Wyeast French Saison 3711 no activity

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by banjomike1986, Mar 18, 2020.

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  1. banjomike1986

    banjomike1986 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2020

    Hello,

    New to the site, just brewed my 4th beer. First two were extracts, this and last all grain with a Mash & Boil.

    Everything went well, despite maybe missing some effeminacy numbers but all in all got 5 gal and hit my numbers. First time using this yeast and didn't realize to let it swell up, I just popped the nutrient pack and pitched it in. That was at 6pm last night, looked this morning and no activity. Just wanna know if I should be worried/what to look for, and or how to cure it if so. The other brews I made used either US-05 or English Ale yeast that acted really quick.

    Info:
    Fg after boil 1.060
    pitched at 70deg.
    Wyeast mfg date Nov. 2019

    Thank y'all Stay Safe out there!

    Cheers!
     
  2. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,331) Jul 5, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Society

    By no activity do you mean no airlock bubbles or no sign of krausen forming or no motion in the carboy? My experience with 3711 is that it's somewhat ninja like- not an explosive fermentation, but it will annihilate all sugars/starches in the wort.

    I'd check again tomorrow morning, everything should be going by then.
     
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  3. the_owl

    the_owl Initiate (0) Feb 21, 2019 New Mexico

    Gravity reading wont lie
     
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  4. banjomike1986

    banjomike1986 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2020

    Just didn't know if I should be worried it at 66, and not in the 70 area. Looked liked a lot of people expressed this yeast at a higher fermentation temp.
     
  5. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,331) Jul 5, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Nah, I tend to like it better at cooler (for a saison) temperatures. It'll get the job done.
     
  6. Eggman20

    Eggman20 Devotee (399) Feb 14, 2017 Minnesota

    Did you do a starter? This is some pretty old yeast that is likely only about 20% viable so it's not surprising that you're getting a lag phase. Letting the pack expand would have helped to see just how viable the yeast is. It'll likely still get going you'll just end up with some more esters so like said above wait a few days and see what the gravity tells you.
     
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  7. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,023) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Liquid yeast will take time to show activity. The yeast needs to uptake oxygen.
    Dry yeast is packaged after the oxygen uptake phase and it will begin fermentation much quicker. This is why you should not make a starter with dry yeast btw; just add more packages.

    The nutrient pack does not do all that much except proof your yeast. If the package swells then you know there are active yeast.

    Saison yeast is notoriously unreliable, the Belgian in particular is flaky. Expect the yeast to go on strike for no good reason.

    If nothing happens after a full day and then some, then it could be an issue.
    Cheers
     
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  8. banjomike1986

    banjomike1986 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2020

    So update, it activated that day, ramped up the room temp to 70ish and it started to Karusen. It'll be a week tomorrow gonna take reading. It dropped krausen after about 3 days, and now just hanging around 66-68 degrees. updated tomorrow with a reading
     
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  9. banjomike1986

    banjomike1986 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2020

    Ok, so WOW this stuff is a beast in one week I’m reading 1.010 that puts be at 6.5%. I didn’t think I had that good of an efficiency on this brew but apparently I did. Gonna let it go check it in another few days. I was only shooting for 7% so anything up and I’m happy.
     
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  10. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,043) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    So, just so we're talking a common language, efficiency is about how much of the total potential carbohydrates make if into the kettle (mash efficiency) or all the way into the fermenter (brewhouse efficiency). What I think you're talking about is Apparent Attenuation, which going from 1.060 to 1.010 is about 83% ((60 - 10) / 60), and isn't really directly related to efficiency.

    With Wyeast 3711 and a typical Saison wort, you can most likely expect that it's not done at 83% apparent attenuation.
     
  11. dmtaylor

    dmtaylor Savant (1,125) Dec 30, 2003 Wisconsin

    It's not done till it hits at least 1.003, and maybe even lower. In my experience it takes about 3.5 weeks to get all the way there.
     
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  12. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,043) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I agree that at 1.010, this beer is almost certainly not done. It would actually be hard to make a wort where 3711 wouldn't get more than 83% apparent attenuation. But personally I would never pick an FG number and say that yeast strain "x" always hits at or below that number, ignoring the OG and wort fermentability.
     
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  13. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,331) Jul 5, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Like @dmtaylor and @VikeMan said, you're not done. When you think you're done with 3711 (and most other saison yeasts), take a gravity sample, and then wait a week instead of the normal 3 days to check stability. Even if it's just down another.001, wait a week and check again.
     
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  14. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I have used 3711 multiple times. FWIW I have always obtained very low FG values (e.g.,1.001) and I reached those values in less than 7 days of primary fermentation.

    YMMV.

    Cheers!
     
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  15. banjomike1986

    banjomike1986 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2020

    Really appreciate all you’re feedback. First time using this yeast so all the input is appreciated. Gonna take another reading in a few day. But if I’m only wanting a certain abv can I stop it, or do I have to let it finish? Wife and I were only shooting for a 7ish. Just wondering about that?
     
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  16. banjomike1986

    banjomike1986 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2020

    Can you PM me and discuss efficiency more? Or can I PM you? I understand it to an extent. Mash and Brewhouse....
     
  17. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,043) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
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    Fire away.
     
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  18. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,331) Jul 5, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Really the only way to stop it would be to use potassium sorbate in conjunction with potassium metabisulfite (Camden tablets) or pasteurize. Home pasteurization is possible, but tricky, and I wouldn't recommend it, unless you like the flavor of cooked beer if taken too far, or gushers or exploding bottles if you don't take it far enough. Chemicals would work if you are force carbonating in a keg.
     
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