Help (quick) with Wyeast 3787 yeast starter

[devils4ever]

Warm it up now

Already? I usually wait a week and a half or two weeks before raising the temperature. Isn't it too early?

 

[Jayjay1976]

3787 is a pretty sturdy strain and IME, only gets better if underpitched. I normally do 2L starters for Belgians but this yeast is a house strain for me and I normally don't bother with starters, just pitching 4oz of unwashed, saved slurry. YMMV.

 

[Comfort_Zone]

3787 is a pretty sturdy strain and IME, only gets better if underpitched. I normally do 2L starters for Belgians but this yeast is a house strain for me and I normally don't bother with starters, just pitching 4oz of unwashed, saved slurry. YMMV.

I'm always amazed at how much you can change the flavor profile as your pitch rate changes with yeasts like 3787. Underpitching is definitely recommended if you want to really bring out the ester profile.

 

[devils4ever]

Just raised the temp to 68F and took another gravity reading of 1.020. I was hoping to get more attenuation down closer to the 1.010 - 1.014 range. Is this possible with this yeast?

 

[JohnSand]

My first use of it went from 1.073 to 1.010, using some candi sugar feedings. Give it time, as some have reported it slow to finish. Don't be afraid to warm it even more, it's quite happy in the seventies.

 

[Comfort_Zone]

It's a slow finisher, but it'll get there. Don't be afraid to get it up into the 70s if you have to. I've taken it from 1.083 town to 1.004.

 

[devils4ever]

Yeah, I did use Candi Sugar. Here's the recipe for my 4.35 gal batch:
Belgian Tripel
----------------
12-3/4 lb Pils malt
1/2 lb Aromatic malt
1 lb Clear Candi sugar
1.7 oz Tradition hops (60 min)
0.6 oz Saaz hops (15 min)
*****************
20 min mash at 122F
30 min mash at 149F
30 min mash at 158F

SG = 1.082.

I just raised the temperature to 70F on the fermenter.

 

[IslandLizard]

1 lb Clear Candi sugar

Just for kicks, it's very easy to make candi sugar yourself, all the way up to "D-60" or even D-90. Higher takes more dexterity, lower is easier.
Clear candi sugar is the easiest and quickest of all, and can even be substituted by plain regular sugar or invert sugar. I doubt anyone can taste the difference in a beer.

 

[Comfort_Zone]

Clear candi sugar is the easiest and quickest of all, and can even be substituted by plain regular sugar or invert sugar. I doubt anyone can taste the difference in a beer.

I've submitted tripels to competitions before with clear candy or just plain table sugar. Never had a comment about that from the judges. Usually it's just them nitpicking the yeast profile.

 

[devils4ever]

OK, it's been 19 days since brew day and the gravity is down to 1.007. I'm assuming it's done?

It was at 1.020 at day 9, 1.014 at day 12. At day 10, I raised temperature to +70F. The last couple of points took a while. This is definitely a slow fermenting yeast.

 

[JohnSand]

Sounds done.