apfelwein fermentation problem

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lpdb185

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alright, i made a 5 gallon batch of EdWorts apfelwein using montrachet yeast just like the original recipe and it has been fermenting steady for 3 weeks. i decided to make another 3 gallon batch with the Wyeast Weihenstephaner hefe yeast. got a 4.5 gallon frosting bucket from the local bakery with an o-ringed lid for the fermentation since my better bottles are all taken up. anyway, pitched the yeast and it i had REALLY good airlock activity after about 12-16 hours. for the first two days it was going about a bubble per second. checked it today and haven't seen it bubble yet. it has a nice bubbly, creamy looking krausen on top, but i can't understand why it would go from blowing up the airlock to nothing. any ideas?
 
you know what? i just realized that i didn't take an OG reading. guess that's gonna make this a bit more of a problem huh. the only way i can take a gravity reading now is in the bucket, but it's about 3 inches thick with krausen on top. if nothing else, i'll let it sit until i can start checking the gravity. i know it's fermenting, but i was curious why the airlock activity would just cease. it just seemed odd to me.
 
As we say--only your hydrometer knows for sure.

Possibly: Make another batch (always a good idea) with exact same ingredients, and measure the OG. Since no boiling is involved it should match your current one.

FG of Apfelwein fermented with Montrachet should be close to 1.00. Does anybody have a target FG for Apfelwein with the hefe yeast ?

Take gravity samples with a sanitized 'wine thief '. The foam shouldn't be a problem with careful procedure.
 
well, i didn't have a wine thief, but i took the lid off and managed to displace the foam enough to briefly get a gravity reading of 1.050. now, i added 2.75 gallons of apple juice. i took the remaining .25 gallons and heated it to boiling and added 1lb. of brown sugar. i was planning on adding another pound of sugar in about a week because i was afraid that 2 lbs of sugar at once might cause problems for the yeast. i would believe, however, that the og must have been more than 1.050 between the AJ and the pound of brown sugar.

i plan on doing another batch, but it will probably be a few weeks. i'll use that OG for reference on this batch for calculating ABV. otherwise, i'll just wait a week or so and take another gravity reading on this batch to see what's happening.

BTW, after i took the gravity reading tonight, i gently stirred the krausen on top hoping to get the activity back going. is that a no no, or did i do right? it seemed sticky like it was creating a barrier between the yeast foam and the juice. does that make sense?
 
BTW, after i took the gravity reading tonight, i gently stirred the krausen on top hoping to get the activity back going. is that a no no, or did i do right? it seemed sticky like it was creating a barrier between the yeast foam and the juice. does that make sense?

I would suggest not disturbing an active krauzen. The idea behind a wine thief is that it lets you pull a sample with as little mucking about in the wort/must as possible. Stirring to revive a stuck fermentation is usually done from the bottom because dormant yeast fall out of suspension. But that's assuming your ferment is really stuck.

You didn't mention temperatures. Be sure they aren't dipping over night. Moving the fermenter to a warmer location might also help.

A thick krauzen and stuck ferment don't really jibe. But if the ferment is really stuck you might consider pitching a packet of wine yeast.
 
until i get my ranco controller in this week, i'm using my guest bathroom for a fermentation room. the temp stays between 66-68 degrees. that should be plenty warm. anyway, after checking it and moving the krausen around, it started back up. i'll just check the gravity in a week or so. i don't have any yeast lying around, so i'll just wait it out i guess. like you said, there's a nice krausen on top, so that should mean it's fermenting pretty good. i was just hoping that there might be a simple explanation for the sudden lack of airlock activity. it had me a little confused.
 
just so that i'm clear, this is krausen and it is a good thing right? this is what it has looked like for 3 days now, but all airlock activity has ceased for some reason.

apfelweinkrausen001.jpg


and just for fun, i figured i'd share what i'm sipping on right now.

apfelweinkrausen002.jpg
 
Well....Looks like a healthy krauzen. As long as the ferment is cranking, it's all good. Sometimes the yeasties have a mind of their own.

BTW, that fine Trappist Ale is very unhealthy. Feel free to send it to me for proper disposal. :D
 
Well....Looks like a healthy krauzen. As long as the ferment is cranking, it's all good. Sometimes the yeasties have a mind of their own.

BTW, that fine Trappist Ale is very unhealthy. Feel free to send it to me for proper disposal. :D

sorry, i'd been saving that one for a few months now and it went pretty damn quick. westmalle tripel is one of my favorites. now i'm about to follow it up with a few of my mediocre homebrews.

thanks for the reply BTW. that's what i figured, but i'm a newb though and i just wanted to make sure.
 
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