2nd Attempt at brewing Question

I'm getting ready to attempt my 2nd brew this weekend. My first was FAIL!! Let me briefly explained what I did on my first attempt.

After using a wort chiller and ice to cool the wort (3 gallons in a aluminum turkey fryer) down to 90F I pitched my yeast (Safale US-05) into the 3 gallon wort (at 90F). My first Fail! Then using a sanitized wisk I gently stirred the top spreading the yeast in the wort. My second Fail?? I then started to pour the 3 gallon wort into my fermenting bucket with cooled 2 gallon water (to make my 5 gallons) without using my strainer. My 3rd Fail!! I caught myself after pouring about half gallon unstrained wort into the fermenting bucket. I then proceeded to pour the fermenting bucket back into the wort now mixing up all my yeast. My 4th Fail!! At this point I knew I messed up badly. So what else could I do but pour the now 5 gallon wort back into the fermenting bucket using the strainer. Knowing that it probably would not ferment properly I went ahead and put the lid on and put my airlock on and stored it away. After 3 days nothing going on in the airlock. Nothing after 6 or 10. So I went ahead and left it for 3 weeks knowing that I would end up scrapping this batch. And I did. Dump it that is. So know I'm attempting my second batch with an IPA kit this time.

I know what & when I messed up on my first batch. I think I just got ahead of myself and then panicked. So I have a few questions before I begin my 2nd attempt.

With the IPA kit the yeast that came with it is a liquid (versus the dry on my 1st). It is White Labs WL001 (Calif. Ale yeast). After cooling my wort to 65-70F and adding while straining it to my fermenting bucket (with remaining 2 gallons of water to equal 5 gallons) do I just pour the tube of yeast into my wort (after warming the yeast up to room temp and shaking it up) and that's it? No stirring or mixing it into the wort?

After pitching the yeast into the fermenting bucket do I put the lid on and store it at 70F? I've read and seen on youtube some will put the lid on and shake the bucket after pitching the yeast and then store it.

I should see some activity in the airlock in 2-3 days?

You can comment on all my Fail's from my first attempt. Any tips is welcomed. Thank you guys!

After skimming I saw that you pitched at 90 F. That tells me why the yeast didn't work. I think you may have overreacted afterward by giving up. Throwing in another pack may have worked a lot better.

If you can get it to less than 70 then I think it will be a little better. Also, research yeast starters on youtube. They will show you how to get this bad boy jamming in no time.:rockin:

Did you by chance take hydrometer readings before or after knowing that you screwed something up? Just because there was no activity in the airlock doesn't mean it didn't ferment. I don't think a fail was not using a strainer when putting the wort into the fermenter. Unless you needed it for hops or something else, the strainer seems unnecessary. The adjustments I see that you should make, you've already mentioned. Just making sure the pitch temp is 65 or so. Other than that, the transfering wort back and forth other than picking up potential nasties, did nothing but aerate it which would be a good thing.

There are a lot of comment or questions I have. You pitched yeast into brew pot and then strained it as you poure into ferment bucket? I would mix batch up to 5 gallons at proper temp for yeast and put it into ferment bucket then pitch yeast. Depending on how much yeast you need (Mr. Malty yeast calculator) you may need to use a starter. As for seeing any activity, you may not see any in your air lock. Buckets do not have a perfect seal and air leaks out, it is ok. You must use your OG and FG readings to see the progress on fermentation. You may have dumped good beer from your last batch if you did not know your OG and FG. Lots of people have screewed up and still made good beer. Good luck with your next batch and I hoed this helped.

Brewnoob1 said:

Did you by chance take hydrometer readings before or after knowing that you screwed something up? Just because there was no activity in the airlock doesn't mean it didn't ferment. I don't think a fail was not using a strainer when putting the wort into the fermenter. Unless you needed it for hops or something else, the strainer seems unnecessary. The adjustments I see that you should make, you've already mentioned. Just making sure the pitch temp is 65 or so. Other than that, the transfering wort back and forth other than picking up potential nasties, did nothing but aerate it which would be a good thing.

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So after pitching the yeast into the wort should I aerate it by swirling or shaking the fermenting bucket? Or should I aerate the 5 gallon wort ferm bucket first before I pitch the yeast?

