Recent content by rwischer

I brewed a porter about 6 weeks ago and its been in secondary fermentation now for about 4 weeks. I checked on it the other day and was surprised to see a really thin layer of head on top. It doesn't look like any krausen I've seen before but I suppose that's likely what it is. I'm supposed...

I've read some more on beano & decided it's a bad idea. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do but if push comes to shove I'd rather keg it as is & take my chances with it being overly sweet. The lesson learned is to always aerate the heck out of your wort before pitching & also if it's a high...

Well, I've tried just about everything mentioned on the board here with the exception of adding brett or repitching with 099. I don't won't to go the brett route as I've read that it's "a wild yeast that's known for creating funky, wild flavors." The 099 was a serious consideration but I'm not...

It tastes pretty good but real sweet. Of course I know that a Belgian Quad will be sweet but this is a little more than I'd like which is why I wanted to bring down the FG. I am planning on kegging this both to avoid bottle bombs and because my keg just became available.

This is correct. I repitched the Trappist (my third yeast addition) after the wine yeast (my second). It took the gravity down from 1.038 to 1.030. I'm just guessing but I'd bet the first pitch didn't get the job done because it was in the basement with cooler temps (i.e. 68). After I...

Yeah, I understand that the wine yeast should be no different than beer yeast. I think the reason for the suggestion from the LHBS was that the wine yeast is suited for a high ABV and as such might be more resistant to dying when tossed into the carboy due to the high alcohol. By my...

I heated the carboy up to 75-76 degrees but the gravity has again stalled at 1.030. So now the question is do I add yeast for the fourth time (#1 The initial Trappist 3787 #2 Wine Yeast #3 Trappist 3787 again) or call it a day and keg? While I'd like to get to the target FG of 1.020 I don't...

3/30 update: Well, I weighed the comments on this thread as well as those from my LHBS. The LHBS recommended a dry wine yeast that is used to high gravity. So I went for it and....nada. Nothing. It didn't move the needle at all. Thinking I had nothing to lose I then went back to the...

It's been upstairs with a fermenting temp of 70 degrees. I've been measuring the gravity with a hydrometer.

I went to my LHBS and described the issue and they recommend I use a wine yeast (Lavin K1-V1116) to start up the fermentation. I asked if it would need a starter and they say "Nope, just hydrate and dump into the carboy." They said the characteristics of the wine yeast are neutral so it won't...

Hard to describe but it wasn't at all what I expected. With a gravity of 1.038 I was expecting something pretty sweet but it wasn't that at all. It reminded me of a RIS a while back that was pretty bland without a lot of character. The RIS turned out fantastic but too a long time to bottle...

I agree that I need to repitch. I don't think leaving it in secondary & hoping that it continues to ferment is a viable option. My main concerns with a successful repitch are: 1) Repitching without the high ABV killing the yeast (which you mentioned) 2) Can I repitch in carboy or should...

Yesterday I moved a batch of a Belgian Quad from primary to secondary. I was hasty in moving it and didn't check the gravity until I had it moved to secondary and had cleaned out the primary bucket. Big mistake because as an after thought I took a sample from the secondary and found it to be...

I'm a new home brewer and am going to attempt the extract version of ZD but have a few questions. 1) All the extract ingredient kits I've done so far it calls for steeping grains for about 30 mins and then adding the extract at the beginning of the following 60 min boil. In the original post...

Thanks for all the advice. Despite best efforts to stir well I'm pretty sure everyone's posts are correct that I didn't get a good OG reading. I also found thus good post that backs up advice in this thread...