Need advice on what to do with a tripel

[Calder]

Need advice on what to do with a Tripel. It is an experiment to see how grape juice plays with malt.

3 gallon batch
75% Briess Pils Extract
25% Grape Juice Concentrate
Orange Zest, Coriander, Grains of Paradise
OG: 1.084

Yeast: Belgian yeast cultured from Ithica 'Ground Break'. I do not know what yeast it is.

Checked today and gravity is down to 1.036 after 8 days. Seems like there is no airlock activity. Temperature 68 - 70 F.

Last time I used this yeast (the only time I have used it), it took a 1.047 to a finishing gravity of 1.010 in 6 days (not a big challenge for most any yeast). I hear stories about Belgian yeasts being temperamental, but have never experienced it with the several Belgian yeasts I have used ... I guess I steered clear of ones that had reported problems.

Is everything OK? Should I just let it continue as it is?

Should I try heating it up? The batch is too small for my swamp cooler; to get sufficient water depth for my aquarium heater, the fermenter would be floating. I'm more used to doing 6 to 7 gallon batches.

I do have a heating pad that I use for Berliners, but it might heat it up too much. I use it to get my Berliners (3 gallon batches) up to 95 - 100 F. I suppose I could wrap a towel between the pad and the fermenter.

The alternate is to leave it as is and see what happens. In 2 weeks I will have the choice of an Essex (WLP022) cake or a fresh PacMan starter to help finish it off if necessary.

 

[Calder]

I was hoping someone would comment and give me some hope for this beer. The sample tasted fantastic ........ just way too sweet.

It seems stuck at 1.036. At 6.5% I don't believe the yeast is done.

I've put a heating pad around about a third of the fermenter and wrapped the whole thing in a towel. I don't have a temperature of the wort. Between the heating blanket and the HDPE fermenter, it is 88 F. On the other side of the fermenter, the temperature between the towel and the fermenter is 72 F (a few degrees above room temperature). I'm going to guess the wort is somewhere mid to high 70s, and took a while to get there.

It has been 6 hours since I applied the heat. How long should I wait for some activity? Is this hot enough? I can increase the pad temperature and insulate the fermenter more - didn't want to over-heat it right at the start.

 

[pdxal]

8 days is way too early to panic. I don't know the yeast, so can't help on that front, but it is still too early to call it crapped out regardless of the temp. I would have waited longer to see and perhaps started heat if gravity became stationary at 3 weeks or so on a big beer like that.
For heating you have lots of options, including what you have done. Heating pad nearby in an insulated area works fine. I've even used a big cardboard box around a carboy with a heating pad next to it but not touching it and gotten stable warmer temps without overheating.
Good luck.

 

[feinbera]

You might also get some mileage out of physically agitating your fermenter to rouse some of the yeast back into suspension.

 

[pmoneyismyfriend]

if you hit your f.g. you should be o.k., if it is too sweet for you, add some distilled water, (advice I received from Jamil Zainaschef). Also carbonation cuts at the sweetness

 

[kanzimonson]

Did you add the grape juice at the beginning of fermentation? People say that the yeast can get lazy if given too much simple sugar at the start of fermentation. Apparently they lose the ability to produce the enzyme that breaks down maltose.

Another weird thing I thought of was a pH concern. I brewed a sourmashed brown ale that made my house ESB yeast crap out midway through fermentation. I pitched a French saison to finish it because it is more tolerant of low pH.

 

[desabat]

8 days is way too early to panic. I don't know the yeast, so can't help on that front, but it is still too early to call it crapped out regardless of the temp. I would have waited longer to see and perhaps started heat if gravity became stationary at 3 weeks or so on a big beer like that.

For heating you have lots of options, including what you have done. Heating pad nearby in an insulated area works fine. I've even used a big cardboard box around a carboy with a heating pad next to it but not touching it and gotten stable warmer temps without overheating.

Good luck.

When would u add the juice in that situation? Could u add it to the primary say a week into fermentation? When would it be best to add it

 

[kanzimonson]

Whenever I have a beer that will get 10% or more of its gravity from simple sugars, I add it late in fermentation. It's at the moment when the fermentation begins to slow down, so usually around the 4-6 day mark.

If it's a large amount (like a golden strong I made with 25% sugar), I might break the additions into two. One goes in as described above, and then when I see it slow again I add some more. This usually puts the second addition 1-2 days after the first.

 

[pdxal]

When would u add the juice in that situation? Could u add it to the primary say a week into fermentation? When would it be best to add it

Not sure if you're responding to my post, but I would add juice or simple sugars at any point in the brewing process. Belgians add tons of simple sugars in the kettle with no ill effects, for example. I've done the same with a dry finishing beer. With fruit and fruit juice as well. Yeast losing the ability to ferment maltose because there is also fructose or glucose in a brew is overstated IMO.