• Hi Guest - Come check out all of the new CP Merch Shop! Now you can support CigarPass buy purchasing hats, apparel, and more...
    Click here to visit! here...

What are you brewing?

MX said:
I want to know why I never have a very strong ferment?
I usually make gravity, but I am always worried about infection......

t
Click to expand...

Are you always using liquid yeast Tim, or brewing at cooler temps (around 65 F)?

I was kind of freaked out the first time I used liquid as it just kind of slowly chugged along compared to dry yeast.
 
sometimes liquid, sometimes dry, and as for temps....i dont really control or measure them...lol
I dont have any real way to control them right now, so I usually ferment on the warm side, say around 68-72-ish

t
 
this batch is probably aeration, looking back, I forgot to really whip up the wort.
as for pitching rate, i use the recommended number of dry packs, r the smack pack from wyeast.
gravity, most of my beers start in the 1.055 range, so not to big

I wil take a grave check tomorrow, at 7 days, see where we stand, if it is stuck, I will move from there....

t
 
MX said:
this batch is probably aeration, looking back, I forgot to really whip up the wort.
as for pitching rate, i use the recommended number of dry packs, r the smack pack from wyeast.
gravity, most of my beers start in the 1.055 range, so not to big

I wil take a grave check tomorrow, at 7 days, see where we stand, if it is stuck, I will move from there....

t
Click to expand...

With the smack packs these are the rules you would want to follow:

- If you use the propogator, you MUST create a starter wort
- If you use the activator, you may create a starter wort for a beer that is not high gravity (usually 1.7+)
- If you use the activator, you should create a starter wort for a beer that is high gravity

Regardless, if you use the smack packs go ahead and smack them a few days before brew day and then let them sit in a warmer area to incubate. Yeast nutrient additions to the wort cannot hurt either.
 
Well, pulled a sample and just as I thought....stuck.....

Sampled tasted ok, sweet, warm and flat, but ok

Swirled up the yeast to see if it will drop a few more points, just looking for 015-ish

t
 
MX said:
Well, pulled a sample and just as I thought....stuck.....

Sampled tasted ok, sweet, warm and flat, but ok

Swirled up the yeast to see if it will drop a few more points, just looking for 015-ish

t
Click to expand...

Starters man, they help me make gravity every time.
 
MX said:
this batch is probably aeration, looking back, I forgot to really whip up the wort.
as for pitching rate, i use the recommended number of dry packs, r the smack pack from wyeast.
gravity, most of my beers start in the 1.055 range, so not to big

I wil take a grave check tomorrow, at 7 days, see where we stand, if it is stuck, I will move from there....

t
Click to expand...

5 or so gallons at 1.055 requires almost 200 billion yeast cells for proper fermentation. That's 2 smack packs, two 5g dry yeast packs, or one of the larger 11.5g dry yeast packs.

That's according to the science (Mr. Malty Yeast Calculator by Jamil what's his name). According to manufacturers and anecdotal experience, one dry pack is usually good and one smack pack is usually good.

My experience is not really applicable since I brew 3-4 gallon batches, but I've not had any problems following the Mr. Malty pitching recommendations.

Good luck!
 
I know I need to do a starter, but I never know when I am going to brew. I will give it a few days, then maybe drop some 05 on it
hell I must just rack it to a secondary, and see if that stirs anything up, and let it go unti i get a chance to bottle it

not stressing

t
 
Tim, I know I'm late to the party, but what kind of yeasts are you using? Some are noticeably more violent than others.

edit to add: what FG are you "stuck" at (and for how long) and what was your OG on this batch?
 
Stuck at the dreaded 1.020......how long? not sure today was the first time I checked, but it has been going for a week so it should have been about done.
I will check again in a day or so
This go around it was Wyeast Irish ale.

I use a mix of dry and liquid yeast, and this started in the 1.058 range at pitching

t
 
"should" is tough word to throw around with fermentation. There are just too many variables. I'm assuming you are talking about Wyeast 1084 | Irish Ale , and its apparent attenuation of 71%-75%. You could expect to finish around 1.015 under ideal conditions. (So you're not *that* far off) Since it's only been a week, I would give it another week and check again. If you're really concerned, give the carboy/bucket a gentle rock/swirl, and see if you can rouse the yeast a bit.

Back to your original "problem", have you ever pitched onto a fresh yeast cake? If you want to see a beer go nuts, try that. Otherwise, get in the habit of making starters, even small ones. 1 liter of water and 100g of DME + smack pack, you could dump the whole thing into your beer with only 2 or 3 days of notice.
 
robbiex0r said:
"should" is tough word to throw around with fermentation. There are just too many variables. I'm assuming you are talking about Wyeast 1084 | Irish Ale , and its apparent attenuation of 71%-75%. You could expect to finish around 1.015 under ideal conditions. (So you're not *that* far off) Since it's only been a week, I would give it another week and check again. If you're really concerned, give the carboy/bucket a gentle rock/swirl, and see if you can rouse the yeast a bit.

Back to your original "problem", have you ever pitched onto a fresh yeast cake? If you want to see a beer go nuts, try that. Otherwise, get in the habit of making starters, even small ones. 1 liter of water and 100g of DME + smack pack, you could dump the whole thing into your beer with only 2 or 3 days of notice.
Click to expand...

I just got done cleaning out the bottom of my fermentation freezer (again) as evidence to this!
 
Well, the stuff to do starters is up next on the list of things to buy....
Stir plate, and a larger flask.....

I do want to save my yeast cake from this batch so I can use it again....

I did swirl it up, and will be out of town this weekend so Sunday or Monday I will give it another check
I am not to worried about it, it might be a bit "sweet" for style, but what ever...It will still be good enough to drink

Tim

ETA:

started my search for a used stir plate.....
 
You can make a starter in a growler, without a stirplate or anything fancy.
I have this one: http://www.stirstarters.com/ I think it's a little spendy, but it was a gift. It comes with the stir bar too (which can be surprisingly expensive).

Good luck and keep us posted!

Justin, that's why my Dark Strong is blowing off into a carboy!
 
MX said:
Well, the stuff to do starters is up next on the list of things to buy....
Stir plate, and a larger flask.....

I do want to save my yeast cake from this batch so I can use it again....

I did swirl it up, and will be out of town this weekend so Sunday or Monday I will give it another check
I am not to worried about it, it might be a bit "sweet" for style, but what ever...It will still be good enough to drink

Tim

ETA:

started my search for a used stir plate.....
Click to expand...

Tim, I don't use a stir plate. I just stop by every couple hours or so and disturb the contents of the flask and the yeasties turned out wonderful.
 
All good suggestions, starters, proper pitch rate, aeration. One I would like to add is that some yeast strains are also sensitive to changes in temperature, usually a drop in temperature or temperature fluctuations. It makes the yeast go dormant.

Getting some temperature control will make a huge difference in the quality of your beers and give you the ability to hone your yeast characteristics. But at the very least try and ferment in an area that is as stable as possible temperature wise.

Also on second thought mash temperature can play a role in wort fermentability as well. I'm not sure if you are extract brewing or doing all grain though.

Wyeast's website and Mr.malty both have excellent information regarding yeast and starters and a bunch of other great stuff too. Both are recommended reading!

Good luck.
 
Thx for all the input
will check gravity tomorrow, and do something with it one way or another


t
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top