" fermentation, or is this just par for the course with bigger beers?

 

I don't know. It could be that the English type yeast flocculate at the drop of a hat. If the ferment hit a cold spot it may have caused the yeast to quit working. That''s just a theory. I'm no expert on stuck ferments.

I see you used dry yeast. Perhaps using 2 packs would have been better. When using liquid yeast always make a starter. Also, oxygen in the wort helps.

 

I did keep the temps cool throughout the fermentation. I've raised them up pretty close to 70F now...maybe a good swirl when I get home will help those lazy yeast get back to work.