Adding fruit and Champagne yeast to secondary fermentation

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Wumsphire, Dec 17, 2014.

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  1. Wumsphire

    Wumsphire Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2014 Oregon

    I just racked a belgian double to a secondary, I added raspberries and a 1/4 packet of champagne yeast. Its definetly active again. Has anyone experienced good/bad result from doing this? Its just a 1 gallon, so I'm not worried.
     
    #1 Wumsphire, Dec 17, 2014
  2. Tony_D

    Tony_D Initiate (0) Feb 7, 2014 North Carolina

    Why did you add more yeast to a beer that is just going into secondary?
     
    #2 Tony_D, Dec 17, 2014
    jbakajust1 likes this.
  3. bluehende

    bluehende Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2010 Delaware

    I would have waited on the yeast also. The sugar in the fruit may have revived enough yeast to take the beer a few points lower if that was your intent. Champagne yeast will really dry out the beer.
     
    #3 bluehende, Dec 17, 2014
  4. flyone

    flyone Zealot (527) Jan 5, 2008 California

    Gonna be dry and very wine like. Should be good if that's what you are going for. You can always back sweeten with raspberry concentrate.
     
    #4 flyone, Dec 17, 2014
  5. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    Just to be clear, Champagne yeast will not dry your beer out. Champagne yeast will ferment simple sugars, including maltose, but it will not consume complex sugars like maltotriose or dextrins. If your beer is of standard fermentability and you used an attenuative ale strain there shouldn't be anything left that the Champagne yeast can eat.

    But I do have to ask... Why did you add Champagne yeast to a fruit beer? Champagne yeast is used for bottling high alcohol or acidic beers that are a harsh environment for standard ale yeasts. They are also added to beers where the ale yeast has stopped fermenting too soon and there are still fermentable sugars left.
     
    #5 jbakajust1, Dec 17, 2014
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  6. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    It's not going to be any drier than if champagne yeast had not been added, unless the original strain had totally given up the ghost.
     
    #6 VikeMan, Dec 17, 2014
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  7. Wumsphire

    Wumsphire Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2014 Oregon

    Trying to make it less sweet, and raise alcohol. Also just for the sake of experimentation (btw, I haven't been taking gravity readings, I know I should but I'm still learning). In response to; "...added to beers where the ale yeast has stopped fermenting too soon and there are still fermentable sugars left." That was my intent, the beer had been in the primary for 3 weeks and I wanted the champagne yeast to too eat up the sugars the ale yeast couldn't as well as the sugars from the added raspberries. It may come out weird, but for 1 gallon I thought I'd see what happens. I'll let you know in a few weeks :-)
     
    #7 Wumsphire, Dec 17, 2014
  8. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Why do you think there were sugars that the ale yeast couldn't eat, but the champagne yeast could?
     
    #8 VikeMan, Dec 17, 2014
  9. Tony_D

    Tony_D Initiate (0) Feb 7, 2014 North Carolina

    Adding fruit isn't a good way to increase ABV. The water in the fruit pretty much washes out any added alcohol from the sugars in the fruit. Just a little FYI.
     
    #9 Tony_D, Dec 17, 2014
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  10. Wumsphire

    Wumsphire Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2014 Oregon

    I forgot to mention, I used sweet potatoes in the mash (loosely followed a recipe), I thought there may be unfermentable sugars from that. Yet again, I wasn't doing gravity readings so its a bit of a failed experiment. I pulled some out and it tastes good so far, I'll let it sit for a few days after it stops bubbling then bottle. Thanks for all the pointers!
     
    #10 Wumsphire, Dec 17, 2014
  11. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Ah. FWIW in the future... there is no type of sugar that champagne yeast strains eat that ale yeasts won't, regardless of the source of the sugar.
     
    #11 VikeMan, Dec 17, 2014
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  12. machalel

    machalel Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2012 Australia

    This.

    It's actually the other way around. Ale yeasts will eat more types of sugars than Champagne yeasts will!
     
    #12 machalel, Dec 18, 2014
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  13. Wumsphire

    Wumsphire Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2014 Oregon

    I bottled 10 days ago and tried one, not bad but most of the comments were right. Its a bit drier, less malty, I can taste more alcohol too. Hopefully it will mature and taste better next month. Not sure if I would try that again, but I don't see any major issues, especially if you want to raise the abv.
     
    #13 Wumsphire, Dec 30, 2014
  14. Tony_D

    Tony_D Initiate (0) Feb 7, 2014 North Carolina

    It really won't raise ABV unless you are adding a substantial amount of dried fruits. There is too much water in fruit otherwise.
     
    #14 Tony_D, Dec 30, 2014
    jbakajust1 likes this.
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