I started brewing the Caribou Slobber with WY 1332 about 2008 - 2010. Sometimes I’m diligent about going back to my brewing notes and writing tasting notes. Some of the Slobbers I had noted they were over carbonated. Would use less priming sugar for the next Slobber but also noted it was still over carbonated. These Slobbers were bottled at an SG of 1.010 to 1.012.
My general fermentation procedure was controlling the active fermentation temperature with a swamp cooler. I would take the fermentor out of the swamp cooler after 3 to 4 days when the active fermentation subsided. The fermentation would finish at the ambient room temperature. Ambient during the winter would be 68°F. Summer ambient is 66° to 67°F when the AC is running.
February 7 brewed the Midnight Beatdown Wheaton porter with WY 1332. Bottled after 3.5 weeks in the primary with a SG of 1.019. SG seemed high but I thought my mash temperature must have been much higher than the 154°F measurement at the end of 60 minutes. Tasted the porter 4/1. Noted strong roasted grain flavor and over carbonation. Had two more bottles 5/4. Terribly over carbonated. Carbonation shouldn’t have changed in one month. I only expected the roasted grain flavor to change. Checked the SG of the bottled beer. It was at 1.011. I was able to degas the bottles to get them down to a decent carbonation level.
Brewed the same porter on 6/25 and bottled on 7/16. This batch is still warm conditioning. SG at bottling was 1.007. The highest controlled active fermentation temperature reached was 68.9°F on day 3. With the aquarium heater in the swamp coolers water bath I maintained 70°F for days 4 to 6. Days 7 to 16 I maintained the beer at 72°F until the SG stabilized at 1.007.
It seems the highly flocculant WY 1332 needs warm temperatures to stay in suspension to finish. The beer may finish after the yeast begins dropping but may require months to actually reach FG.
I might make it a standard practice to gradually increase the temperature of the primary until SG stabilizes.
