Not your normal pattern

I am fairly new to brewing but I have done enough batches that I have seen a pattern. But I have a different pattern with my Midwest Cerveza Kit. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/mexican-style-cerveza-20-minute-boil-kit.html

So my question is not really about the time because I know I can give it more time, but here is what is going on.

I made the kit and had it in my primary for 11 days. The fermentation had stopped for about 2 days. At this point the beer was acting normal but was not very clear (did have a yeast cake on the bottom). I was thinking it was because of the 20 min boil kit. So I moved to to my secondary. It started to clear (normal) and on day 4 in the secondary it started to look like it was going backwards (not as clear). Now on the 6th day in the secondary (15th day total). I have bubbles in my air lock again.

Let me know what you think. I was going to just give it more time but let me know.

Durango Matt

Any gravity measurements? What has the temp been?

+1 to the above. Gravity measurements are the only way to tell with certainty whether the beer is done fermenting. Airlock activity could simply be due to CO2 escaping, which happens often, especially if the beer warms up and it only takes a degree or two.

OG was 1.056
FG (if you want to call it that) 1.010 for 50+ hours so moved to secondary.
Temp as been 70 degrees the whole time. It is in a room that doesn't change temp.

DurangoMatt said:

OG was 1.056
FG (if you want to call it that) 1.010 for 50+ hours so moved to secondary.
Temp as been 70 degrees the whole time. It is in a room that doesn't change temp.

Click to expand...

It varies by yeast strain, but in my (limited) experience, fermenting down to 1.010 from 1.056 is not at all unusual. That this FG held for 50+ hours (two days) further reinforces this thinking.

If it were my brew, I'd take one more reading, and if it's holding at 1.010, I'd bottle it up.

Mozart said:

It varies by yeast strain, but in my (limited) experience, fermenting down to 1.010 from 1.056 is not at all unusual. That this FG held for 50+ hours (two days) further reinforces this thinking.

If it were my brew, I'd take one more reading, and if it's holding at 1.010, I'd bottle it up.

Click to expand...

So what do think is causing all the bubbles in my air lock. It bubbles every ten seconds. So I have a lot of gas releasing.

It's most likely off gassing from racking/moving it. Temperature of the beer. Atmospheric pressures. Airlock activity is really only an indication your airlock is working. It really has no bearing on level of fermentation going on in the fermenter. It just opens when pressure inside exceeds the outside pressure. Which can happen for a wide range of variables. At 1.010 I believe your fermentation is over.

DurangoMatt said:

I am fairly new to brewing but I have done enough batches that I have seen a pattern. But I have a different pattern with my Midwest Cerveza Kit. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/mexican-style-cerveza-20-minute-boil-kit.html

So my question is not really about the time because I know I can give it more time, but here is what is going on.

I made the kit and had it in my primary for 11 days. The fermentation had stopped for about 2 days. At this point the beer was acting normal but was not very clear (did have a yeast cake on the bottom). I was thinking it was because of the 20 min boil kit. So I moved to to my secondary. It started to clear (normal) and on day 4 in the secondary it started to look like it was going backwards (not as clear). Now on the 6th day in the secondary (15th day total). I have bubbles in my air lock again.

Let me know what you think. I was going to just give it more time but let me know.

Durango Matt

Click to expand...

Decided to bottle today (day 20). Not as much gas in my airlock but when bottle had a very strong green apple smell. Let me know what you think now. Sometime wrong or not enough time or what?

"Tastes/Smells Like:
Green apples, rotten-apples, freshly cut pumpkin
Possible Causes:
Acetaldehyde is a naturally occurring chemical produced by yeast during fermentation.
It is usually converted into Ethanol alcohol, although this process may take longer in
beers with high alcohol content or when not enough yeast is pitched. Some bacteria
can cause green apple flavors as well.
How to Avoid:
Let the beer age and condition over a couple months time. This will give the yeast
time to convert the Acetaldehyde into Ethanol. Always use high quality yeast and make
sure you are pitching the correct amount for the gravity of the wort or make a yeast
starter."

This is from morebeer.com, it sounds to me that there may have been some issue with your yeast. But it is something that can be mended with some time to age out. I'd recommend letting it stay in secondary for a good while. Possibly two months and just use a wine thief and keep checking how it tastes/smells. Good luck.

But now it is bottled, so will it age in the bottles as well?

Little help please.

But now it is bottled, so will it age in the bottles as well?

It will. Not as rapidly as in bulk, but provided the smell isn't caused by bacteria, that should clean up eventually.

Yeah it still will. Just be patient with it. Like I said wait about 2 months before you try a bottle. You should let them condition at whatever temp you fermented them at. Then when the 2 months goes by put one in the fridge for a couple days and then try it.

What do I need to do differently next time?

DurangoMatt said:

What do I need to do differently next time?

Click to expand...

Make a yeast starter.

100g of light DME to 1000 ml water is ~1.040 and is what I always do. Add a little yeast nutrient (either FAN, or yeast energizer). This will ensure you have enough yeast to do the job without them getting stressed out (which is when they produce off flavors.)

Bigelow92 said:

Make a yeast starter.

100g of light DME to 1000 ml water is ~1.040 and is what I always do. Add a little yeast nutrient (either FAN, or yeast energizer). This will ensure you have enough yeast to do the job without them getting stressed out (which is when they produce off flavors.)

Click to expand...

So you think it is a stressed yeast thing. So do a starter or two packs. Can anyone tell me more about why stressed yeast makes off flavors?

I think entire books have been written on that topic. Like this one, for example.

The website doesn't list what yeast comes in the kit. Does it come with lager yeast? In the future you should wait for the yeast to drop and the beer to clear before bottling, the yeast need to reabsorb things like acetaldehyde and diacetyl created during fermentation and usually don't flocculate until they are done with this unless the temperature drops.

Cerevisaphile said:

The website doesn't list what yeast comes in the kit. Does it come with lager yeast? In the future you should wait for the yeast to drop and the beer to clear before bottling, the yeast need to reabsorb things like acetaldehyde and diacetyl created during fermentation and usually don't flocculate until they are done with this unless the temperature drops.

Click to expand...

I contacted them about the yeast because it just came in small silver pack (dry yeast). The guy at midwest sent me a link to this and said it was about the same. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/munton-and-fison-ale-yeast.html