It's been almost two days since I pitched the yeast...3 packs of dry SAF-05 rehydrated into each carboy, and this is by far the most active fermentation I've ever seen. I didn't quite hit my target OG of 1.114 but came close at 1.104. I'm standing by with a pound of corn sugar for each which would add roughly another 9 points and get me closer to the 12% ABV I was hoping for.
The plan is to check the gravity after 3 days and most likely add a 1/2 lb of sugar to each carboy to keep the yeast going. After another two days, do the same thing with the remaining pound. I've already set a fermentation schedule and the temp can be raised if needed. I also poured a satellite sample into a clean beer bottle which has been in one of the chambers at the same temperature. It's already reading 1.060 so the yeast are definitely doing their job.
One thing I'm not thrilled with is how much beer I lost due to blowoff. This is not usually a problem with the temps kept in check, but with this much sugar and yeast, it's almost unavoidable. Unless of course I build a burton union system! (scoundrel has one and I need to ask him if it works well)
The plan is to check the gravity after 3 days and most likely add a 1/2 lb of sugar to each carboy to keep the yeast going. After another two days, do the same thing with the remaining pound. I've already set a fermentation schedule and the temp can be raised if needed. I also poured a satellite sample into a clean beer bottle which has been in one of the chambers at the same temperature. It's already reading 1.060 so the yeast are definitely doing their job.
One thing I'm not thrilled with is how much beer I lost due to blowoff. This is not usually a problem with the temps kept in check, but with this much sugar and yeast, it's almost unavoidable. Unless of course I build a burton union system! (scoundrel has one and I need to ask him if it works well)
Man I wish I would have taken vids last night when it was going bonkers. Here are two short videos at 41 hours.
Carboy 1 | Carboy 2 |
