Wyeast 3724/WLP565 wow!

It may still drop more than you'd expect, the last beer I brewed with this yeast was 100% pilsner malt to an OG of 1.060, mashed at the same temp as yours, and mine finished at 1.000.

 

I have used 3724 several times and never had a problem with stuck fermentations. I firmly believe this yeast does not so much get stuck (as many would say) as it takes its time. Also, I agree with HB42... looking at your grist (and sugar) and OG, I suspect you still have some gravity to lose.

 

Consider yourself lucky. I brewed a saison with 3724 about a month ago, and it's still plugging along. It shot from 1.060 to about 1.024 in a couple days, and then just kind of hung out there for week or more, then picked up again when I raised the temp and slowly went down to about 1.014 over a period of a couple weeks. I checked it last weekend and it was at about 1.006, no apparent activity, so I figured it was done. Then yesterday I happend to look at it and the airlock was bubbling again. The good news is the beer tastes like it's going to be very good. The bad news is, I have no freekin idea how to tell when this yeast is actually finished. Ah well, can't be too much longer now...

 

Could be. Although I did a starter and oxygenated the wort as per my usual routine, and that didn't save me! My guess would be that maybe the difference was that mine was a little higher OG, and included some wheat in addition to pils malt, so maybe that presented a different challenge for the yeasties.

I'm just glad I knew what to expect. If I hadn't know that 3724 is notorious for stalling out and starting again it would've freaked me out, but since I knew what to expect it wasn't too bad. All's well that ends well, and the samples have tasted very good, so I would use this yeast again in a heartbeat.

 

It was Wyeast 3724. I felt like I took pretty good care of it, too--a big starter, pure 02 in the wort, managed the temp pretty carefully--and it still acted weird. Of course, there's no telling what happened to it before it got to me. I bought it online so it's possible it got overheated during shipping or something like that. Or not. It could just be that this is very inconsistent strain of yeast and it just does whatever it feels like doing.

 

Hmm. Some of these posts make me wonder if I rushed my saison (3724) a bit this summer. OG 1.050, bottled at 1.005 after 1 month primary.

 

Cracker, I am glad to hear that you had a good experience with WLP565. I brewed with Wyeast 3724 last year and I had a successful fermentation: no evidence of stalling. I only had one experience with 3724 and it worked out well but I am personally not prepared to state that 3724 works great all the time. Too many people have posted about their difficulties with WY3724/WLP565 on BA and other forums.

Both Wyeast and White Labs provide disclaimers for these yeasts:

“YEAST STRAIN: 3724 | Belgian Saison™
This strain is the classic farmhouse ale yeast. A traditional yeast that is spicy with complex aromatics, including bubble gum. It is very tart and dry on the palate with a mild fruitiness. Expect a crisp, mildly acidic finish that will benefit from elevated fermentation temperatures. This strain is notorious for a rapid and vigorous start to fermentation, only to stick around 1.035 S.G. Fermentation will finish, given time and warm temperatures. Warm fermentation temperatures at least 90°F (32°C) or the use of a secondary strain can accelerate attenuation.”

From White Labs: “Note to brewers: This strain tends to stall out in fermentation and then restart as long as two weeks later. Make sure the wort is well-oxygenated and allow the temperature to free rise in order to ensure complete fermentation. Some brewers add WLP001 to finish.”

I have corresponded with Drew Becham (author of “A Saison for Every Season"; Zymurgy May/June 2008) and he made mention that stalling is possible with both strains of WY3724/WLP565. The good news is that it seems as long as you experience patience this strain will indeed get the job done; it just might take a number of weeks.

Cheers!

 

Thanks for the report and I am glad you had success. It is always great to hear good news!

Cheers!

 

Just brewed a "Citrye Honey Saison"

5 lbs belgian pils
2 lbs belgian 2 row
1 lb 8 Oz rye malt
3.8 oz carawheat malt
3.8 oz rice hulls
3.8 oz carapils
12 Oz local orange blossom honey
.5 Oz crushed coriander seeds 5 min
.5 Oz bitter, orange peel 5 min

90 min boil
1 Oz saaz 60 min
1 Oz saaz 10 min
.5 Oz Citra 5 min

1.5 L starter of wyeast 3724 saison

My question is should I wait for this yeast to stall around 1.030 to add my honey addition? Or should I just pitch the honey after high krausen?

 

It doesn't stall if you treat it right. Never has for me. You can add the honey any time.

 

I agree with this; I never experienced a fermentation with these yeasts that didn't finish between 1.000 and 1.010. However, there is some "common wisdom" that advocates feeding simple sugars later into fermentation so the yeast work on the more difficult sugars first. Also I was once led to believe you might retain more honey aroma if you add the honey later, when there is less CO2 evolution to scrub it out. Both of these ideas make some intuitive sense to me, but I have never tried adding honey late and can imagine that in many situations, following this advice has negligible impact.

 

I personally have never added honey other than in the kettle out of concern of the honey containing wild yeast. I personally prefer to add honey at the end of boil to ensure sanitation /sterilization of the honey.

Some BAs have mentioned that you can pasteurize honey by heating it to something like 160°F for a period of time.

As to the topic of 3724 stalling I can indeed relate that this can indeed happen with this yeast. In my second time using this yeast it did indeed ‘slow down’ for a period of several weeks despite the fact that I maintained this yeast at 90°F for the timeframe after the first week of fermentation (which started at 68°F and then very slowly ramped up to 80°F at the end of the week). I did not suffer this experience the first time I used 3724 but I did this time. The bottom line is that 3724 is very much a temperamental yeast so you never know what’s going to happen (except that with patience a tasty beer will result).

Good luck with your beer!

Cheers!

 

Slow fermentation and stalling are two different things. 3724 is always slow for me compared to other strains. If your second batch actually stalled... what was your batch size, amount and age of yeast pitched, and OG? And how did you oxygenate your wort?

 

I would do as you suggest. I brewed a few saisons with this yeast recently and the most recent one it was moving very slowly, wouldn't say stalling but dragging ass. I boiled a small bit of table sugar and added it back to the fermenter and the fermentation resumed and finished out in another 3-4 days. It was hanging out at around 1.01 for a beer that "should" have finished at 1.003 according to brewcipher. Long winded response is that the sugar kicked it back up and got the job done. It probably would have finished on its own by I was already 3 weeks in for a ~1.038 beer.

 

Update. Pitched yeast last night at 7:00pm at 70*F. Woke up today at 7 and fermentation already began. My only concern is the color of the wort. When i racked to primary it was a light straw golden color..this morning it appears to be the color of a flanders red. Its dark. What did i do wrong? Am i overreacting?