Adding more yeast to a slow fermentation

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mozltovcoktail

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I brewed a 5 gallon extract batch with a friend over the weekend, and it's currently sitting an Ale Pail in his bathroom. He's telling me that he's seeing very little activity in the airlock, and I'm concerned our batch is busted.

Could we open up the pail and add some more yeast of the same kind we originally pitched to help fermentation along?

Thanks very much for your help!
 
Its only been 2 or 3 days, don't add anything. Just because you don't see much airlock activity doesn't mean it isn't fermenting. CO2 could be leaking from anywhere and the airlock just might not be bubbling. The only way to tell if it is or isn't fermenting is to pop the lid, look at it and take a specific gravity measurement. If you pitched healthy yeast into an extract batch and the bucket is sitting somewhere between 60F-75F, fermentation is pretty much a forgone conclusion. Let it alone for about 2 weeks, then check the gravity, then let it alone for another week, check the gravity again. If the second gravity measurement shows the same as week 2, it is done and you can bottle it. HTH
 
Don't mention it...its the one nice thing about better bottles and carboys, you can see inside it. I remember what it was like with buckets and not being able to tell what is going on inside them. It wouldn't hurt to gently pop the lid in a day or 2 just to make sure there is some krausen in there and ease your mind ;)
 
Yeah, he has the pails, but I actually just got a 6 gallon Better Bottle that I'm going to use for my first 5 gallon all-grain batch in a few weeks. I'm not looking forward to cleaning it, but it would drive me nuts to not be able to visually check on it. What can I say, I'm a beer voyeur!
 
Cleaning a better bottle isn't all that hard, I rinse mine with hot water after dumping them then give them an overnight soak in a hot Oxyclean Free solution or even better, a hot PBW solution filled to the top, rinse them 3 or 4 times and they are usually good to go.
 
Yeah, he has the pails, but I actually just got a 6 gallon Better Bottle that I'm going to use for my first 5 gallon all-grain batch in a few weeks. I'm not looking forward to cleaning it, but it would drive me nuts to not be able to visually check on it. What can I say, I'm a beer voyeur!

Get one of these Carboy Cleaners I have one. I attach it to my drill and it cleans pretty good. Obviously you'll probably still want to rinse well with PBW. Just leave a little bit of PBW in the carboy and use this with a drill to clean your carboy really well.
 
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I would be hesitant to use a carboy cleaner like attached to a drill in a Better Bottle, even though it is soft chamois, it could still leave small scratches behind in the plastic that would eventually harbor bacteria and molds. A lot of good reading on the Better Bottle website about cleaning, cleansers and sanitizing their products. http://www.better-bottle.com/technical.html
 
I would be hesitant to use a carboy cleaner like attached to a drill in a Better Bottle, even though it is soft chamois, it could still leave small scratches behind in the plastic that would eventually harbor bacteria and molds. A lot of good reading on the Better Bottle website about cleaning, cleansers and sanitizing their products. http://www.better-bottle.com/technical.html

it is a myth that a scratch in a better bottle or a bucket is going to harbor bacteria or mold that is not cleanable. even though this is often repeated it has not been proven to be true, in fact, there are many scratched buckets/better bottles in use today without problems. people get infections in glass carboys and stainless fermentors too and those materials are pretty much scratch free.
 
>.it is a myth that a scratch in a better bottle or a bucket is going to harbor bacteria or mold that is not cleanable. even though this is often repeated it has not been proven to be true, in fact, there are many scratched buckets/better bottles in use today without problems.

A scratch doesn't cause an infection, a scratch makes it harder to remove bacteria especially if they have formed biofilms. I use a dedicated sponge for cleaning my buckets and that sponge never cleans anything else, where it could pick up grit.

I don't think it's a myth to avoid using brushes on plastics, i think it makes good sense.

On the other hand, i don't think chemicals, even PBW are enough to remove very small clumps. You need to use something soft to scrub away the caked on specs.
 
(snip)

On the other hand, i don't think chemicals, even PBW are enough to remove very small clumps. You need to use something soft to scrub away the caked on specs.

