First Time Using Puree in Secondary..

[Dulcrn]

Hello!

So 3 days ago I split my wort into two secondary vessels - one 5L and one 10L. I added 1000g Raspberry puree to the 10L and 1000g Passionfruit puree to the 5L. Over the past week the temperature has considerably dropped (room temp currently sitting at 4 degree C - worth mentioning I live on a boat so usually using a heat belt for primary to maintain temp which has been working perfectly so far). When I move to secondary I don’t usually maintain the temp as I would during primary but now this has me worried with the very low temperature drop, since transferring and racking on top of the puree, is the yeast that would be remaining sleeping and not fermenting the sugars from the puree? Im worried about bottle bombs when it comes to adding my priming sugars..

Should I raise the temp as at the moment no bubbling activity in the airlock so the yeast wakes up and hopefully ferments out the sugars? However, the Passionfruit batch is already pretty carbonated.. is this normal? Also, how long to keep in my secondary now - was thinking 2 weeks?

sorry, so many questions ! Just anxious this batch is wasted time and will cause loads of unwanted bottle explosions

Thanks in advance !

 

[Dulcrn]

Also worth mentioning FG was reached before racking thanks

 

[milkflakes]

4 C is pretty cold, I'd check the recommended temps for your yeast strain and adjust accordingly. Also more co2 is retained in colder liquids so I wouldn't worry too much about the carbonation levels until you package. Then you would need to add an appropriate amount of carbonation for the volume and temp of the beer. Two weeks sounds good, just wait to package until you get stable readings because the sugar in fruit is fermentable.

 

[Dulcrn]

4 C is pretty cold, I'd check the recommended temps for your yeast strain and adjust accordingly. Also more co2 is retained in colder liquids so I wouldn't worry too much about the carbonation levels until you package. Then you would need to add an appropriate amount of carbonation for the volume and temp of the beer. Two weeks sounds good, just wait to package until you get stable readings because the sugar in fruit is fermentable.

okay great, was thinking this weekend to put the heat belt on and keep at the recommended temp - this should hopefully wake up the yeast to start fermenting out the sugars of the fruit? I will keep an eye on the readings and bottle as soon as they settle. Thanks so much!

 

[milkflakes]

okay great, was thinking this weekend to put the heat belt on and keep at the recommended temp - this should hopefully wake up the yeast to start fermenting out the sugars of the fruit? I will keep an eye on the readings and bottle as soon as they settle. Thanks so much!

No prob. Post updates, sounds like a good project.

 

[Dulcrn]

No prob. Post updates, sounds like a good project.

will do! Keeping my fingers crossed

 

[Jag75]

Once you add fruit your beer will start fermentation again. You should allow these sugars to be fully fermented before bottling.

If your beer is cold with the fruit the yeast is sluggish. When you batch prime and bottle your going to keep the bottles warm to carbonate. Now your yeast is going to eat the sugar from the fruit and priming solution. This could result in bottle bombs .

 

[Dulcrn]

Once you add fruit your beer will start fermentation again. You should allow these sugars to be fully fermented before bottling.

If your beer is cold with the fruit the yeast is sluggish. When you batch prime and bottle your going to keep the bottles warm to carbonate. Now your yeast is going to eat the sugar from the fruit and priming solution. This could result in bottle bombs .

So do you think it’s a good idea to raise the temperature on the secondaries to let the sugars ferment out and then bottle as usual once I’m sure the FG has been reached ? Or do you still think there is a risk of bottle bombs this way ?

 

[Jag75]

So do you think it’s a good idea to raise the temperature on the secondaries to let the sugars ferment out and then bottle as usual once I’m sure the FG has been reached ? Or do you still think there is a risk of bottle bombs this way ?

Yes I'd raise the beer back up to room temp And let it do its thing. Then once the fermentation is done then bottle and hold that temp for a couple weeks to prime.

 

[Dulcrn]

Yes I'd raise the beer back up to room temp And let it do its thing. Then once the fermentation is done then bottle and hold that temp for a couple weeks to prime.

Perfect thanks so much for the advice - will keep you posted on how it turns out