Wyeast Trappist 3787 is ridiculous!

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Jayhem

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This is the most tenacious yeast I've ever brewed with!

I brewed a Belgian Dubbel (OG 1.070) this weekend.

Used a 2-step starter for the 3787 per the yeastcalc tool.

Pitched the yeast at 65F and put the fermenter in temp control to keep the beer temp at 63F. I had 5.2 gallons in a 6 gallon carboy with cap and 1/2" blowoff tube.

Within 3 hours I had 1/2" of Krausen!

At 8 hours I had 3" of krausen!

at 16 hours the krausen was already FLOWING out the blow off tube.

Now after 36 hours I'm a bit concerned as the level of beer in my carboy has dropped by about 1/2 gallon to blow off loss! :eek:

How much "extra headspace" do I need with this yeast? I figured fermenting at 63F would slow this stuff down but that's not the case!
 
I recently brewed an 1.100 (dark strong-ish) with 3787 and I had beer on the ceiling from it :-( evidently 4 days with hose in wasn't quite enough!

If I do this recipe again I'm gonna make sure I filter out the trub as much as possible, seems like you need every inch you can get with this yeast.
 
I always use Fermcap anti-foam with 3787, in the stir plate starter and in the fermenter. Works perfectly for this yeast. Otherwise a big mess.
 
I does start off fast and often goes crazy, but on the other hand it can take a long time to get the last few points of attenuation. It seems to get down close and then take forever to fully finish.
 
You need lots of extra headspace with this yeast, particularly if your ambient is 63/beer is 67-8 degrees. I frequently put 4.5-5 gallons in a 6.5 gallon carboy and still sweat it with 59-60 ambient temps.
It'll settle down and you'll need to warm it up to 70-75 late in fermentation to make sure it finishes.
 
You need lots of extra headspace with this yeast, particularly if your ambient is 63/beer is 67-8 degrees. I frequently put 4.5-5 gallons in a 6.5 gallon carboy and still sweat it with 59-60 ambient temps.
It'll settle down and you'll need to warm it up to 70-75 late in fermentation to make sure it finishes.

My ambient was actually 59 for the first 4 days, my beer temp was 63-64F and it was still going off like mad!

Today I am on day 8 of fermentation and it looks like it is finally slowing down, just a few bubbles ever 5 seconds from airlock.

I have brought the beer temp up to 67F and plan to bring it up to 71F at day 10 to help attenuation. I'm also planning to start shaking the fermenter lightly every day to help it finish. I plan to go ~28 days in primary with this one before bottling, should this be enough? I will take gravity readings before bottling.
 
Realizing this thread is 4 years old I’d rather not start another.

I just brewed a Dubbel with a 1.072 OG. Within one day of pitching a 1.4 L decanted starter the mason jar my blowoff tube was submerged in was filled with yeast. Two days after pitching at 68 the gravity reading was 1.020. I see Some people saying that this was a slow fermenter but this seems to be raging. Should i expect this to slow down significantly. I intend to increase the temp up to 72 probably over the next couple days.
 
My current IPA was 1.070, fermented with WLP530, believed to be the same yeast. I put it in a 66 degree basement, it slowed down after 3 days. A lower gravity Dubbel stopped bubbling after 4, at which time I added the first round of candi syrup. If I were you I would warm it when it starts slowing.
I have used 3787 and 530 often, I love them.
 
Realizing this thread is 4 years old I’d rather not start another.

I just brewed a Dubbel with a 1.072 OG. Within one day of pitching a 1.4 L decanted starter the mason jar my blowoff tube was submerged in was filled with yeast. Two days after pitching at 68 the gravity reading was 1.020. I see Some people saying that this was a slow fermenter but this seems to be raging. Should i expect this to slow down significantly. I intend to increase the temp up to 72 probably over the next couple days.


I would definitely recommend warming it up and leaving it alone. I've had this yeast slow down around 1.014 and end up at 1.006, continually chewing through sugars slowly for two weeks.
 
You're probably aware that 3787 will tolerate long bottle conditioning, too. Six weeks should be considered a short wait.
 
I’ll be kegging it. Have it at 70 now and will raise it a degree a day up to 72 over the next two days. Do people recommend letting it sit at that temperature for the remainder or go even higher?
 
And so I assume it isn’t crazy for this yeast to ferment down to 1.010 from 1.072 within 5 days? Mashed at 150.
 
I did a 5 gallon batch in a 9 gallon fermenter and had blow-off with 3787, even with the fermentation starting around 60F. Crazy.
 
When brewing with this yeast, I keep any sugar additions out of the kettle, adding them in stages to the fermenter. This can lessen the massive krausen, but it can also lead to repeat overflows.
 
Oops
IMG_1146.jpg


Changed the airlock 3 times. Yes I could have used a blowoff. I will next time
 
Wow. I just brewed my first Belgian ale a few days ago and have seen nothing crazy with 3787. Actually not seeing much at all. I made a starter, oxygenated the wort with pure O2, and pitched at a good temperature. It was only a 3-gal batch and I used a 1.5L starter, so I would have expected good healthy yeast.
 
I guess I'm the odd one out. A 2.5 g dubbel, 1.070, hasn't moves in over 12 hours. Not even a bubble. Temp is around 70

Such is my luck
 
I just have bad luck with wyeast. It works, just not as crazy as a lot of people say. I have faith it will start and then finish
 
I guess I'm the odd one out. A 2.5 g dubbel, 1.070, hasn't moves in over 12 hours. Not even a bubble. Temp is around 70

Such is my luck

Did the pack swell? What was the date on it? Based on date, what were the viable cells estimated?

I routinely pitch Wyeast 3787 without a starter for my 1.5 gallon batches, up to 1.090 gravity, and am fully fermented at around 87% AA in 5 days.
 
Ya it swelled and it was fresh. No starter for the 2.5g, though.

This happens to me with smack packs all thr time

I have a pack of notty laying around I'll pitch if nothing changes after 48 hours. Notty never lets me down. Not sure what this dubbel will become with it
 
Ya it swelled and it was fresh. No starter for the 2.5g, though.

This happens to me with smack packs all thr time

I have a pack of notty laying around I'll pitch if nothing changes after 48 hours. Notty never lets me down. Not sure what this dubbel will become with it

What temperature did you pitch at? Could just be lag, especially if you underpitched.
 
Around 74.

I might check my thermometer for accuracy. It could be reading lower than actual. It's happened before
 
A whole smack pack for 2.5 gallons...that is not an underpitch, especially that it was fresh.

Wyeast smack packs work well ( for me ) for 5-6 gallons up to 1.045-1.055, depeding on the yeast you are fermenting with. I underpitch with belgians, so 1 smakc is enough for 5 gallons at 1.055.
 
Ya I dunno. Trying to think of what I could have done to stunt it. Smack pack swelled within an hour and it was from early Feb.

Only thing that would seriously hurt the yeast would be if I pitched to hot. 74 could have actually been 94 if my thermometer was out of whack. Not sure if 94 would even kill it to be honest.

Another few hours and I'll pitch the Nottingham
 
Nottingham attenuated to 1.007 with my dubbel. 8.3%.

But, from a sample, tastes nothing like a Belgian. Taste pretty odd, but it's still and young. FML, missing all the good stuff that 3787 would have brought if it didn't fail on me.

Maybe the first dubbel ever made with Nottingham? Strong brown ale? Meh
 
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