Hi guys,
I've been away for a while, happily creating wonderful brews and wines
Unfortunately, I ran into a bit of a snag with my latest batch of beer. It's from a Brew House kit (Red Ale) and once everything was ready to go in the primary fermenter, I decided for some odd reason to use the heat belt. I really thought it was going to get too cold in that room, so I put it on, hoping it would help sustain a proper fermentation.
Well, to my dismay, the heat belt got too hot, and the fermentation got too aggressive. It pushed off the lid, and I lost a good amount of liquid... not too much to ruin the beer, but enough to be annoyed at the cleanup.
However, the more critical part is that I think this spillage included the yeast, as it has halted since that time.
I started the batch last Wednesday, October 22. That night, it bubbled over. I cleaned it up, and let it continue to ferment to see what would happen (removing the belt as well).
The OG was 1.046. Two days later, on the 24th, it was 1.010. As of last night, it was still at 1.010. I just haven't had time to take care of this in the past few days. But now I do.
So, any advice? I'm now sure I've lost the yeast. Even if the SG is now at an almost acceptable level (albeit low in potential alcohol level), there isn't any yeast left to carbonate the beer at bottling time.
Any advice? Should I add more yeast? If so, how much? Will I need to halt fermentation once I add new yeast, so that it doesn't get too low? EDIT: The batch is for 6 gallons (23 liters).
I don't want to lose this batch!
Thanks!
I've been away for a while, happily creating wonderful brews and wines
Unfortunately, I ran into a bit of a snag with my latest batch of beer. It's from a Brew House kit (Red Ale) and once everything was ready to go in the primary fermenter, I decided for some odd reason to use the heat belt. I really thought it was going to get too cold in that room, so I put it on, hoping it would help sustain a proper fermentation.
Well, to my dismay, the heat belt got too hot, and the fermentation got too aggressive. It pushed off the lid, and I lost a good amount of liquid... not too much to ruin the beer, but enough to be annoyed at the cleanup.
However, the more critical part is that I think this spillage included the yeast, as it has halted since that time.
I started the batch last Wednesday, October 22. That night, it bubbled over. I cleaned it up, and let it continue to ferment to see what would happen (removing the belt as well).
The OG was 1.046. Two days later, on the 24th, it was 1.010. As of last night, it was still at 1.010. I just haven't had time to take care of this in the past few days. But now I do.
So, any advice? I'm now sure I've lost the yeast. Even if the SG is now at an almost acceptable level (albeit low in potential alcohol level), there isn't any yeast left to carbonate the beer at bottling time.
Any advice? Should I add more yeast? If so, how much? Will I need to halt fermentation once I add new yeast, so that it doesn't get too low? EDIT: The batch is for 6 gallons (23 liters).
I don't want to lose this batch!
Thanks!