BLAGUE SHEEP

[trucker5774]

I have been doing a Black Sheep style bitter, made to pretty much the correct recipe, but about 4.8 %. I have used yeast slurry from my local pub and had a fermentation unlike any other I have done.
It took off well with a huge froth after 12 hours. It still has almost the same froth 6 days later and has not slowed down as usual I was hoping that a constant(ish) 21C would have finished it by day seven.

Anyone else had such a "prolonged" fermentation?

[Jim]

If you have a sample of actual Black Sheep yeast, then you can't ferment it like a normal SO4 or Nottingham yeast.

It needs frequent rousing to keep it going; I got a sample and didn't have great success with it. The brewery uses Yorkshire Squares that have a special mechanism to rouse the yeast (a big spray nozzle!).

[trucker5774]

Jim, that's what I was anticipating, but without ANY rousing it has bee quite vigorous. It's just started to slow tonight..............maybe it would have been quicker if I had roused it!

[chris_reboot]

as long as its still going I wouldn't worry!
if it had stopped I'd be looking at rousing.

[WishboneBrewery]

did you take a gravity reading? What is it down to?

[Dr. Dextrin]

Isn't a lot of froth exactly what you'd expect from a yeast adapted to surviving in Yorkshire Squares?

[trucker5774]

It's day 7 now...........the froth has subsided a little and the SG is 1010. I reckon it must be pretty close to done now. It started at 1046, so a little stronger than the original. I am looking forward to this one

[Kamikaze]

Yorkshire Square



David

[trucker5774]

It's day 11 now and it's been in a secondary for 3 days. The final gravity seems to have settled at 1008 (a little lower than expected) The taste test has indicates that this will be a cracker! At 5% it will be a stronger beer than I normally brew, but this was intentional as I decided not to dilute (or reduce the grain bill)
It is looking a little on the pale side (low colour crystal and just 10g of black malt).....just think of it as "white sheep"

Next up is a take on Abbot Ale. Again using pub slurry yeast from the original. The recipes are very alike with just small differences so it will be interesting to try them side by side as I often do at my local.