This is my first attempt at making a loose rendition of Troeg’s Mad Elf ale. This is the highest gravity beer I’ve ever brewed, 1.099 @ 75 degrees F. I use a 6.5 gal. bucket for my primary fermentation with a hose attached to the inside of a 3 piece airlock as a blow off. The krausen is incredible! The blow off tube got pinched and the bucket lid popped halway open and foam escaped down the side of the bucket. It’s a mess, but fortunately it’s contained in an easy to clean bin. I cleared the hose problem and snapped the bucket lid closed again. It may have been open for as long as 8 hours inside of a large covered plastic bin. How great is my risk of infection of my beer? This was during the first 48 hours after pitching the yeast and the fermentation is very strong. I used White Labs Trappist Ale yeast (WLP500).
Two other questions:
1- I have a 3+ lb. can of Vintners Harvest Cherry puree that I plan to add. Should I add this to primary once fermentation slows down or should I hold off and add it to secondary?
2- Since this is such a high gravity beer and I’ll be adding the cherry puree at some point, would it also be a good idea to add more Trappist Ale yeast? I saved a little from my previous yeast starter, so my thinking was to make another starter and pitch it with the cherries to kickstart a second fermentation. Any thoughts?
75F explains the very-active yeast - pitching in the low 60s and then letting the temp rise as fermentation kicks off will help keep the blow-off to a minimum. Very little risk of infection since the CO2 outgassing will keep stuff from falling in the beer. I would add the cherry puree in the primary once fermentation has dropped off so you’ll have plenty of yeast to handle the additional sugars.
Thanks, Shadetree. It was 75 degrees when I pitched the yeast. The basement that I’m fermenting in is closer to 65 degrees. I haven’t taken a new temperature reading since pitching the yeast, but I’m sure it’s dropped some in the past 48 hours. I should have let the wort cool to closer to 60-65 before pitching the yeast.
Do you think I should add additional yeast when I add cherry puree? What about later during secondary? The only reason I mention this is because it’s such a high gravity beer that I’m afraid the yeast may poop out before fermentation is complete. However, this yeast should have pretty good alcohol tolerance.
If you add the puree to the primary, no need for more yeast. Probably not in secondary either unless you cold-crash or let it sit in primary long enough for most of the yeast to fall out.
One more question, if you don’t mind. When I add the cherry puree, should I stir it in to the fermenting beer or just pour it gently? I would tend to think stirring it would mix it in well and might stir up some of the yeast that has settled out of the beer. If I stir it, should I disturb the yeast cake at the bottom or just leave it alone?
