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Using heat to jump start stuck fermentation - How long?

Discussion in 'Fermentation & Yeast' started by Clint Sample, Apr 1, 2018.

 

  1. #1
    Clint Sample

    New Member

    Posted Apr 1, 2018
    I'm brewing a saison at the moment and I'm experiencing my first ever stuck fermentation. Following the advise of my local shop, I've increased my fermentation temp to 89 degrees (the highest that I can go with the SS BrewTech FFts set-up (with aquarium heater) that I'm running. It didn't take long to see a lot of fermentation activity again so I believe that things are back on track. My question is, how long should I leave the heat elevated? Should I leave it as is until fermentation ends or should I drop it back down now that my yeast buddies are happy again? Some stats -

    OG target of 1.047 (landed at 1.060)
    9 days fermenting at 62 degrees
    Saw a fair amount of activity (airlock) the first few days
    14 days fermenting at 68 degrees
    FG expectation of 1.007
    Gravity reading of 1.040 on the 23rd day of fermentation
     
  2. #2
    pinchegil

    Strangedog Brewing  

    Posted Apr 2, 2018
    What yeast are you using? If you are using WY3724 it will have strong airlock for a couple of days then stall, then several weeks later it will start back up. 62 degrees seems kinda cold for a saison, you won't get the good funk at that temp.
     
  3. #3
    Clint Sample

    New Member

    Posted Apr 2, 2018
    Yes, I’m using WY3724. If it should start back up after several weeks, it might have just about been ready to do so. However, I’ve already hit it with the heat so there’s no turning back. I’ve got a lot of airlock activity now and I left it on the heat for approx. 24 hours. Panic got the best of me and I decided to turn off the heat a couple hours ago. Now the question is, am I OK to let it cool naturally (it’s in a SS BrewTech Brew Bucket with a neoprene sleeve so the reduction in temp will be fairly slow) or do I use the chiller and cool it back down to 68 quickly? Also, should I expect any significant on the flavor of the finished beer now that it’s been heated so extremely during fermentation?
     
  4. #4
    beermanpete

    Vamp me some more!

    Posted Apr 2, 2018
    Let it ride, it will be fine.
     
  5. #5
    pinchegil

    Strangedog Brewing  

    Posted Apr 2, 2018
    WY3724 is a great yeast, I actually pitch at 90 and keep it there. I know it sounds crazy but there is a quote on another forum from Jess Caudill (a microbiologist at WYEAST) that says to pitch and maintain at 90. I have done this twice, once it finished in two weeks, once it stalled and took six weeks. I used mid 70s once and it took 10 weeks and I did put a heat belt on my brew bucket. I built a heat bath for my conicals using my original mash tun and wferm.jpg 90 tmp.jpg a bucket heater
     
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