Seawolf

Recipes 

As the title states, I'm stuck.

Flanders Red Ale brewed 10 days ago: I pitched Safale US-05, and brought my OG from 63 down to 16. I pitched some Roeselare 4 days ago, and my SG hasn't really changed. I figured that, because most of the fermentation had taken place, a starter wouldn't be necessary. Is that right? It's sitting at about 69F, and seems to have stopped fermenting altogether. I check the gravity everyday, and it's been the same everyday.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Zach

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Primary - Bluebird Bitter, Negra Modelo
Secondary - Flanders Red
Drinking - Independence Pale Ale V1.0, Trappist Style Dubbel, Dunkelweizen, Saison, Fat Tire, SNPA
Conditioning - Chimay Red, Imperial American Pale Ale, Independence Pale Ale V2.0, Belgian Wit
Kegged - Bluebird Bitter

Bearcat Brewmeister

Recipes 

I think attenuation on that stuff is around 75%. 63 x .25 = about 16.

I'm thinking it is done.

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Kegged: Baltic Porter, Oatmeal Stout
Secondary: Doppelbock
Primary: --
Next Up: ?
Projects: Freezer Conversion (Done), HERMS (Done), Lager Fermentation Mini-fridge Extension (Done)
Drinking: Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald, Fuller's 1845, Lakefront Fixed Gear

Beerrific

Recipes 

Yeah, the saccharomyces is likely done. The other critters in the Roeselare blend should be able to eat more of the sugar there, but this takes a while. It can take quite a while and is possible you will not see much airlock activity.

Put is somewhere kind of warm, cover it and check it again in a couple months. But I would not check the gravity too often, you need to be careful about the oxygen in this or you will end up with a big vinegar character.

Evan!

Recipes 

4 days? You're expecting the bugs to do their thing in 4 days? Try 6-12 months! Roeselare is not some miracle yeast, it's a blend of ale yeast and bacteria, and they behave much differently. Yes, it will drop your OG by eating all the sugars that the beer yeast (saccharomyces) could not, but they operate at a much slower pace than sacch. Think of them as the Ents of the fermentation world.

Listen to Beerrific. Cover it up and forget about it. Your regular ale (which is all it is right now) will not be a "Flanders Red" until 6-12 months from now, so you'd better get used to being patient. Check it in a few weeks and you should have a pellicle that looks a little something like this:



Cheers!

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MOSS HOLLOW BREWING CO.
Aristocratic Ales, Lascivious Lagers

.planned:
•Scottish 80/- •Sweet Stout •Roggenbier
.primary | bright:
98: Moss Hollow Soured '09 72: Oude Kriek 99: B-Weisse 102: Brett'd BDSA 104: Feat of Strength Helles Bock 105: Merkin Brown
.on tap | kegged:
XX: Moss Hollow Springs Sparkling Water 95: Gott Mit Uns German Pils 91b: Brown Willie's Oaked Abbey Ale 103: Merkin Stout
98: Yorkshire Special 100: Maple Porter 89: Cidre Saison 101: Steffiweizen '09 (#3)

ericd

Recipes 

Did you add nutrient? I know a lot of people don't add it but I swear by it. It will enable your yeast to plow thru the thickest of worts.

Beerrific

Recipes 

You don' necessarily want the yeast to "plow" through this. The bugs need food and time.

Evan!

Recipes 

He's making a sour beer. Yeast nutrient is superfluous here. The bacterial culture that he added acts very differently than beer yeast.

__________________
MOSS HOLLOW BREWING CO.
Aristocratic Ales, Lascivious Lagers

.planned:
•Scottish 80/- •Sweet Stout •Roggenbier
.primary | bright:
98: Moss Hollow Soured '09 72: Oude Kriek 99: B-Weisse 102: Brett'd BDSA 104: Feat of Strength Helles Bock 105: Merkin Brown
.on tap | kegged:
XX: Moss Hollow Springs Sparkling Water 95: Gott Mit Uns German Pils 91b: Brown Willie's Oaked Abbey Ale 103: Merkin Stout
98: Yorkshire Special 100: Maple Porter 89: Cidre Saison 101: Steffiweizen '09 (#3)

ericd

Recipes 

Well the nutrient would be the food right (besides the wort)? What's the difference between fast and slow fermentation?

Evan!

Recipes 

No, nutrient is not the same as food (sugar). The bacteria don't need yeast nutrient. They need sugars, of which there are plenty in a 1.016 beer.

It's not just a matter of speed, it's a matter of how they operate. Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces just take much longer and need less oxygen than Saccharomyces.

__________________
MOSS HOLLOW BREWING CO.
Aristocratic Ales, Lascivious Lagers

.planned:
•Scottish 80/- •Sweet Stout •Roggenbier
.primary | bright:
98: Moss Hollow Soured '09 72: Oude Kriek 99: B-Weisse 102: Brett'd BDSA 104: Feat of Strength Helles Bock 105: Merkin Brown
.on tap | kegged:
XX: Moss Hollow Springs Sparkling Water 95: Gott Mit Uns German Pils 91b: Brown Willie's Oaked Abbey Ale 103: Merkin Stout
98: Yorkshire Special 100: Maple Porter 89: Cidre Saison 101: Steffiweizen '09 (#3)

david_42

Recipes 

First people are right that you won't see much of a gravity drop. They are also right about time. Stash it somewhere and check it around December.

I don't do lambics myself, but the guys who do, are always talking about years, not days.

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Remember one unassailable statistic, as explained by the late, great George Carlin: "Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!"