What's fermenting now?
- Thread starter TN
- Start date
that sounds bizarre.
I brought my amber lager upstairs today for the diacetyl rest. I will start lagering it in a few days.
I brought my amber lager upstairs today for the diacetyl rest. I will start lagering it in a few days.
diacetyl rest is done on my amber lager...i guess. the carboy is in the beer fridge at 42º I will rack it to a keg at some point to let it age some more.
I have to say I much prefer brewing ales.
I have to say I much prefer brewing ales.
Assuming your dispense line is clean, it sounds like pressure is too low. Have you tried dispensing at a higher pressure than used to carb? Carbonation is a function of pressure and temperature. As temperature increases, or head pressure decreases, co2 will break out of solution.
If dispensing at carbonation temperature, you need the pressure it was carbed at (to keep the co2 in solution) plus a bit more to account for the fact that you're losing pressure when you move the beer from vessel to serving glass.
My best guess.
Well I was going to bottle the IPA today but it appears to be stuck. After 5 weeks Im only down to 1.040. Gave it a good stir and will go to the home brew shop later to see if they have yeast hulls. Never had this happen before and I'm a tad upset. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
what will the yeast hulls do?
did you use a starter?
did you use a starter?
Speculatively, I don't think you should ever move a beer off the yeast cake until it's done fermenting. You took a whole lot of perfectly viable yeast that were used to their environment, not to mention they were multiplying like crazy, and moved the beer off them. The fresh yeast were not only not as numerous as the reproducing yeast, but they were dumped into an environment that already had a lot of alcohol in it.
Plus, moving the beer off the yeast cake means the yeast don't have time to clean up after themselves... A beer that big, probably could have used 10-14 days in primary.
Just from what I understand about the brewing process - totally open to corrections. Secondary fermentation is really a misnomer, you rarely want it to actually ferment in secondary.
^sounds like good info. All me beers stay in primary for a month then I rack to a corny & throw it in the beer fridge. My dad recently brewed a big IPA (surly furioso clone) & bottled it too soon so he had a bunch of gushers....good beer but be ready when open it.
on another note....I had a buddy who had a batch of beer not turn out the way he wanted so what did he do? Distilled it & made a wiskey/moon shine/whatever you want to call it.
on another note....I had a buddy who had a batch of beer not turn out the way he wanted so what did he do? Distilled it & made a wiskey/moon shine/whatever you want to call it.
My last two beers have been much better after leaving them in primary for nearly a month. Plus, I worry less about them which leaves me more time to drink the homebrew.
Turns out beer does pretty well if you leave it alone
. I don't think I'll do any more brews that are <3 weeks in primary.
Turns out beer does pretty well if you leave it alone
. I don't think I'll do any more brews that are <3 weeks in primary.
BV, do you do any secondary? I've been doing 2 weeks in primary, and 2-6 weeks in secondary (depending on the brew).
Just bottled my irish stout last weekend. taste was good, abv about 5.7%. can't wait to drink one.
Just bottled my irish stout last weekend. taste was good, abv about 5.7%. can't wait to drink one.
I've done a couple secondaries but really all it does is clarify the beer more and I don't think it even does that much more than leaving it in primary longer.
A while ago, I got caught up reading some papers on yeast and their byproducts and the fermenting process, and got to doing some research. I'm pretty much convinced that more time on the yeast cake is better (up to a point, of course) for homebrewing. It lets the yeast clean up the byproducts of the fermentation, while bulk aging the beer, reducing a source of contamination and oxygenation (transferring to secondary), and it compacts the cake a bit more for easier transfer to the bottling bucket. AND it means less work. Wins all around.
Doesn't always translate to commercial brewing, of course. The conical fermenters mean there's very little surface area to the yeast cake so you don't get much cleanup, and I did read something interesting that said the conical tips were such a high concentration of yeast in such a small area that the temperatures were really high and it promoted autolysis (which is usually not a problem with homebrewing) and off flavors to leave it there for a long time.
I'm not a long time, super experienced brewer, of course. Just read a lot and I know when something sounds like good science.
A while ago, I got caught up reading some papers on yeast and their byproducts and the fermenting process, and got to doing some research. I'm pretty much convinced that more time on the yeast cake is better (up to a point, of course) for homebrewing. It lets the yeast clean up the byproducts of the fermentation, while bulk aging the beer, reducing a source of contamination and oxygenation (transferring to secondary), and it compacts the cake a bit more for easier transfer to the bottling bucket. AND it means less work. Wins all around.
