I brewed a belgium trippel 12 days ago, OG was 1.078. I poured onto an existing yeast cake ( Belgium Wit ). The trippel started to ferment within 2 hours. 12 days later the gravity is 1.028 and still bubbling every 5-7 seconds. Any reason why it's taking so long to ferment all the way out? Temp is 68. Thanks in advance.
A few questions/comments: Can you please complete details of your fermentables (i.e., grain bill and mash schedule, sugars, etc.). When you say Belgian Wit yeast strain did you perchance use Wyeast 3944? I have used this yeast several times to ferment Witbiers and those fermentations have shown signs of activity (e.g., outgassing, krausen) for several weeks (up to 3 weeks). Have you taken hydrometer samples a few days apart (e.g., day 10 and then day 12)? If so, what were those readings? Cheers! P.S. FWIW, my last Tripel was fermented using Wyeast 3787 and was completed in less than 10 days; OG = 1.079, FG = 1.009. In that batch I used 1.5 lbs. of cane sugar.
16 pounds belgian pils 6 oz carapils 10 0z caramel crystal 20 l 1 pound belgian candy sugar The OG was 1.072, not 1.078. Yes I used 3944, it is currently at 70 degrees in the primary, should I raise the temp a bit and swirl the yeast around? I took a reading for the first time today, I will take one in three days.
What was your mash schedule (i.e., mash temperature)? You could swirl the fermenter if you want but I personally do not think this will change things as regards the yeast fermenting. I think you were a bit light on the sugars (1 pound belgian candy sugar) but not really a big deal here. FWIW I really do not think you would have noticed a difference between Belgian Candy Sugar vs. Cane Sugar in this beer; something to think about for next time in order to save some money. Cheers!
This is far too high of a mash temp for a trippel. Should have been 151F or lower. As @JackHorzempa alluded to, more sugar and less malt would have helped.
@MrOH beat me to the punch. For my last Tripel I mashed at 150 degrees F and I used 1.5 lbs. of cane sugar. Cheers!
Yes, I'd say leave it for a week, then take your reading. If it's gone down a fair amount and still fermenting, wait another week and test again. It will not hurt the brew to wait.
You certainly can do this. My more specific recommendation is to take a hydrometer reading in a few days and see what the specific gravity reading is. If 2-3 days from now it still reads 1.028 then your beer is done. If you choose to brew another batch of Tripel in the future permit me to make the following suggestions: Mash at a temperature less than 155 degrees F to create a more fermentable wort. Increase the amount of sugars as part of your fermentables Utilize Wyeast 3787 as your yeast And please enjoy this batch. You did indeed create beer here. Cheers!
@sooners3210 Assuming that Belgian Candy Sugar was the clear solid kind (i.e. pure sugar) and that your mash length was 60 minutes, I entered your recipe and specs into BrewCipher, which for a 1.072 OG predicts an FG of 1.012. So yes, as others mentioned, you did make a relatively unfermentable wort (for the style), but even so, it's likely your fermentation is not finished yet.
I don't know if your yeast recommendation is from a style (flavor) perspective or if it's intended to make a more attenuated beer, but FWIW Greg Doss' attenuation study found 3944 to attenuate more than 3787, so yeast strain selection is not likely contributing to the OP's attenuation issue.
Judging by your recipe I’m not so sure what you have is a Belgian Tripel, or a “Belgium Trippel” for that matter.
