50 degree secondary with US-05?

[BowAholic]

I found what looks like a great Buried Hatchet clone, which I brewed today. The instructions call for Primary: 10 days @ 74° F, Secondary: 21 days @ 50° F, Tertiary: 91 days @ 50° F, and Age: 14 days @ 45° F...With this yeast it would seem there wouldn't be any fermentation below about 59... What would be the reasoning behind this temperature schedule ? I'm just trying to understand...
thanks.
Bob

 

[brew_ny]

a link to the recipe may help

but I am not sure how well you will like beer made with US-05 at 74

watch the OG?

all the best

S_M

 

[dnslater]

These directions strike me as odd, especially with S05 - but I have never had this beer. This is a clean fermenting yeast, but 74 is the absolute high end of the range. Also remember the fermenting wort will generate its own heat. Seems to me that you would want to do 70 and not 74 to reduce off flavors.

The goal of the long secondary (I wouldn't rack it more than once) is to let the flavors meld. It is also to let the yeast clean up after themselves and reduce off flavors, which you will have with the high temp primary. 50 degrees may be too cool and will probably put the yeast to sleep. This is a big beer and your want to give the yeast time. After the primary, I would give it a week or two at 60 before lowering the temp.

I could be wrong, if the goal of this beer is to have interesting flavors like a Belgian.

 

[flars]

This looks like the recipe. Very unusual. Different yeast.

http://www.foggybrainbrewery.com/index.php?page=recipeDetail&filter=zach&id=40&pg=2

 

[BowAholic]

that's the recipe and this was the closest I could get locally to the yeast in the recipe. I actually have it at 70F in my fermentation freezer. My OG was way low at 1.075 and I suspect a bad thermometer might have been reading higher than actual temps while mashing...not sure as I'm new at this. Any suggestions as to how to handle this from here...I usually primary a month and then secondary about that long since I typically do high gravity beer. I have never dropped the temp to secondary but would like recommendations.
thanks,
Bob

 

[BowAholic]

so in a few days it will be time for the secondary, according to the original recipe...if nobody has a better suggestion, I guess I will rack to a secondary and drop the temp to 50* for the next 3 months... I typically wait about that long but with the Belgians I keep them in the upper 60s until bottling. thanks.

 

[flars]

The cold temp could cause the yeast to become dormant. The yeast could come out of dormancy, during bottle conditioning, and complete the fermentation if FG has not been reached.

 

[BowAholic]

suggestions? I thought the same thing...my son says he just bottled some Stout that he had at 50* for the past month...but I don't know squat.

 

[flars]

Take a SG reading. Take another in three days. If they are the same FG has been reached. Let it go to completion if FG has not been reached. When the fermentation is complete, continue on to the cold conditioning as in the recipe.

Good luck. I hope it turns out well.

 

[BowAholic]

thanks. Any idea why the recipe would call for such a strange schedule? 10 days in primary and a total of 112 days at 50* between secondary and tertiary...? Just trying to understand...

 

[flars]

I have no idea why. It is a terrible practice to expect yeast to work by the calendar. Quite often FG can be reached in ten days, but the consequences are immense if it doesn't happen. Exploding bottles are dangerous.

When I look at a recipe and the basic best practices are not followed, I doubt everything about the recipe, even the author saying it tastes great.

 

[BowAholic]

I hear ya...and I'm in no hurry. I have built 2 temperature controllers, one for a big chest freezer and 1 for a big refrigerator. I have the freezer set at 67*F right now with 3 batches aging in it...I can leave this one in there after racking to secondary or put it in the fridge at 50*F...not sure which to do but I'll wait and leave the BHClone in the primary for another week or 2.

 

[BowAholic]

I decided I should come back to this now that I'm drinking the beer... I love this beer! The flavor is spot on and, like most high gravity big beers, I think it will get even better as it ages. My wife doesn't like good beer and still buys most of hers in a can but she actually really likes this and asked for and entire glass after tasting it. I went back to Brewtoad to comment but this recipe is gone...and now their are several other Buried Hatchet recipes on their website...