In addition to the good info everyone else is giving you..

brewzofo1 said:

Do I just pour the tube of yeast into my wort (after warming the yeast up to room temp and shaking it up) and that's it? No stirring or mixing it into the wort?

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Mix the yeast in. In fact, shake the hell out of the bucket. Aerating the wort is very important to yeast health. Most people aerate before pitching, but if you shake after you add the yeast then that's fine too.

You should also make a yeast starter. It's really not that hard and makes a huge improvement on your beer. Here's a video I made on how to make one: How to Make a Yeast Starter

Hey there, glad you're giving it another shot! I think the biggest mistake here was pitching your yeast at 90F. This time, chill your wort, then add it to your bucket that has cold water in it and bring it up to 5 gallons.

I like pouring through a sanitized strainer because this gets rid of a lot of the junk at the bottom, plus it aerates your wort. But if you don't pour it through a strainer, it won't ruin anything. I would mix the wort and water with a long sanitized spoon or something similar. Then, with a sanitized thermometer check the temp and make sure it's around 70F. If it is, pitch your yeast (shouldn't -need- a starter, but if it sounds like something you want to do it will help) right on top, put the kid on the bucket, fill your airlock the proper amount with a weak sanitizing solution (or vodka, or even just water) and put it into the grommet of the lid.

I would store it below 70 degrees if you have the capacity to do so. 65 or a little under is a good number to shoot for. Search for "swamp cooler" on this forum if no area in your house is under 70.

Getting to the right temperature before pitching is crucial, in my opinion. The only two batches that I have lost have been because I was too impatient to let it get down to the right temperature and by the time I got around to pitching more yeast, it was nasty. Remember: Relax, Don't Worry, and Have a Homebrew! Though you may have to settle for good commercial if you don't have any homebrewing friends.

Good luck!

BillyBroas said:

In addition to the good info everyone else is giving you..



Mix the yeast in. In fact, shake the hell out of the bucket. Aerating the wort is very important to yeast health. Most people aerate before pitching, but if you shake after you add the yeast then that's fine too.

You should also make a yeast starter. It's really not that hard and makes a huge improvement on your beer. Here's a video I made on how to make one: How to Make a Yeast Starter

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Aren't you supposed to be able to cook directly with that glass container in your video?

1.) 90F is way to hot for yeast, you are correct 70-75 is ideal.
2.) You don't need to wisk the yeast in. Believe it or not they will do their magic if you just sprinkle them on top.
3.) I dont ever strain my wort for fermenting. When fermentation is done all that crap will be on the bottom and you can just siphon the good stuff and leave behind the sludge.


When you have your cooled wort, mix in the 2 gallon of water, put the lid on, done!

I would highly recommend looking up how to make a yeast starter, it helps a lot and is pretty simple.

badbrew said:

Aren't you supposed to be able to cook directly with that glass container in your video?

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You could, but I don't do it for a few reasons:
- It's near impossible to stir in the DME in the flask.
- There is very little headspace so boilovers will happen.
- There's the risk of breakage when you put the hot glass in ice cold water.

The pot just makes things easier, and pouring into the flask isn't much of an inconvenience.

Befor your next brew you need to go and read How to Brew - By John Palmer - Introduction

brewzofo1 said:

So after pitching the yeast into the wort should I aerate it by swirling or shaking the fermenting bucket? Or should I aerate the 5 gallon wort ferm bucket first before I pitch the yeast?

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Others have beat me to it, but either or is fine honestly. You can't aerate enough in my opinion before pitching. Oxygen is extremely important pre-fermentation as it helps the yeast. I try my best to aerate before pitching, then I'm a stirrer. I stir the yeast in after I pitch just to get them going quicker and to add a bit more o2. It seems you have your head wrapped around the general process though. Just need to tighten it up and you should be good to go.

As I mentioned in my last post, get a hydrometer if you don't already have one. That is the only way to know if you have fermentation. The airlock is not a good indicator of fermentation....it's just the release of excess gas.

Maybe I'm wrong here because I don't use dry yeast too often, but I don't see anything fatally wrong with OP's first batch ( other than not rehydrating). He pitched dry yeast into 90F wort and then topped off with cooled water. We rehydrate dry yeast in 90-100F water, so I don't see how putting dry yeast into 90F wort could have killed it, esp since if was only that temp until the cooled water got added.

That batch probably did ferment and would have been just fine.

When you dumped it, was there foamy crusty stuff all around the inside of the bucket?

In the meantime, read this. It really helped me when I was new and nervous about making mistakes. It's all about people making WAY, WAY worse mistakes (like bouncing the slobbery dog toy into the beer) and it still turned out fine.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wh...where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

Leaving aside the 90 degree pitch temp, it seems to me you moved your brew around way too much. Cool it to 70, add your water to come up to volume. Be sure to let the wort and the water splash in to add aeration. Take a gravity reading. Add yeast. Close it up with the airlock, put it somewhere it hold at 65-70 degrees. Have a beer and watch TV.

It really isn't rocket science, unless you want it to be. If your vial of yeast is fresh (not past the expiration date, and has been kept at appropriate temperatures), there really is no need to make a starter unless you want to.

ChaosStout said:

Befor your next brew you need to go and read How to Brew - By John Palmer - Introduction

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First, thank you all for your input here. Yes I do have and read the book How to Brew. Also checked out the internet and youtube before I started my first brew. Maybe I was just overwhelmed with info and got ahead of myself . And yes I do have a hydrometer and did take a reading before and after 2 weeks. It wasn't much different from my first reading.

This time I have an IPA instead of basic Pale Ale kit and a liquid yeast instead of dry. I did everything right the first time until I got to pitching the yeast. I just need to make sure I cool the wort to 65-70F and pour and strain the wort into the ferm bucket with remaining water to make 5 gallons maintaining the 65-70F. Cover with lid. Aerate. Take a hydrometer reading. Uncover and pitch yeast. Stir. Cover again. Attach airlock. And store at 70F

First, thank you all for your input here. Yes I do have and read the book How to Brew. Also checked out the internet and youtube before I started my first brew. Maybe I was just overwhelmed with info and got ahead of myself . And yes I do have a hydrometer and did take a reading before and after 2 weeks. It wasn't much different from my first reading.

This time I have an IPA instead of basic Pale Ale kit and a liquid yeast instead of dry. I did everything right the first time until I got to pitching the yeast. I just need to make sure I cool the wort to 65-70F and pour and strain the wort into the ferm bucket with remaining water to make 5 gallons maintaining the 65-70F. Cover with lid. Aerate. Uncover and pitch yeast. Stir. Cover again . Attach airlock. And store at 70F

brewzofo1 said:

After using a wort chiller and ice to cool the wort (3 gallons in a aluminum turkey fryer) down to 90F I pitched my yeast (Safale US-05) into the 3 gallon wort (at 90F). My first Fail!

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My understanding is the yeast have issues at 120 deg and die at 140 deg. Your temp isn't ideal and will get you a lot of fruity ester production from those yeasts, but no Fail here.

Then using a sanitized wisk I gently stirred the top spreading the yeast in the wort. My second Fail??

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The Yeast will diffuse just fine without agitation. Aeration is good pre-fermention. There's a boogeyman named Hot-Side-Aeration around here that requests you aerate below about 80 degrees, but I wouldn't get too stuck up on that. No Fail here.

I then started to pour the 3 gallon wort into my fermenting bucket with cooled 2 gallon water (to make my 5 gallons) without using my strainer. My 3rd Fail!!

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Myself and many others dump the wort straight into the fermenter with no straining. No Fail here.

I caught myself after pouring about half gallon unstrained wort into the fermenting bucket. I then proceeded to pour the fermenting bucket back into the wort now mixing up all my yeast. My 4th Fail!!

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Just sounds like you are aerating. No Fail here.

So I went ahead and left it for 3 weeks knowing that I would end up scrapping this batch. And I did. Dump it that is.

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Ding Ding Ding Ding!! We have a FAIL!!!

Invest in a hydrometer so you KNOW if you're fermenting. Stoppers and lids can leak.
Make a starter with your liquid yeasts so you KNOW that they're alive and well.

Keep at it and you will be making delicious homebrew in no time!

