The OFFICIAL 11-11-11 Old Ale Thread - The HBT Anniversary Series

[AnOldUR]

Chilled the wort to where I usually do (mid to low 60's) and set fermentation at 63.
Than realized that Wyeast say this yeast should ferment at between 68 and 75 degrees.

What temperatures are those who have this brewed fermenting at?
What was the activity like (need for blow-off)?

A thought for anyone still planning to brew this. It seems like there are several people reporting high OG's. In my case I attribute it to boil-off. I dropped my efficiency in BeerSmith about 10 points because it's a pretty big beer, but didn't think about the extra boil-off brought by boiling down the first runnings and the 90 minut boil. My volume was properly pegged, but I should have left the efficiency alone.



Good luck to everyone who still has this brewday to look forward to. Long but fun!

 

[smokinghole]

I would put a blow off tube on the fermentor. I use a 10g keg and still have blow off set up just in case because the starter was a pretty vigorous fermentation in the flask. This is only my second beer primary fermenting in this keg so I'm not sure if something will eventually blow off or not. I'd rather play it safe the first few days with blow off then move to an airlock.

As for temp mine's not a controlled temp but my house is pretty stable it's in an interior closet and the house sits at around 65 now that it's cooler out.

 

[AnOldUR]

I would put a blow off tube on the fermentor.

Why don't I listen?
Why don't I listen?
Why don't I listen?



Woke up to sticky, messy blow off on the basement floor this morning.
And since I split the batch (8 gallons in two 5 gallon carboys) clean up was twice the fun.

 

[AlphaWolf-Brewery]

I just brewed this tonight, hit the OG on the nose. The hydro sample tasted great. Can't wait for the sample at transfer time.

 

[smokinghole]

Why don't I listen?
Why don't I listen?
Why don't I listen?



Woke up to sticky, messy blow off on the basement floor this morning.
And since I split the batch (8 gallons in two 5 gallon carboys) clean up was twice the fun.

Tehehehe. I just removed my blow off and stuck an airlock in there. I love this 10 gallon keg for fermentations.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

Looking for some advice on the bulk aging here, I have never aged a beer in the carboy for the projected 8-10 months this one will need.

I racked this into a secondary after a 3 week primary fermentation for bulk aging. I added 1 oz medium toast american oak chips, and put it in the closet to forget about.

After a week undisturbed, another inch or so of yeast has collected on the bottom of the secondary carboy. Can I leave this alone for 8-10 months, or should I rack again to avoid possible autolysis on such a long wait?

Thanks

 

[mojotele]

Went to rack to secondary to oak and do the long brett ferment today. The brett pellicle had already formed in the primary!

Oh noes my beer is infected!!

 

[Barc]

Went to rack to secondary to oak and do the long brett ferment today. The brett pellicle had already formed in the primary!

Oh noes my beer is infected!!

Looks nice! I'm considering leaving it in primary for 6 months and then oaking in smaller batches, leaving a gallon or 2 without oak to see the difference.

 

[smokinghole]

As soon as I have a free fermentor to rack to this thing is moving. I did check on it today and stole a quick sample with a pipette. The gravity from the refrac is showing 1.014 but realistically it is closer to 1.018ish. Seems a bit low considering I hit my 158 mash temp but we'll see. I had no pellicle but then again it has been sitting sealed up in a keg so I don't think there was oxygen to form a pellicle.

The toasty character of this beer rules. I'm sure it will smooth out soon but I might be making this a second time since I got two packages of the yeast. I'm a fan for sure. I need to go pick up another 6 gallon better bottle to transfer this into. My fermentors are all occupied at the moment and I need more to clear up this keg as my primary. I've got beers to brew and not enough space.

 

[sudndeth]

Would it be considered authentic to secondary this in a whiskey barrel instead of oak chips? If that's the case would the brett make the barrel unusable for non-brett beers in the future?

 

[smokinghole]

The brett would get in the wood and you'd never be able to get rid of it.

 

[AlphaWolf-Brewery]

I just transferred this to my secondary and added 3oz of oak cubes. The hydro sample tasted great very toasty and toffee like. It was only down to 1.030 but I am guessing that is because it has been sitting at 52F for the last couple of weeks. I have moved it to a warmer location for its long secondary.

 

[Barc]

I'm glad to see someone else isn't getting a great attenuation with this yeast. At least I'm not alone!

I transferred mine to secondary about a week ago. It was only down to 1.040 after a month in primary (mashed a little high, 162 for 30 mins and 158 for 30 mins)... I had it sitting at about 62 or so but I didn't move it from 67+ until I had no visible krausen. It has not restarted that I can determine as of yet... No pellicle is forming, no activity visible through the airlock (I haven't checked the gravity but I also haven't seen a bubble, krausen, etc...), no anything. I know, I know, recheck the gravity and I will, eventually...

Anyway, I added some amylase enzyme yesterday and haven't seen any difference. I also made a new starter out of some of the trub left over from the original fermentation but it hasn't done much of anything, either, not when compared to the original starter and every other starter I've made (which is in the hundreds at this point). Just in case, I've got a starter of Duvel yeast going that will dry out most things and I have some 3711 I can pull out, as well. If those don't work, Beano to the rescue! Or I could always add my own "house" yeast I captured. I've seen it fermenting at just over freezing and get beers down to 1.000.

Anyone else have an unusually high gravity?

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

Im curious if anyone has a pellicle yet.

I brewed this on 11-10-10, transferred it to secondary with 1 oz oaks chips after 3 weeks, and have no pellicle. I'm sure it will come, just curious if anyone has one yet with this blend.

