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  • I need a miracle

    Made a winter saison using a custom blend yeast. Let it free ride as usual, and transfered it to a cone once it was roughly 2/3 attenuated. I know the routine, wait - HOWEVER, it has been 3 weeks now, and the beer has not budged, stuck at 5.4 Plato. I tried giving it boost of Dry English Ale yeast, still nuthin. I have kicked around the idea of blowing in a small amount of O2, but it raises the questions, "how much is too much," and "is this a stupid idea?" Here is the kicker: the tank was actually capped off for a short period of time (by my assistant) once it was transfered. I caught it before the pressure went above 5, but I am wondering what effect that has on a yeast's ability to metabolize sugar? I am sure a question like this will bring all of the geeks out of the shadows.

  • #2
    What temp do you have it at? It is my understanding that Saisons take higher temp well.
    Joel Halbleib
    Partner / Zymurgist
    Hive and Barrel Meadery
    6302 Old La Grange Rd
    Crestwood, KY
    www.hiveandbarrel.com

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    • #3
      Also, your mash temp may have been too high, remember what it was?
      Tim Butler

      Empire Brewing Co.
      Syracuse, NY

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      • #4
        Caught it before the pressure went above 5? Psi or Bar!? 5 psi is not going to cause any disturbance in your fermentation. Also, oxygenation is not going to make your saison ferment - I agree with the former poster - your mash temperature was likely too high. Also, how high did your fermentation temperature get? Over 80 degrees F ? Mash low. Ferment high. Pitch healthy, vital yeast. Etc. I've never had a stuck fermentation with a saison. Always had 4 to 5 day fermentations all the way down to 1.5 plato (or lower).
        Which yeast did you use? And from which supplier?

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        • #5
          WL Saison 2 blended with WL Belgian Ale Yeast..

          Mash temp was 154

          fermentation: free ride, drove it down to 70 before it finished. Holding at 70 without any "assistance" from the glycol.

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          • #6
            Transfer it into another tank and pitch some actively fermenting yeast. Make sure the yeast is active, and you should have a chance to get it restarted.
            Troy Robinson
            Quirk Brewing
            Walla Walla

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            • #7
              Troy makes a good suggestion. Make sure the yeast you pitch is fairly alcohol tolerant, and ACTIVELY fermenting. I did this with a Saison at home once and made a starter, but with no nutrients and no oxidation, just wanted to activate what came from White Labs, not grow much more yeast. Drove the gravity down another ~3.5P.
              -Lyle C. Brown
              Brewer
              Camelot Brewing Co.

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              • #8
                Wait

                3 weeks really isn't that long for this yeast...oh, and Dupont ferments at 30C...and lets it ride up!!! (I've seen numbers in the 34-36 range). That yeast is VERY VERY touchy and its behavior is most likely not due to your mash temp. Wait it out. I'd NEVER recomend adding O2 late....creats too many other problems. you could also throw some chico in there....I'd bet it'll eat down.
                Larry Horwitz

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                • #9
                  I have never had a 3 week fermentation with this yeast - and, thus, believe that your difficulty is mash/fermentation temperature derived.
                  Larry - you are getting 3 week + fermentations at Iron Hill on a Saison. Hmm.... that still doesn't seem healthy to me.

                  "drove it down to 70 before it finished"
                  Does this mean that you let the ferm' rise and then you cooled the fermentation vessel to 70 prior to finishing out? If so... this, without a doubt, was your problem. You shocked the yeast. It dropped out. Pitch a healthy, vital, freshly fermenting culture of the 1056 into your fermenter and you should be able to attain some level of attenuation - it won't be in the 90% range... but atleast it will be relatively attenuated!

                  Cheers.

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