Rate of fermentation temp increase for belgians

[kim]

what was your mash temp originally and how much yeast did you pitch? i dont want to give you any bad advice if youre already mashing and pitching at the optimum rates.

The last golden strong - mash temp 150, 1L starter with 2 vials of WLP 530, added O2 and pitched at 64, then raised to 70 over the next 3 days.

Belgian blonde - mash temp 150 (had to cool it down from 154), about 2L starter (smaller than intended due to boilover) with 1 vial WLP 500 and ~1/2 vial WLP 530, added O2 and pitched at 64 -- it raised itself to about 68 in the first 24 hours, so I brought it back down to 65 and then gradually increased to 68 over one week.

Another thing I was worried about is that the thermometer for the temp control is on the outside of the carboy, and I've heard that the inside can be up to 10 degrees warmer. But, like Chupa was gently hinting, I probably need to just relax and stop worrying about it. Or, get a thermometer for inside the damn carboy.

Thanks, guys -- I was reading about fermentation temps in a couple of different books yesterday and it got me thinking about this stuff -- thank you for your advice and clarification!!

Kim

[TapItGood]

Yeah, pretty much what everyone else hit on. Start around 64 don't let it get over 68 for the first 3 days to control the unwanted hot alcohol. Then ramp it up about a degree a day to 78-80, IMO. Plus table sugar won't add any flavor or aroma unless you burn or carmelize when adding to the boil and definitely not a green apple flavor, that is all the yeast baby. Good Luck! Let us know how things turn out. And Remember it's or nothing

[Petedadink]

Just a few thoughts. First spend some time reading Brew like a Monk. A lot of good information there. You can take the fermentation up to 80 if its still moving along. You can also do the late sugar method if you suspect poor yeast health and development.

[kim]

Just a few thoughts. First spend some time reading Brew like a Monk. A lot of good information there.

Okay, so that was actually one of the books that initially confused me and started this question. There's a part in the fermentation chapter where Ron Jeffries talks about just letting the yeast go, and not dialing down the temp once the yeast start.. and then Tomme Arthur also talks about the same thing. From what I've gathered from the posts here, though, they're probably controlling it at least somewhat the first few days and then just letting it go crazy from there.

DAMN, thank you guys for your patience and info. I will put it all together eventually. Until then, TapItGood is right -- it's or nothing.

-Kim

[Quin]

Just a few thoughts. First spend some time reading Brew like a Monk. A lot of good information there.

Okay, so that was actually one of the books that initially confused me and started this question. There's a part in the fermentation chapter where Ron Jeffries talks about just letting the yeast go, and not dialing down the temp once the yeast start.. and then Tomme Arthur also talks about the same thing. From what I've gathered from the posts here, though, they're probably controlling it at least somewhat the first few days and then just letting it go crazy from there.

DAMN, thank you guys for your patience and info. I will put it all together eventually. Until then, TapItGood is right -- it's or nothing.

-Kim

Most of the commercial breweries use large cylindro-conical fermenters with a much larger height:width ratio than carboys. This tends to reduce ester production. They've also brewed their recipe many times and dialed in their procedure. It sounds like you've got it figured out.

[TampaBrew]

Okay, so that was actually one of the books that initially confused me and started this question. There's a part in the fermentation chapter where Ron Jeffries talks about just letting the yeast go, and not dialing down the temp once the yeast start.. and then Tomme Arthur also talks about the same thing. From what I've gathered from the posts here, though, they're probably controlling it at least somewhat the first few days and then just letting it go crazy from there.

Ron Jeffries at Jolly Pumpkin isn't brewing your average "strong ale" either. those beers are so complex and bugged up that the esther production and yeast flavor isn't up front. I fuckin love Jolly Pumpkin for that.

I have brewed a few belgians where i started it at 65-66 and just let it go without any kind of temp control and they came out awesome. I personally like some of the esthers the belgian yeast kick off. I've ramped up some of my beers to the mid 80s. It usualy takes a week or so to get there. It naturally rises at a fairly slow rate. at least in my environment.

[Spidey]

Just a few thoughts. First spend some time reading Brew like a Monk. A lot of good information there. You can take the fermentation up to 80 if its still moving along. You can also do the late sugar method if you suspect poor yeast health and development.

Agreed. BLAM is an excellent resource on this topic. Starting on the cool side (64F-ish) then letting it go worked well in my latest batch, a dark dubbel, using WY3864 VSS Canadian/Belgian strain. You really help restrain flavors due to yeast growth by starting it cool. Fermentation peaked at about 70-72F and only hit that temp for about a day. Then it cooled on its own back down to 67F.