Can I lower my fg with more yeast?

[rockdemon]

Its a common question but i havent found the answer. I tried using yeast from commercial beer for the first time and i didnt have enough cells it seems. Its a saison and after 1.5 weeks primary the gravity is 1012 which is too high. I have a smack pack belgian saison yeast. Is it advisable to add it and leave it for like 2 more weeks and see what happens? I really dont want a sweet saison. OG was only 1049...

 

[trentm]

Its a common question but i havent found the answer. I tried using yeast from commercial beer for the first time and i didnt have enough cells it seems. Its a saison and after 1.5 weeks primary the gravity is 1012 which is too high. I have a smack pack belgian saison yeast. Is it advisable to add it and leave it for like 2 more weeks and see what happens? I really dont want a sweet saison. OG was only 1049...

1.5 weeks is not a long time, perhaps patients is the key here. Sure you can try adding the smack pack but it is sometimes difficult to restart fermentation. It might be best if you could do a starter with the smack pack and give it lots of Oxygen. This would have the yeast in the best shape to get things going again. Another thought would be to use Brettanomyces. 1012 is really pretty low and perhaps what's left are un-fermentable (by saccharomyces) sugars. The Brett however will chew through those lowering your gravity and adding a nice touch to your Saison. My advise would be to lower the temp to around 60 F once the Brett gets going. This will create nice esters (the ones I like) from the Brett.

 

[rockdemon]

1.5 weeks is not a long time, perhaps patients is the key here. Sure you can try adding the smack pack but it is sometimes difficult to restart fermentation. It might be best if you could do a starter with the smack pack and give it lots of Oxygen. This would have the yeast in the best shape to get things going again. Another thought would be to use Brettanomyces. 1012 is really pretty low and perhaps what's left are un-fermentable (by saccharomyces) sugars. The Brett however will chew through those lowering your gravity and adding a nice touch to your Saison. My advise would be to lower the temp to around 60 F once the Brett gets going. This will create nice esters (the ones I like) from the Brett.

Brett sounds tasty! But i dont have any. Is it only in liquid form?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Zoidberg]

Yea I've never seen a dry Brett strain. You could try adding some type of simpe sugar like say a half pound of cane sugar. It will up your ravity a few points but should restart ferm and it should end a couple points under what it was

 

[stpug]

Some belgian yeast strains slow down at the end of fermentation and take a while to finish up the few remaining gravity points (DuPont strain). I've often seen it advised to simply "wait it out" with your fermenter in a warm place (75°F or a little more). Give it another 4-8 weeks, checking gravity in 4 weeks.

If you want to go the Brett route, which has been known to work nicely in a saison, then you could pitch the bottle dregs from an Orval or two. But again, you'll need to wait it out for a few months going this route.

 

[GuldTuborg]

Have you tasted it? It may not be sweet at all. It all depends upon your recipe.

 

[Yooper]

1.012 is a good FG for almost all beers. Why is this too high for your recipe?

 

[dinnerstick]

belgian saison (=dupont) is notorious for stalled fermentations, if you were to try a new yeast to ferment yours down further, this is probably not the one to do it. it works well when it's going strong but it's tough to get it to work at a low activity level, if that makes sense

 

[rockdemon]

Have you tasted it? It may not be sweet at all. It all depends upon your recipe.

Yeah i tasted it when i measured it. A bit too sweet


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[rockdemon]

belgian saison (=dupont) is notorious for stalled fermentations, if you were to try a new yeast to ferment yours down further, this is probably not the one to do it. it works well when it's going strong but it's tough to get it to work at a low activity level, if that makes sense

So the saison yeast is not good when theres not much air and sugars left. The beer bubbles now and then so il leave it for 2 weeks and try it again i guess


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[rockdemon]

1.012 is a good FG for almost all beers. Why is this too high for your recipe?

I believe the saison is supposed to be lower. My best saison was fg 1001. My pale ale that im drinking right now had fg 1012 and its far too sweet for my taste.



Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[rockdemon]

Has anyone tested the gravity on for example saison dupont?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew