Run away ferment, dang it!!!

[sablesurfer]

Went for my first giant beer ever. All extract with some steeping grains, but ended up with a ~1.110 barleywine. 3 gallons and pitched two packets of windsor. Had read that it likes to get estery, so was shooting for 68F ferment.

My cooling section of fermentor didn't take my setting (or some one didn't press "hold" to set the temp) so came home today to a run away 78F carboy temps in a 66F basement. GAH!!!

(At least the shaking aeration and nutrient did what it was supposed too, had full krausen at 9hours, but dang it.)

Anyone want some banana barley wine in a year?

 

[beerkench]

It might be ok you pitched lower and it took itself to that temperature.


Sent from hell
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[Hello]

It might be ok you pitched lower and it took itself to that temperature.


Sent from hell
using Home Brew

Perhaps this but also, a BW can age. If there are flavors you don't want, perhaps they can mellow over time. It sounds like you caught it though so you may be okay.

I do believe that 2 packages of windsor yeast with 1.110 wort is under pitching...maybe.

 

[joshesmusica]

Perhaps this but also, a BW can age. If there are flavors you don't want, perhaps they can mellow over time. It sounds like you caught it though so you may be okay.

I do believe that 2 packages of windsor yeast with 1.110 wort is under pitching...maybe.

according to Mr. Malty, it would only be under pitching by 2 grams of dry yeast if the package date on the yeast was May 19, 2013. I'm guessing his yeast isn't that old.

i agree with the fact that you're gonna be aging this thing out for so long, and you caught it in a pretty good amount of time. you might get some off-flavors, but they should mellow. it has moderate attenuation, which considering the high OG, it will likely leave a fairly high FG, like 1.025 or higher. So that should help to cover up some of the off-flavors as well. I think you're gonna be fine, but it's gonna be a long time before you know if you are or not!

 

[bobeer]

Totally see the beer through. Like other have said aging will help that beer out. If the fermentation was allowed to go at the lower temp for a little while then the off flavors wont be so bad.

Stick with it. You might end up with a really cool, big, beer.

 

[sablesurfer]

... but it's gonna be a long time before you know if you are or not!

THIS...ha. Yeah, definitely going to take this all the way through. And i am not saying I dislike banana or clove, just didn't plan for it in this beer.

We'll see in a few months when I go to bottle it. Or maybe when I taste it going into secondary, or if I taste the gravity sample, or....

 

[sablesurfer]

1.110 to 1.034 in a week? Already at almost 10%. New airlock on, scrubbed up the fermentation chamber, stared at the large yeast cake in the blow off bottle, and chilling the gravity sample for a taste.

I'll give it another week and see if it comes down. Still haven't decided if I will do a champagne yeast to finish this down a bit more.

 

[sablesurfer]

Ok, a week later and down to 1.032. The sample is in the fridge to chill out the yeast and see what it tastes like. A ten thirty seems to a decent barleywine finish for a 10%. Another week and I'll dry hop.

Anyway, back to the OP....no strong banana or clove ness. Aroma seems to be pretty clean with malt and some spice. But there is a lot of yeast also, so that will have to be cold crashed out. Taste test in about 2 hours of the fridge.

 

[day_trippr]

All that and no note of fusels in the sample, I'd say you totally lucked out to this point...

Cheers!

 

[sablesurfer]

Interesting. Three weeks in primary (was going to move to a secondary to crash tomorrow) and there are bubbles in airlock. It was that kind of stream of little bubbles, but then moved to one big bubble every ten seconds or so.

 

[Hello]

Interesting. Three weeks in primary (was going to move to a secondary to crash tomorrow) and there are bubbles in airlock. It was that kind of stream of little bubbles, but then moved to one big bubble every ten seconds or so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJi9lvUqDAQ

What is your gravity right now? It is possible fermentation restarted for some reason.

 

[sablesurfer]

What is your gravity right now? It is possible fermentation restarted for some reason.

Quite possible giving the 1.031 of last week, but nothing has changed temp or addition'wise. Just been hanging out in the fermentor in primary. I probably won't take a gravity if it keeps bubbling, just leave it be until I move it to secondary.

 

[sablesurfer]

(Edit) - Ok complete rewrite of my post. The bubbles do appear to just be CO2 coming out of suspension or the trube. The gravity still solid at 1.031 since about a week ago. Wonder if barometer could cause that other than just temps? Because our weather has taken a wild swing this week from mid 60's to almost 90 in just last two days.