And that's where the carboy cleaner comes in. :) It's soft chamois-type material strips. When they are wet, they are just about perfect for the job of cleaning. Obviously I wouldn't want to put these in my carboy/better bottle dry!
 
A scratch doesn't cause an infection, a scratch makes it harder to remove bacteria especially if they have formed biofilms. I use a dedicated sponge for cleaning my buckets and that sponge never cleans anything else, where it could pick up grit.

I don't think it's a myth to avoid using brushes on plastics, i think it makes good sense.

On the other hand, i don't think chemicals, even PBW are enough to remove very small clumps. You need to use something soft to scrub away the caked on specs.

what size scratch are we talking here? seems to me that it would have to be pretty deep to be able to hide contaminants from soap/water/star san. the reason i say it's a myth is because it is often repeated but in very vague terms as something that is not worth risking. when you look a new brewer posts they very often worry about a scrubbie they used or a scratch they felt with their hand, and so on. so the distinction i'm trying to make is between the scratches that are found in virtually all new plastic fermentors and a real, deep gouge.
of course this is really a discussion that has no end, most people want to feel that they are taking the best care in sanitation so the scratch thing stays alive and it does make sense that tiny bugs can hide in tiny spaces. i guess i look at the other side of the equation; water/soap/star san can get into tiny spaces too.
 
>>what size scratch are we talking here? seems to me that it would have to be pretty deep to be able to hide contaminants from soap/water/star san.

I don't think thats the case, the scratch just needs to be a lot deeper than bacteria, which is small. It doesn't have to be a deep gauge. Once the bacteria form the biofilm they are very hard to get out, even with chemicals. Thats why hospitals have problems with infections.



>> the reason i say it's a myth is because it is often repeated but in very vague terms as something that is not worth risking. when you look a new brewer posts they very often worry about a scrubbie they used or a scratch they felt with their hand, and so on. so the distinction i'm trying to make is between the scratches that are found in virtually all new plastic fermentors and a real, deep gouge.
of course this is really a discussion that has no end, most people want to feel that they are taking the best care in sanitation so the scratch thing stays alive and it does make sense that tiny bugs can hide in tiny spaces. i guess i look at the other side of the equation; water/soap/star san can get into tiny spaces too.


I wouldn't throw away equipment that had some scratches. But it can make it hard to clean and if it does get infected, it might not be possible to fully get rid of the infection.


>>water/soap/star san can get into tiny spaces too.

Absolutely, but with biofilms it's possible that bacteria can survive that. No guarantees, but it's possible, and can cause reinfections.
 
On the other hand, i don't think chemicals, even PBW are enough to remove very small clumps. You need to use something soft to scrub away the caked on specs.

I've never had a problem removing clumped, caked on debris n a better bottle by using warm water, PBW/Oxyclean and some shaking. check their site, it's all you need to do.
 
>>what size scratch are we talking here? seems to me that it would have to be pretty deep to be able to hide contaminants from soap/water/star san.

I don't think thats the case, the scratch just needs to be a lot deeper than bacteria, which is small. It doesn't have to be a deep gauge. Once the bacteria form the biofilm they are very hard to get out, even with chemicals. Thats why hospitals have problems with infections.



>> the reason i say it's a myth is because it is often repeated but in very vague terms as something that is not worth risking. when you look a new brewer posts they very often worry about a scrubbie they used or a scratch they felt with their hand, and so on. so the distinction i'm trying to make is between the scratches that are found in virtually all new plastic fermentors and a real, deep gouge.
of course this is really a discussion that has no end, most people want to feel that they are taking the best care in sanitation so the scratch thing stays alive and it does make sense that tiny bugs can hide in tiny spaces. i guess i look at the other side of the equation; water/soap/star san can get into tiny spaces too.


I wouldn't throw away equipment that had some scratches. But it can make it hard to clean and if it does get infected, it might not be possible to fully get rid of the infection.


>>water/soap/star san can get into tiny spaces too.

Absolutely, but with biofilms it's possible that bacteria can survive that. No guarantees, but it's possible, and can cause reinfections.

we disagree and that's ok :mug:
 
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