I brewed up my Wee Heavy 2 weeks ago last Saturday. Controlled the ferm temp at 64*F for 5 days, then jumped it up to 68*F for another 9 days. For Teach A Friend to Brew Day this past Saturday I brewed a Belgian Tripel and put it in the fridge as well. I wrapped the Wee Heavy in the Heating Blanket and set it to keep it warm while the fridge tried to keep the Tripel down. Checked the temp on the fermometer last night and it was off the register. I inserted a thermometer and got a reading of 82*F, guess I set it too warm. All that to ask, will an 80*F fermentation with a blend of 1469 West Yorkshire / 1056 after the initial controlled ferment cause problems? I dropped the setting on the blanket down to low to keep it warm but not hot at this point. It was down to 1.039 from 1.105 when I boosted the heat on it. It dropped to 1.035 over the past few days at that temp. Thanks for the feedback.
Most of your ester/phenol/fusel production will have been done at the point that you kicked off the heat (truthfully, that's done within the first 24 hours), so I think the only off flavors you're really going to have to worry about are stalling/oxidative in nature. With a Wee Heavy, even that's not a horrible issue. So, less than ideal, but probably not much of anything to get worried over - although the 1035 FG is a little worrisome.
Thanks for the feedback, that is what I thought, just wanted confirmation. I mashed at 158*F and did a 2 hour boil. It was popping like a tar pit in the boil kettle. I was expecting a higher FG on a Wee Heavy. It has been slowly dropping each time I check it. It was at 1.049 at 1 week, 1.039 at 2 weeks, and is down to 1.035 at 2.5 weeks. Just a question, why would 1.035 be worrisome in a Wee Heavy? BJCP guidelines say FG of up to 1.056. If the 1.035 stays the FG I am at 9.5%.
I just get a little nervous with anything that crosses up into the 30's. Granted I had a wee heavy from years ago, called the Damn Heavy. That was ridiculous and way too sweet until we hit it hard and fast.
I originally wanted to get the FG down into the mid 20s if possible. With the way it keeps slowly dropping I am hoping it at least gets down to 29. Are you nervous because of potential for infection, or is it something different? After last year's Wee Heavy that was infected I really want this one to stay clean (that one was an infected yeast repitch).
I have used 1728 for my wee heavy recipe, and have always finished in the 1.012-1.018 range. However, I also mashed a bit lower, maybe 155 (off the top of my head).
