Did I kill the Bubble?

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Emian

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I had a "big" IPA brewing - my first "big" beer. I was fermenting away just nicely with a bubble every 10 seconds or so. There was a tremendous amount of sediment in the carboil. I racked it yesterday after 7 days in the primary fermenter.

Now the fermentation seems entirely dead. It seems to have bottomed out at 1.030 (started at 1.082) and doesn't seem to be fermenting any more.

Usually my beers continue to ferment in the second fermenter for several days. Did I rack this too early? I was expecting this to go to 1.020

Ian
 
If I did my math right, you got about 75% attenuation during Primary - were you expecting more than that from you Yeast strain? That's well over 6%, approaching 7% ABV. That's pretty decent, don't you think?
 
Your yeast doesn't like all that alcohol. You can add some high gravity yeast if you want to get the abv even higher.
 
bikebryan said:
If I did my math right, you got about 75% attenuation during Primary - were you expecting more than that from you Yeast strain? That's well over 6%, approaching 7% ABV. That's pretty decent, don't you think?

Yes, it's decent - I'm not bummed out about it - I was just surprised that racking it stopped it so quickly.
 
Emian said:
Yes, it's decent - I'm not bummed out about it - I was just surprised that racking it stopped it so quickly.

Racking didn't stop it. At the end of fermentation, the dissolved CO2 is just escaping, creating the airlock bubbles (as opposed to active fermentation). Racking just gets all that CO2 all at once.... so, no more bubbles. Racking won't affect fermentation. There is still plenty of yeast left to finish off any fermentables that are still left. Sounds to me like your fermentation went perfect.
 
1.030 is too high to bottle....if it doesn't keep fermenting, I'd pitch more yeast and get the gravity down farther. Big beers generally take longer to ferment out. Look for a strain that can handle upwards of 10% alcohol.

Was this extract, or all grain?
 
heLLbent said:
Emian, Im curious what yeast you used, thanks.
For your next Big Beer Try getting allot of air in your wort prior to pitching your yeast. I really try to introduce allot of air into anything I am making over 1.060. Your wort will hold more air if its a little colder prior to pitching, and try a starter, a bigger pitch of yeast might help some, dont forget yeast nutrient in the primary, I always put a little bit in the secondary as well this might help too, Good Luck
 
Sam75 said:
1.030 is too high to bottle....if it doesn't keep fermenting, I'd pitch more yeast and get the gravity down farther. Big beers generally take longer to ferment out. Look for a strain that can handle upwards of 10% alcohol.

Was this extract, or all grain?

It was an extract recipe.
 
Sam75 said:
1.030 is too high to bottle....

Just curious on the reason for this. I'm going to Keg it - but just curious anyway. Is it becasue of the potential of continued fermentation and too much preassure in the bottle? Or does it have something to do with flavor?

Ian
 
I asked if it might be all grain, in case your mash went bad and you got a really unfermentable wort. An extract batch should attenuate a lot better than that.

As for bottling....yes, it's potentially explosive. You could keg it, but it'll be some sweet stuff! I'd take steps (like repitching....but don't shake) to attenuate it further. If you can get ahold of the latest copy of Brew Your Own, they have different strategies for dealing with stuck fermentations at different stages.
 
Sam75 said:
I'd take steps (like repitching....but don't shake) to attenuate it further. If you can get ahold of the latest copy of Brew Your Own, they have different strategies for dealing with stuck fermentations at different stages.

Thanks for the help - I'll give that a try. Id I reepitch - do I have to rack again?

Ian
 
Depends on how anal you are. :D Personally, I probably wouldn't worry about it, unless ifor some reason it made a ton of trub.

Has fermentation started again for you?
 
Sam75 said:
Has fermentation started again for you?

It's started up - but very slow - one bubble per 40 seconds.

I think I'll leave it until Sunday then keg it. If it's a bit sweet - so be it - I'll just have to drink it fast and try it again.

Thanks for or the help and suggestions.

Ian
 
Another consideration is simply that some yeast just work slower than others. It might just take a little longer.

Let us know how it goes!
 
Sam75 said:
Let us know how it goes!

So much for the worrying. It came out fine. Kegged it - had 9 friends over - and we drank all 4 1/2 gallons. (Served at 1.028 for a final ABV of 7.68%)
Served it up in 20oz glasses with with English style fish chips and mushy peas.

If anyone didn't like it - they didn't say.

I've now got the same issues now with a Belgian Ale. Started at 1.094 and it hovering about 1.032 (9%). I just racked it into the secondary, I'll leave it a couple of weeks and see what happens - but it's tempting to throw some more yeast in it.

keg_pounding_lg_clr.gif


Ian
 
You might want to try another hydrometer.....something sounds off to me.

Glad your brew came out good, though! In the end, that's what matters.
 
Try testing your hydrometer in distilled water. It should read at or about 1.000. If not, then your hydrometer is probably off.
 
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