Nutrideath
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- Jun 30, 2013
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Hello all. I bottled my first brew two weeks ago. I opened a couple, and they are flat and taste sweet. Not "funky" or "nasty" like you would expect if some stray bacteria had gotten into them, just flat & sweet. My conclusion is that the yeast didn't "wake up" when I added the bottling sugar...?
The brew is a Belgian Tripel, which is very sweet & so very high in alcohol content. I'm not sure how much alcohol, because, being my first batch, I neglected to check the specific gravity before fermentation. I brewed it with a Belgian liquid yeast which was recommended for this recipe by the guy at the homebrew store (who seemed like he really knew what he was talking about). Reading up on this later I'm guessing the Belgian yeast is supposed to be more tolerant of alcohol, but I'm not sure exactly what strain I used.
I left it in the carboy for three weeks, then siphoned it into a sanitized bottling bucket, added the sugar (I boiled water, stirred in the sugar until dissolved, and let it cool first). Then I bottled.
So, what did I do wrong? Did I let it go too long in the carboy, and all the yeast died? Or did I kill it somehow during the bottling process? I used Oxy Clean to get the labels off my bottles, and rinsed them very thoroughly - but maybe there was some residue?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated, because the day after I bottled (two weeks ago now) I made another batch of the same Belgian Tripel. I did that so I could harvest the yeast from the first batch, which I did, and which was super active for the first week. It has slowed now, but I'm wondering if I need to bottle sooner, so the yeast has a better chance of being alive...?
First batch went like crazy the first week, slowed the second, and just before bottling clarified pretty well (which I thought was a good thing... is it?). I didn't use a secondary fermenting vessel, just left it in the same carboy. This second batch has slowed its activity (I get a bubble thru the waterlock about once every 45 seconds or so), but still looks thick as mud thru the carboy.
So, all in all I'm worried about how to proceed with this second batch. I'm also wondering if there is any way to save the first batch? Like, could I get a yeast starter going, open each bottle & put an eyedropper's worth of yeast in & recap? Is that a crazy idea?
Sorry if this is too much detail. I just don't know what might be important & what isn't.
The brew is a Belgian Tripel, which is very sweet & so very high in alcohol content. I'm not sure how much alcohol, because, being my first batch, I neglected to check the specific gravity before fermentation. I brewed it with a Belgian liquid yeast which was recommended for this recipe by the guy at the homebrew store (who seemed like he really knew what he was talking about). Reading up on this later I'm guessing the Belgian yeast is supposed to be more tolerant of alcohol, but I'm not sure exactly what strain I used.
I left it in the carboy for three weeks, then siphoned it into a sanitized bottling bucket, added the sugar (I boiled water, stirred in the sugar until dissolved, and let it cool first). Then I bottled.
So, what did I do wrong? Did I let it go too long in the carboy, and all the yeast died? Or did I kill it somehow during the bottling process? I used Oxy Clean to get the labels off my bottles, and rinsed them very thoroughly - but maybe there was some residue?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated, because the day after I bottled (two weeks ago now) I made another batch of the same Belgian Tripel. I did that so I could harvest the yeast from the first batch, which I did, and which was super active for the first week. It has slowed now, but I'm wondering if I need to bottle sooner, so the yeast has a better chance of being alive...?
First batch went like crazy the first week, slowed the second, and just before bottling clarified pretty well (which I thought was a good thing... is it?). I didn't use a secondary fermenting vessel, just left it in the same carboy. This second batch has slowed its activity (I get a bubble thru the waterlock about once every 45 seconds or so), but still looks thick as mud thru the carboy.
So, all in all I'm worried about how to proceed with this second batch. I'm also wondering if there is any way to save the first batch? Like, could I get a yeast starter going, open each bottle & put an eyedropper's worth of yeast in & recap? Is that a crazy idea?
Sorry if this is too much detail. I just don't know what might be important & what isn't.