Doesn't always translate to commercial brewing, of course. The conical fermenters mean there's very little surface area to the yeast cake so you don't get much cleanup, and I did read something interesting that said the conical tips were such a high concentration of yeast in such a small area that the temperatures were really high and it promoted autolysis (which is usually not a problem with homebrewing) and off flavors to leave it there for a long time.
I'm not a long time, super experienced brewer, of course. Just read a lot and I know when something sounds like good science.
After single-fermenting a milk stout I'm *never* skipping the secondary fermentation process ever, ever again. Bottling (through a hose, not a bottling bucket) was a complete and utter nightmare. The yeast cake wasn't compacted after stirring in the sugar for bottling, and it gummed up just about everything.
I usually leave it in the primary for 10days to 2 weeks before moving to a secondary, and haven't had a problem yet in the half-dozen or so batches I've done.
I usually leave it in the primary for 10days to 2 weeks before moving to a secondary, and haven't had a problem yet in the half-dozen or so batches I've done.
I can't imagine bottling straight out of the primary fermenter, especially after stirring it all to get the priming sugar integrated. You're a crazy man 
.
I filter the beer as it goes into the bottling bucket... The toe of some panty hose works wonderfully well at taking out virtually all of the sediment.
.I filter the beer as it goes into the bottling bucket... The toe of some panty hose works wonderfully well at taking out virtually all of the sediment.
Tried it once, lesson learned. After going through the secondary (and a couple weeks in the bottle) the beer is as clear as I need it to be. Plus racking to the secondary means I can brew again as soon as it's moved over.I can't imagine bottling straight out of the primary fermenter, especially after stirring it all to get the priming sugar integrated. You're a crazy man
I filter the beer as it goes into the bottling bucket... The toe of some panty hose works wonderfully well at taking out virtually all of the sediment.
I'll be bottling my first attempt at Kombucha tonight. Should be fun. It has been crazy watching it grow and ferment over the past 10 days.
You will be over run with with babies. we were, when we tried our kombucha experiment. I never liked the stuff but L sure did.
yea I bottled it this afternoon and started another batch. Only doing 1 gallon batches. I'd like to get a few going at once so I can perpetually be bottling rather than big days of work.
My porter is ready to move to a keg today & in a couple of weeks my amber lager will be ready. still got about 1/3 of a keg of my brown ale. I need to bottle a few before it is tapped.
Got an APA in the fermenter now..... Might be ready to rack to bottles either this weekend or next next week (went into the fermenter last Tuesday). 
)
After that onto doing an American Amber Ale for a contest.
)After that onto doing an American Amber Ale for a contest.
next up is gonna be a tripel. anyone done these before? recipe looks like its gonna be a long time in secondary. I'm also planning on doing a real yeast starter for my first time. any advice? should i expect a big krauzen and need to use a blowoff tube instead of an airlock for primary?
Just doing the boil for my next brew, an extract based (don't have the gear at the mo to do a grain mashup) American Amber Ale which is going to christen my new 60L stainless steel fermenter. :-D
First attempt at an amber ale, couldn't find a decent extract only recipe on the web so I'm winging it, here's what I have planned;
20l Batch
Using unhopped Black Rock Amber extract and Blond extract (total 3kg),
45grm Williamette @ 60min
15 grm Cascade @15min
15grm Williamette dry hop
15grm Cascade dry hop.
Safale US-05 yeast
And water from the Petone aquifier.)
Only doing 20L as the budget this week won't stretch to the full 60L
First attempt at an amber ale, couldn't find a decent extract only recipe on the web so I'm winging it, here's what I have planned;
20l Batch
Using unhopped Black Rock Amber extract and Blond extract (total 3kg),
45grm Williamette @ 60min
15 grm Cascade @15min
15grm Williamette dry hop
15grm Cascade dry hop.
Safale US-05 yeast
And water from the Petone aquifier.
)Only doing 20L as the budget this week won't stretch to the full 60L
Ok not sure what happend to get this result, but it was so late last night (11:45pm) when I got the wort into the fermenter and cooled enough to pitch,
but I forgot to taken an OG reading, Just took one this morning at 7am and it was a stupid high 1082???????
Wonder what I cocked up? cos it shouldn't be anywhere near that.
but I forgot to taken an OG reading, Just took one this morning at 7am and it was a stupid high 1082???????
Wonder what I cocked up? cos it shouldn't be anywhere near that.
just ordered a flask and stirrer plate to do proper yeast starters. should be here with my tripel ingredients this week.
next upgrade is gonna be the equipment to do all grain brewing. and probably a second carboy.
next upgrade is gonna be the equipment to do all grain brewing. and probably a second carboy.
oh, and my Irish Stout turned out AWESOME. had the first one last night
YES! Maybe even the first couple days in the secondary. What tripel? NB has a kit I want to try real bad but I figure I better finish the IIPA first.
