Cooked up an extract batch using 2lbs Demerara sugar (20 minutes) and 1lb Raw unfiltered honey (post-boil) along with about 6lbs of DME. I made a 2L starter with the WLP 570 and added at around 72-74F.
Within 4 days my gravity went from 1.085-1.004. It literally crushed the fermentation. And it’s not like it was showing signs of flocculation, this yeast was ready to do work. My fermentation temperature was relatively high, close to 80F. Now I am worried about going below 1.00 because that’s never happened to my brews before. So I crashed it to about 64F and then let it rise slowly towards the low 70’s.
A few questions:
Was my fermentation temp too high?
What does a FG that is below 1.00 do to a beer?
Was cold crashing a bad idea?
Should I just rack to secondary now?
If you have brewed with WLP570, I need some pointers.
1.) Yes. I follow the generally accepted advice that Belgian yeast like the mid 60s for the first 72 hours or so. Altering the temp up and down, up and down is generally not a good idea.
2.) It will be a dry, very attenuated beer. What was your hopping like?
3.) After fermentation has stopped? No. During active fermentation? Yes.
4.) is it done fermenting?
5.) 570 is the Duvel yeast IIRC. It is a notoriously attenuative yeast.
I can only speak for myself but 20% would be my upper limit for sugars.
1.) All your flavor characteristics are set in this early period. My back of the envelope calculations show 90+% attenuation. “Early” is a subjective term at this point.
2.) no bittering addition?
3.) I get it. You dropped the temp to reign it in.
4.) I would.
I see a couple things wrong here. Way too much sugar combined with an attenuative yeast and lack of fermentation control.
Let it finish and get it packaged and learn from the mistakes. That’s half the battle with this hobby.
You need to let any beer ferment out or you run the risk of bottle bombs. Even kegged pretty cold, the beer would slowly ferment over time. Better it be overly dry than have bottles exploding.
There is some debate whether adding sugar adjuncts at the end of the fermentation is worth the extra effort. Here I think it would have been because you would have had less fuel in the fire and because honey aromas are best preserved by adding the honey at the end of fermentation.
I would keep the temp in the upper 70s to allow the yeast to clean up immature off-flavors.
Yes, that is correct regarding the hop additions. Nelson has a relatively high alpha and I really didn’t want a whole lot of bitterness. The IBU’s were calculated to be around 15, which I am happy with. I will also be dry-hopping this batch with 2oz of Nelson.
What kind of compounds can I expect from the yeast after prematurely cold crashing and then “uncold-crashing” my beer?
Your problem will likely be less a result of fluctuating the temperature and more a result of allowing it to go that high that soon. You may get some solventy flavors, hot alcohol flavors, etc.
I can stow this one away while I work on a Pale Ale or something for the summer . Thank you everyone for the input, I am still very excited to see how this batch turns out.
First of all, I agree with most of the comments so far. WLP570 is quite an attenuative yeast. It is supposed to finish dry. Target FG on a recipe is just a guideline. Your system will likely produce different results. I wouldn’t sweat the low FG - it’s much better than too high. And by letting it get up in the 80’s, you may indeed end up with some hot alcohol. Let your palate be your guide, and prepare to let it sit if needed.
I recently brewed a Belgian IPAish-type thing using WLP570. I don’t think you have to worry about under-bittering your beer. In fact, I think the biggest fault I find in Belgian IPA’s is that too much bitterness starts to clash with the yeast. All late hops is the right approach, IMO. I’m curious to hear what you think about Nelson in this beer.
