Should I transfer my Saison or should I wait?

[zacster]

I'm 2 weeks into my Saison, and over the last week the gravity dropped from 1.017 to 1.012, and it has slowed down. I want to dry hop it and was going to transfer to a secondary and let it sit for another 2 weeks.

Should I transfer now, knowing that this yeast, 3724, can go down low (OG was 1.050 btw) or just wait another week? If I wait, should I give the yeast another swirl? The yeast has settled to the bottom pretty well. I still get steady bubbling in my airlock, but I know that's not necessarily a sign of activity.

The samples taste yummy, and of course I want to get this finished so I can taste it for real. Another reason is that I'm itching to make my next lager, another time consuming beer. Once I transfer to the secondary, a 5 gallon carboy, it frees up my 6.5 gallon carboy.

 

[chuckstout]

Wait, this yeast seems to work very slowly. I also have a batch going 1.053og with 3724 its been fermenting for 8 days now 2days@70 2days@80 and 4days@98-101 and still goin I checked it on day 6 and it was down to 1.016 i hope it will get down to 1.008. I mashed low at 149 and the temp fell to 147 after 90 min, but blah blah blah i would say let it go for at least another week

 

[zacster]

Mine has been hot right from the start, over 80 the entire time. I don't know how much over 80 as I was going by the stick on thermometer, which only reads to 80. It isn't particularly accurate but you get an idea of where things are.

I guess I'll give it a gentle stir and let it sit another week.

What would people think about adding the hops to the primary now? They're fresh dried hops, still green and sticky, and an experimental variety not available to anyone except those lucky enough to attend hopfest.

 

[etrain666]

Hmm, I have had a different experience with saison yeast, specifically WLP566. I ferment hot, around 80, and it chomps the gravity waaaay down in just a week. My last saison went from 1.07 to 1.006 in 6 days. Had a great funky flavor.

 

[wormraper]

Hmm, I have had a different experience with saison yeast, specifically WLP566. I ferment hot, around 80, and it chomps the gravity waaaay down in just a week. My last saison went from 1.07 to 1.006 in 6 days. Had a great funky flavor.

me 2. I'm using WLP 565 (same as Wyeas 3724) and I got from 1.07 down to 1.004 in about a week.

 

[zacster]

I gave it a stir this morning, already at 1.012, and when I came home the airlock was bubbling away at about a 12/minute. I can also see the movement within the liquid in the carboy, so I definitely kicked off some more activity. On top of that, it hit 87 again today, so it got warm. I'm hoping my next reading in a few days is more like 1.005-1.008.

I'll wait until next weekend to rack and dry hop.

How much hops should I use for dry hopping anyway? I have an experimental variety of hops, so I guess I'll be experimenting!

 

[zacster]

This thing is giving off gas as if it were carbonated. It is as active as many of my beers are on the second day, and this is the third week. And the smell has changed, it is more like what I expected and not sour smelling at all, as it was at 1.017.

Patience...

 

[chuckstout]

This thing is giving off gas as if it were carbonated. It is as active as many of my beers are on the second day, and this is the third week. And the smell has changed, it is more like what I expected and not sour smelling at all, as it was at 1.017.

Patience...

Mine slowed for a few days also then it started to get hotter outside. Now its at over 105 and just started chuggin again. Im pretty impatient and decided to dryhop hot so hope it turns out

 

[zacster]

Took another reading and I'm at 1.008, and still going. I'll wait till this Sunday and then transfer and dry hop. After a week of dry hopping I'm going to cold crash for another week and then bottle or keg. I haven't figured out which yet. Or maybe I'll bottle half and keg the other half.

 

[zacster]

Transferred it to the secondary a day earlier than planned, just because I had the time. It settled at 1.008 and didn't move any more, but I'm satisfied. I added 1.5 oz of the unnamed leaf hops that I have and we'll see how it turns out.

 

[chuckstout]

Mine ended up staying at 1.010. Put 30lbs of co2 to it for a few days, tastes really good, but i can see it tasting a lot better if i were to get it a little lower in FG. Also i think the hops i used were a bit to heavy, but all in all a beer i can ferment to 105+ degrees was pretty cool and actually is very drinkable! Cheers

 

[zacster]

Tasted mine yesterday too, but no co2 yet. Very nice with a citrusy aroma from the dry hopping and a tang from the yeast. I need to get my tanked filled so I can put it in my keg. Hopefully by next weekend I'll be able to taste it carbonated and cold.