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Here's a tripel I made a couple of years back that turned out really well. My mash tun wasn't large enough so I had to supplement with extract.
Hat Trick
9.5 lbs pils malt
3 oz aromatic malt
3 oz wheat malt
2 lbs Briess Pilsen Light dme
2 oz Tettnang (4.3%aa) - 60 min boil
1 oz Saaz (3.5%aa) - 5 min boil
1 lb Light raw cane sugar
0.5 lb Orange Blossom Honey
Westmalle yeast (WL #530 or WY #3787)
Mashed at 149F for 75 minutes
60 min boil with extract and sugar/honey added with 10 minutes remaining.
yeast pitched at 65F, leveled-off around 72F during fermentation
Hat Trick
9.5 lbs pils malt
3 oz aromatic malt
3 oz wheat malt
2 lbs Briess Pilsen Light dme
2 oz Tettnang (4.3%aa) - 60 min boil
1 oz Saaz (3.5%aa) - 5 min boil
1 lb Light raw cane sugar
0.5 lb Orange Blossom Honey
Westmalle yeast (WL #530 or WY #3787)
Mashed at 149F for 75 minutes
60 min boil with extract and sugar/honey added with 10 minutes remaining.
yeast pitched at 65F, leveled-off around 72F during fermentation
yea, its the NB kit. I'm hoping that this will be one of my last kits.
DaveW- I think the yeast you pitched is affecting our gravity reading.
Yesterday I racked my porter to a keg & it is carbing up as we speak. My beer fridge is full now with 2 cornies & a 5 gal carboy lagering in there. I cant wait until the lager is ready.
Yesterday I racked my porter to a keg & it is carbing up as we speak. My beer fridge is full now with 2 cornies & a 5 gal carboy lagering in there. I cant wait until the lager is ready.
Might be something as simple as the solution not being completely uniform. Try taking a couple measurements from different parts of the fermenter. If you're using a bucket and just dropping the hydrometer in, pull a couple samples from different parts of the fermenter. Or give it a good stir, being careful not to oxygenate it.Ok not sure what happend to get this result, but it was so late last night (11:45pm) when I got the wort into the fermenter and cooled enough to pitch,
but I forgot to taken an OG reading, Just took one this morning at 7am and it was a stupid high 1082???????
Wonder what I cocked up? cos it shouldn't be anywhere near that.
Or leave it alone and see what comes out on the other side
So what happened with the IIPA?
Picked up some yeast hulls, seems to have worked, still fermenting. Gonna take a reading again wed/thurs and see about bottling.
It's ok I worked out what happened, the fermenter (vessel is convex) has a domed bottom with the outlet dead in the middle with a small riser which reduces the sediment getting sucked thru.Might be something as simple as the solution not being completely uniform. Try taking a couple measurements from different parts of the fermenter. If you're using a bucket and just dropping the hydrometer in, pull a couple samples from different parts of the fermenter. Or give it a good stir, being careful not to oxygenate it.
Or leave it alone and see what comes out on the other side
When I tipped the sweet wort into the fermenter it would have filled the riser and outlet pipe and when I added more water to bring it up to the final volume what was in there didn't mix in so when I drew some out it would have been partially the undilluted wort.
Todays reading was 1.026 after 36hrs. and the brew is bubbling away quite merrily.
my latest iipa has just carbed up; turned out great - nice hop / malt balance. 191ibu zeus/simcoe mix @ 10% abv. it's beastly good.
going to do a wheat ipa next. seems to be all the rage. just deliberating between yeasties - whether a clean 1056, or a 1010 american wheat to develop some esters - just wary of the potential flavor clash.
going to do a wheat ipa next. seems to be all the rage. just deliberating between yeasties - whether a clean 1056, or a 1010 american wheat to develop some esters - just wary of the potential flavor clash.
^your iipa sounds good.
my porter is decently carbed & will be perfect in 2 days. it is drinking very nice for being in the keg for only 3 days. i used a pound of flaked oats in this batch/. can definitely tell they are in there.
my porter is decently carbed & will be perfect in 2 days. it is drinking very nice for being in the keg for only 3 days. i used a pound of flaked oats in this batch/. can definitely tell they are in there.
Just sampled off my IIPA. 1.032 is pretty close to target. Puts me in @ 9.3. Methinks I'll let it sit another week and see where I'm at. Save a stout for me jon.
tripel. OG = 1.076, temperature corrected
Finally bottled last night, with an official 10.1 abv. Now the hard part begins, waiting.
active fermentation day 4: krausen blow out of airlock. whoops.