Odd fermentation-insane fermentation now extremely lazy

1) you pitched way too high.
2) Only a hydrometer/refractometer will tell you if fermentation is done.
3) It will still taste like beer, but may not be, as you say, 'amazing'.

 

Sounds like exactly what I would expect to happen if you were to pitch 2 packets of dry yeast into a 1.11 wort at 87 degrees. At this point I would leave it in primary for a few weeks and then check the gravity.

As far as the beer being "amazing", perhaps, but pitching at 87 degrees and fermenting a 1.11 beer with no temp control is likely to cause some off flavors.

 

The "yeast cake" on top is krausen, that's normal.

 

If you plan on letting it sit for even longer than 2 months (which might be a good idea to let it mellow out) transfer to secondary off the yeast cake. Check the gravity, it might be where you need it. I'm not sure you would want to dry it out with honey either.

As HB42 pointed out, that's krausen on the top and will be more or less left behind whenever you transfer.

 

Fermenting that high of a temp for such a big beer is most likely going to result in major fusel alcohols; this is coming from past experience when I just started brewing and pitched WY1056 into a 1.100 RIS at 78 F.

I'd take a sample for a hydrometer reading and taste it before racking to secondary off the yeast cake, if you're planning on bulk aging. Fusel alcohols don't really drop off much with time.

 

At that high a temp during fermentation, it might be spicy and fruity. But hold onto it for years and do not dump it, it can age nicely. You never know.

I would be worried about fusel alcohols. I brewed a batch and it fermented in the 80's. Two beers would give me a splitting headache. I never kept any around to age.

 

Your beer is almost certainly ruined. Such high pitching/fermentation temperatures cause the yeast to produce copious amounts of fusel alcohols, which will not age out. Sorry.

 

A number of years ago (before Wyeast and White Labs made Saison yeast strains available) I brewed a Saison with 3787. That batch got above the Wyeast recommended upper range of 78°F; it went into the low 80’s. That batch unfortunately created fusel alcohols. The presence of the fusel alcohols created a harsh flavor aspect. After many months of aging in the bottle the fusel alcohols did diminish (but didn’t totally go away). That beer with 6-9 months of aging was a much more pleasant beer to drink. I let that batch age for over 2 years. At around 2.5 years the beer started to have noticeable oxidation flavors.

So, my personal ‘lessons learned’ with that batch is that if you have the patience, aging will indeed help fusel alcohols to diminish.

Cheers!

 

I've seen people say they will decrease and others say they will not. I'm glad we have some actual empirical evidence here.

 

I am not a biochemist so I cannot personally ‘vouch’ for the below, but this is what Al Korzonas states in his book Homebrewing Vol.1:

“During aging, the higher alcohols (fusel alcohols) will estrify in the presence of yeast and acids and create fruity flavors. The solution therefore, is further conditioning on the yeast. Some esterification may occur without the presence of yeast, but a small fraction of that done by the yeast.”

Cheers!

 

This is true. And if IIRC, it's not just any acids, but specifically fatty acids. Also IIRC, CoA (an enzyme) is needed. I don't know how much fatty acids are generally available, but I would guess that might be the limiting factor. (Or maybe it's the yeast and their vitality.) But the key to remember about reduction via this pathway would be that it wouldn't be unlimited, e.g. a fusel bomb isn't going to turn into an easy drinker.

 

Just an FYI, CoA (Co-Enzyme A) is actually not an enzyme, its a smallish organic molecule.

Its also membrane permeable and its derivatives (Proponyl-CoA, Acetyl-CoA, etc.) can be fed to cells to stimulate metabolic pathways in the cells (Common tool for Chemo-Biosynthesis especially in yeast/bacterial metabolic engineering).

 

Thanks. It's been a while. I should have had my kid sanity check my memory.

 

A 1.11 beer, two packets of SF04, at 87 degrees, and you're worried about off flavors? You're lucky it didn't explode!

Seriously, I would let it finish off, rack it, and let it sit for a couple months, or a year, preferably at a much lower temp. I would expect a lot of fusels at that temp, but you never know.