 

[Barc]

All the pellicles I've seen come after only a few weeks, maybe 2 - 3. That's not to say they won't come but I really am wondering if there is something wrong with this yeast... It isn't unheard of for a yeast to not perform properly; recent Nottingham being one that springs to mind. I don't have experience with a true blend, though. I've only brewed with Brett and then blended myself. They've always had a pellicle after only a couple of weeks, though...

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

Mine seems to be fermenting actively, very slowly...

Just no pellicle... I'm sure it will form soon enough. Trying to forget about it till next year.......

 

[AlphaWolf-Brewery]

My plan is to wait a couple of months to see if a pellicle has formed and to take a hydro sample. If the gravity hasnt lowered I will pitch a pure smack pack of brett to it.

 

[KingBrianI]

Remember that for a pellicle to form, the beer needs to be exposed to some oxygen. Otherwise the brett will be doing its thing but won't form a pellicle. I left my beer in primary for about a month after the fermentation winded down and it dropped two points in that time. It's in secondary now and the tiniest hint of a pellicle has formed on top. If you guys really want a pellicle, go to the hardware store a buy an oak dowel the diameter of an airlock and stick that in the stopper. It will allow a slow air exchange with the outside environment.

 

[AlphaWolf-Brewery]

Brian, what was your gravity at transfer time?

 

[Barc]

I realize how pellicles form. I've done several Brett fermentations now and, generally speaking, even with the airlock bubbling I get at least a tiny, thin pellicle. Is there O2 in there? Probably not a lot. Oak dowels are not necessary as I've seen them in glass with a rubber airlock; I've even seen them in bottles. Also, pellicles do not equal Brett fermentation but presence of O2 in a Bretted environment, just like Brian says.

I'm concerned that something is up with this yeast. As I said earlier, after I pulled the trub and put it into another starter, it hasn't done much of anything which is odd by itself. And I'd expect the Sacc yeast to at least pull this thing down to 1.025 or less. 1.030 and higher is kinda concerning considering the fact there's no Crystal malts in this, even with the high mash temp. And the Brett should pull it down even further at the same time. Maybe after a few more months, if the gravity hasn't moved, I'll be more concerned. But if more folks are saying that their beers are "finishing" high, I think we have a problem.

 

[KingBrianI]

Brian, what was your gravity at transfer time?

Mine was 1.028 at the end of the sacc fermentation and 1.026 a month after. I haven't checked it since but I trust the brett to be slowly pulling it down. I think an FG of somewhere around 1.020 would be awesome. Should still have a little sweetness and body to counter the tartness from the brett and accentuate the malt and toffee flavors. I'm very happy with the gravity progress.

 

[AlphaWolf-Brewery]

Alright, so that was pretty close to where mine came in at. I wonder if boiling the first runnings down created some unfermentables, and depending on how much each of us boiled it down we will all have different amounts of unfermentables.

 

[mwhc22]

hmmmm I think I might be in on this one... I convinced three brother to start brewing and they went wild and already blew more cash in a month than i have in the last 4 years!

Anywho I bet I can convince them to do a big batch out at there house... so we should have 3-4 versions of the 11/11/11

 

[Barc]

I had planned to use oak only on part of mine, Bourbon'ed oak on another part, put a different toasted oak into another part, and then leave the last part without any modifications.

 

[AlphaWolf-Brewery]

I just racked over the 3oz of oak cubes in mine and now they are all floating. I am hoping it gives the brett something to munch on.

 

[mojotele]

Im curious if anyone has a pellicle yet.

I brewed this on 11-10-10, transferred it to secondary with 1 oz oaks chips after 3 weeks, and have no pellicle. I'm sure it will come, just curious if anyone has one yet with this blend.

*cough*

 

[mojotele]

I also just pulled a sample. Gravity is 1.020. I just realized, however, that I've been forgetting to adjust for the error in my hydrometer the past few times I've used it. So, I'm not sure if my gravity after sacc fermentation finished was 1.023 or 1.021. It tastes slightly tart and fruity with a bit of caramel.

The pellicle hasn't reformed in secondary. I will say, though, that it has been off-gassing. There are medium sized bubbles on the surface, and I saw some airlock activity every so often in the past. The temperature has remained rather constant. There's also a small amount of caked stuff just about the surface of the beer - much like there is after krausen recedes.

So, while I can't say for sure that there's been brett fermentation, I strongly suspect that there has. I don't know, seems like things are going along just fine to me.

 

[Barc]

I don't even have bubbles on the surface. Nothing to indicate anything is happening. I'll recheck the gravity tonight if I get time. If it hasn't moved, I'll pitch another yeast. I've got plenty of Brett lying around but I'm not 100% sure what kind of Brett Wyeast uses in this blend. Pie cherry isn't a flavor that most Brett is famous for.

I'm glad at least one of us is having some luck with this yeast.

 

[smokinghole]

I'm hoping to transfer mine tonight. I have to finish a two tier shelf that will fit in my closet allowing me to keep more fermentors. I have a second that will be aged six months along with this beer. As soon as I get the shelf in I will transfer, I wonder if I even have a pellicle?

 

[smokinghole]

Got my transfer complete. When I popped the top I could SMELL the acetic acid. According to my refrac which tends to read lower than a hydo I'm at 1.012.

Here's the pic I took about a month ago.

Here's from today.

My taste of it from the pipette was a bit thin and it was slightly tart. I will give it a while in the carboy and possibly and some dextrin later on to return body to the beer. I sort of wish I had the problem some of you guys have with real high gravity. Mine dropped like crazy.