Protocol for finishing a slow fermenting beer with a quicker strain?

Here's the problem with trying to finish with Champagne yeast... 3724 is a highly attenuative (although slow) yeast. It's highly attenuative because it's better at eating Maltotriose than most other strains. You can be pretty confident some of the sugars still in your wort right now are Maltotriose. Champagne yeast cannot eat Maltotriose. If you add some other ale strain, most of them can't eat Maltotriose as well as 3724 (so your 3724 might still be nibbling away slowly (or worse, have been encouraged to flocculate by the second strain) when the new strain is finished). Or you could pitch some 3711, which is more attenuative (and faster) than 3724. But assuming you used 3724 because you like the FG it's likely to wind up with, my advice would be patience. 3 weeks is still early for 3724.

 

I would recommend patience: just let 3724 finish the job.

If you just can’t wait for some reason, I would pitch 3711. The result of 3724 & 3711 will be a Saison but 3724 will finish up if you give it the time (in all likelihood).

Cheers!

 

Agree with JackHorzempa. Also, if you decide to pitch more yeast, make sure it is fully active. I would make a small starter (don't need growth, just to get the yeast rockin) and use it at high krausen. If it's not active chances are it won't do anything (I think due to the alcohol and low pH in the beer now?)

 

Echoing the others...

• You might try waiting longer. 3724 makes a lovely beer but can take a while to finish.
• If you do repitch, make a starter to make sure the yeast is active when you pitch
• Champagne yeast has high alcohol tolerance, but as Vikeman suggested, it's really evolved to deal with simple sugars, such as those that occur in grapes. You'll do better with an ale yeast.

 

You've already got most of your flavor profile in the beer. I'd go with a pack of US 05 to finish up if I had to.

 

The problem is that US05 won't finish it up to the extent that 3724 would have (and eventually will, in the bottle).

 

You're right. I'd be too cheap to pitch another pack of 3724 and I'd compromise.