Question FG NB Belgian Saison

Try to raise the temperature on that beer and you want it to finish around 1.005

 

I have only brewed with 3724 once and I fermented it at over 80°F for 5 weeks.

In the past some folks stated that 3724 will ferment to completion in 5-6 weeks at 74°F. I don’t doubt that it is possible but fermenting warmer than that would be prudent for this yeast strain.

I babbled a bit but I would recommend that you purchase a brew belt to heat up your carboy: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/the-brew-belt-1.html

Or you could just keep fermenting at 68-70°F and hope for the best?

Cheers!

 

When you racked to secondary, did you leave a bunch of yeast behind? If so that will affect how low it will go. Warming and rousing the yeast will/may help. I have never had trouble with 3724 getting down below 1.010 for a saison. But is takes time. More than 2 weeks. Would it have been better to have left it on the yeast for 2 more weeks...yes. Is it going to be fine...probably. Do I always answer my own questions...yes.

 

Warming it will cause CO2 to come out of solution. Follow your hygrometer for evidence of fermentation.

 

Patience is key with 3724. Warm it up a little if you can, though it will probably finish even if you don't. With a typical saison, 3724 can go well below 1.010.

 

“just parked it in front of a radiator and the ambient is near 80 so hopefully this will help.”

Sweet! That is a step in the right direction. While it is entirely possible for 3724 to complete fermentation at lower (70°F) temperatures the prudent course of action to is ferment at warmer (e.g., near 80°F) temperatures.

Good luck with your Saison. Wyeast 3724 can be a pain in the a$$ because it can be temperamental but the upside is that that yeast strain can but very yummy Saison beers!

Cheers!

 

It's not good or bad. He was just saying that if you warm up the wort/beer, CO2 will be released and can cause bubbling, and that these bubbles don't necessarily indicate yeast activity.

 

Sounds like you have experienced a classic problem with this yeast strain (stalled fermentation). To get it down to saison like terminal gravities requires some combination of considerable patience, high temperatures, highly fermtable wort, and big pitching rates.

IMO, it was a mistake to rack this beer into a secondary at all, let alone after just 2 weeks. I used this yeast last summer with temps ranging from mid low 70s to 80. I kept it in primary for 3-4 weeks before bottling. Generally you will not shave a lot of gravity points off a beer after transfer to 2ndary. Still, the heat and patience may still carry the day for you.

 

If it were me and the beer were already in secondary, I'd give it a week and take a read. If it doesn't drop I'd consider a champagne yeast or a white wine yeast to finish it off.

 

If anything, I'd add more 3724, or maybe 3711, or some other high attenuating ale yeast. Wine yeasts aren't going to attenuate this or any beer down to saison dryness, because they can't do anything with maltotriose, and aren't particularly good with maltose either.

 

What did your grainbill look like? I used the WL equivalent (565) and mine (1.056 OG) got down to 1.003 in 3 weeks....but...it had no caramel and was fermented at ~70.

Your best bet at this point might be what has already been suggested...my plan B was to finish with US-05...but it didn't need it.

 

Agreed. 3711 will knock out the rest of the fermentable sugars. The gravity is low enough that you shouldn't get too much character from 3711 -- not that it would be a bad thing.

I'd try adding some yeast nutrient and letting that sit for a day or two before pitching more yeast.

 

If you like that kit I'd also check out NB's CynicAle partial mash kit. It uses Wyeast 3522 and finished pretty dry for me eventually (1.008). I'd say for your problem, let it ride for at least a month in secondary and expect them to dry out a bit more while bottle conditioning as well. If you want to save money, you could harvest some of the yeast cake, wash it to get some pure yeast and do a quick starter then re-pitch to help it along if there's no activity.

 

“ let it ride for at least a month in secondary and expect them to dry out a bit more while bottle conditioning as well.”

I am not 100% sure what is meant by “dry out” during bottle conditioning but permit me to add some caution here. It is very important that the beer reaches final gravity before you bottle the beer. For example, if the beer ‘stops’ at something like 1.009 and you suspect that it really should have reached 1.005 then if you bottle there is a risk of bottle bombs. The addition of priming sugar will ‘wake up’ the yeast and not only will the yeast consume the priming sugar but it will also ferment the residual sugars of the beer. The net result is over-carbonation and bottle bombs.

For the batch of Saison that I brewed with 3724 I took a gravity reading after 4 weeks and it was 1.004. I let the fermenter sit for another week and I took another reading and it was 1.004. Since I had stable readings, and the final gravity was low (1.004), I felt comfortable bottling then.

Cheers!