Just another "slow fermenting" question - with a twist, though

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blizz81

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The twist here is that this was a double brew effort between a buddy and I each essentially doing our own 5gal batches with separate equipment and the same ingredients. In the interest of time we grabbed two munton IPA kits locally and doctored them a bit in terms of hop/DME additions.


I could give more info, but the cliffs of the matter are that the only thing different between the brews was that I tried a FWH-ish method of adding 1oz chinook whole leaf at the time I fired up my burner (and left in), but my buddy was concerned about the valve on his kettle clogging so he put his in with his grain bag (and withdrew at ~175*), and that he used a counterflow that quite nicely naturally aerated his wort, whereas I used an immersion and just a strong pour and a stir for aeration.


Both fermentation vessels are in the same place, next to each other. Pitched muntons dried yeast into both after activating...his fermented aggressively almost to the point of blowoff and quieted down after about 36hrs....mine seems stalled...no visible pressure change in bucket/airlock water levels, no airlock bubblage, etc.


I guess it sat for about 10 min after I did the vigorous pour. Seems the only obvious explanation is lack of aeration. At this point I'm guessing a starter/gradual starter isn't going to help much. How bad would it be for me to aerate at this point? I usually use a paint stirrer but didn't have my drill at the house on Saturday.
 
The twist here is that this was a double brew effort between a buddy and I each essentially doing our own 5gal batches with separate equipment and the same ingredients. In the interest of time we grabbed two munton IPA kits locally and doctored them a bit in terms of hop/DME additions.


I could give more info, but the cliffs of the matter are that the only thing different between the brews was that I tried a FWH-ish method of adding 1oz chinook whole leaf at the time I fired up my burner (and left in), but my buddy was concerned about the valve on his kettle clogging so he put his in with his grain bag (and withdrew at ~175*), and that he used a counterflow that quite nicely naturally aerated his wort, whereas I used an immersion and just a strong pour and a stir for aeration.


Both fermentation vessels are in the same place, next to each other. Pitched muntons dried yeast into both after activating...his fermented aggressively almost to the point of blowoff and quieted down after about 36hrs....mine seems stalled...no visible pressure change in bucket/airlock water levels, no airlock bubblage, etc.


I guess it sat for about 10 min after I did the vigorous pour. Seems the only obvious explanation is lack of aeration. At this point I'm guessing a starter/gradual starter isn't going to help much. How bad would it be for me to aerate at this point? I usually use a paint stirrer but didn't have my drill at the house on Saturday.


I wouldn't aerate now, but I'd get an SG reading to see where you're at. If you've had NO fermentation at all, then it's time to aerate and repitch fresh yeast. If you've had some but it's slow or stalled, you don't want to aerate. After you get the SG reading, you'll know more what to do.
 
I can take a reading, but we probably had a bit too much pre- and during-brewing cheer for our own good (is there really "too much?" I don't think so), and consequently I don't have an OG to compare with, so lacking conclusive information there. I can attempt to guestimate it....



I also managed to spill BTF all over myself and my sink/countertop during this process when I caught the bottle as it started to teeter. Luckily this didn't prove as catastrophic as I once thought (washed out rather easily). That's what I get for falling back on my stock of Hibernation Ale for brew day.
 
I can take a reading, but we probably had a bit too much pre- and during-brewing cheer for our own good (is there really "too much?" I don't think so), and consequently I don't have an OG to compare with, so lacking conclusive information there. I can attempt to guestimate it....



I also managed to spill BTF all over myself and my sink/countertop during this process when I caught the bottle as it started to teeter. Luckily this didn't prove as catastrophic as I once thought (washed out rather easily). That's what I get for falling back on my stock of Hibernation Ale for brew day.

haha. I don't mean to laugh- but I can definitely relate. Tell you what, then. How about check the SG today, and then again in two days. That'll be helpful, to see if it's changing. Or if you take it today, and it's lower than you'd expect, you can assume it's fermenting.
 
Time for a "stupid"/uneducated brewer's question: what are the negative consequences if there was a slight bit of fermentation and I aerate again?



Thanks for the suggestions up to this point, by the way. I'll take a few readings here through the week and see what's going on.
 
Yeah, it has fermented some. There was a slight bit of foam on the top layer and gravity measured out to 1.026. I'll test again in a couple days.


The bad news is tasting yielded a pretty strong metallic twang. I usually don't go local as all they have are munton kits with LME in tin, and who knows how long they've been sitting there...but it was an impromptu brew session. D'oh.
 
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