Fermentation temperature control

[imp81318]

I currently have a Belgian Tripel is my primary fermenter that's been working away for close to a month. A week ago I took my 2 ggravity readings and it had stalled with the gravity still higher than the target range so I rocked the bucket a little bit and took it out of the swamp cooler to try to re-start the process. I am going to check the gravity again tomorrow to see if it has worked or if it is still stalled. If it is still stalled my plan is going to be to raise the temperature a bit. What is the best way to do this - wrap a heating pad around the bucket or put it in a water bath with a fish tank heater?

I am thinking that the fish tank heater in the bath will give me a better ability to control the temp, but the heating pad might be more effective at raising the temp of the beer itself... The fermometer does not work and has never worked since I stuck it to the side of the bucket so Im really going to be kind of guessing blind at the temp of the beer as i try to warm it up.

 

[ABVIBUSRM]

I think the fish tank heater bath is a better option cause water has alot of mass and the temp changes will be alot slower..put her in the bath and give her a gentle swirl

 

[flars]

probably shouldn't mess with it to much until you know what the temp of the beer is right now.
target fg ranges sometimes don't mean to much because of the variables which can affect fg. some details would be helpful. extract or all grain? mash temperature? yeast and amount of yeast? fermentor volume? water temperature of the swamp cooler?

 

[peterj]

At this point the actual temp of the beer doesn't really matter as long as it is warmer. Just make sure it doesn't go over 100F or something. As long as it's in the 70s or low 80s.

But before you do this, are you sure it's actually stuck? Are you taking gravity readings with a hydrometer and not a refractometer? What is the grain bill, mash temp (if all grain), and gravity readings (OG and current gravity). What temp has it been at up until now? How much and what kind of yeast did you pitch?

 

[imp81318]

It is the Brewer's Best Belgian Tripel extract kit. I pitched the yeast that came with the kit - 1 dry packet of sachet.

When I took the two recent SG readings (both 1.025) the temp of the beer was 68 and 70 degrees. The upper end of the target range according to the instructions is 1.020. I have it fermenting in the utility closet in the basement that also has the furnace and water heater in it. The temp in the utility closet has been fairly consistently 70-72 degrees throughout the fermentation to-date and the water in the swamp cooler has just been basically at room temperature (i.e. not adding any ice or anything to attempt to lower it).

And yes, I am using a hydrometer to measure the gravity.

 

[myndflyte]

What was your starting gravity?

 

[number40fan]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/brewers-best-belgian-tripel-high-fg-487742/?highlight=tripel

Check out this thread. Your problem down to a T.

 

[imp81318]

So in your experience, what was the best way to proceed from where I am now? It sounds like you had good results by adding beano, but I've read other threads saying that once you add beano it will just continue to create simple sugars and you could end up with bottle bombs...

 

[imp81318]

What was your starting gravity?

OG was 1.084 or 1.085, I'd have to check my notes downstairs for the exact number.

 

[number40fan]

It has been in the bottle for over a month now without any issues, other than good beer.

 

[peterj]

You could also try pitching a very attenuative yeast. I would use Danstar Belle Saison. That stuff will chew through anything! Or another very high attenuating saison yeast like Wyeast 3711 maybe. And any flavors it makes (which shouldn't be too much with the little sugar that's left) will be pretty similar to what you're going for in a tripel. You'll probably need to make a small starter with it though in order to acclimate it to an alcohol rich environment.

 

[imp81318]

What does the attenuation rate mean for yeast?

And I don't have an Erlenmeyer flask yet... is there any reason not to make the starter in a large glass pitcher?

 

[ABVIBUSRM]

What does the attenuation rate mean for yeast?

In a nutshell it is the percentage of sugars that the yeast can consume..does the pitcher have a very wide opening? is so i would advise against it..i am sure you can use it successfully but i would say get yourself a growler or a flask of appropriate size

 

[imp81318]

In a nutshell it is the percentage of sugars that the yeast can consume..does the pitcher have a very wide opening? is so i would advise against it..i am sure you can use it successfully but i would say get yourself a growler or a flask of appropriate size

Thanks. I never even thought about using my growler! But why is it a bad idea to use a pitcher with a wide opening?

 

[imp81318]

Thanks for the input all. I've never done a yeast starter before (obviously) but I think I'm going to take your suggestions and make one using whatever high attenuating yeast is readily available at my LHBS. The original recipe used 6.6 lbs of Light LME and 3 lbs of Pilsen DME. I'm assuming that I should ust the pilsen DME to make my starter?

 

[ABVIBUSRM]

Thanks. I never even thought about using my growler! But why is it a bad idea to use a pitcher with a wide opening?

its probably ok with the wide mouth but the narrow opening there is less chance of dust etc to fall in and easier to seal up with foil

 

[imp81318]

I went to my LHBS today intent on buying a new hydrometer (dropped mine while washing it this morning...d'oh!) and some WLP 550 Belgian Ale yeast to make a starter with and pitch into my stalled beer until the guy working there talked me out of it. He thinks the problem is likely that the fermenter has been sitting on the concrete floor in the basement, keeping the bottom of the beer and yeast cake too cool to stay properly active. So at his suggestion I just set the bucket up on some blocks of wood and a blanket to insulate it from the cold floor to see if that gets the process going again. Worst case scenario, it remains stalled next week and I still have to pitch more yeast or try something else.