Your previous post said you had a hydrometer, and there was no drop in SG after several weeks. I'd say yes, your yeast died in the 90F wort, unless they were dead in the packet, which I have never heard happening, even for yeas a year past the expiration date. You have gotten all your questions answered, so I won't repeat. I would suggest that before your next brew you print out an re-read the suggestions here, re-read the first chapter of "how to brew", then have a beer. Come back with a blank sheet of paper and list out EVERYthing you plan to do on brew day, in nauseating detail. I did this for my first 2 batches. Don't do it anymore, but it helped me get past the early batch jitters, until the process became second nature. Perhaps I ought to go back, as my last batch I made a REAL rookie mistake that I refuse to share. (unless you ask)

*steps onto soap box*

Just to be clear, there is NO POSSIBILITY that the yeast were killed from being introduced to or kept in 90 deg wort. Unless we're talking in celsius here

In fact, most yeasts experience maximum growth in the temperature range of 86 to 95 deg F. Of course, there are lots of reasons why this is not desirable.

I haven't heard of dry yeasts not being viable out of the pack either, but I would testify the wort did not kill the yeast. Maybe the Butler did it??

Cheers!

william_shakes_beer said:

Your previous post said you had a hydrometer, and there was no drop in SG after several weeks. I'd say yes, your yeast died in the 90F wort, unless they were dead in the packet, which I have never heard happening, even for yeas a year past the expiration date. You have gotten all your questions answered, so I won't repeat. I would suggest that before your next brew you print out an re-read the suggestions here, re-read the first chapter of "how to brew", then have a beer. Come back with a blank sheet of paper and list out EVERYthing you plan to do on brew day, in nauseating detail. I did this for my first 2 batches. Don't do it anymore, but it helped me get past the early batch jitters, until the process became second nature. Perhaps I ought to go back, as my last batch I made a REAL rookie mistake that I refuse to share. (unless you ask)

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Please do share. I may learn from others mistake too.

brewzofo1 said:

First, thank you all for your input here. Yes I do have and read the book How to Brew. Also checked out the internet and youtube before I started my first brew. Maybe I was just overwhelmed with info and got ahead of myself . And yes I do have a hydrometer and did take a reading before and after 2 weeks. It wasn't much different from my first reading.

This time I have an IPA instead of basic Pale Ale kit and a liquid yeast instead of dry. I did everything right the first time until I got to pitching the yeast. I just need to make sure I cool the wort to 65-70F and pour and strain the wort into the ferm bucket with remaining water to make 5 gallons maintaining the 65-70F. Cover with lid. Aerate. Uncover and pitch yeast. Stir. Cover again . Attach airlock. And store at 70F

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You got it right on. You have a hydrometer (an hydrometer?) and saw no change in gravity. Possibly just pitching more yeast might have saved your brew. I would have made that investment.

Sounds like you have the process down now. The one thing I would caution is that you should not rely on your airlock to indicate fermentation. The hydrometer alone will tell you if the little beasties are doing their thing.

Good luck on the IPA. It is a truly wonderful hobby, and once you make that first really great beer....

Maybe the fact that you strained your wort after you pitched the yeast had something to do with it?

You didn't say what reading you had on your hydrometer either at first or when you decided to dump your beer. When you add water to top off your wort, getting them mixed well is very difficult and your initial reading may have been really low due to reading mostly the top off water. If there was no fermentation the final hydrometer reading would have been exactly the same as the initial (assuming good mixing) or higher (because with time the wort will mix with the top off water). If it was lower, you probably dumped a perfectly good batch of beer. Next time heed the common idea here of "NEVER DUMP YOUR BEER" until you have ascertained that it truly was ruined by an infection. ASK first anyway as there are many people on here who have experience to tell you what to do next.

I don't think pitching your wort at 90 killed the yeast. Especially when you added cold water after pitching. I'd be more worried that you strained the dry yeast grainules before the yeast was able to permeate through the wort. Also, if you topped off with two gallons and then took a gravity reading without mixing well enough, you're going to get an inaccurate reading.

Regardless, next time cool your wort more. Take your initial gravity reading before pitching the yeast, but after you've mixed in your top- off water. Beer can be forgiving. Next time you have an issue, don't dump your beer! It may be an easy fix. Don't stress out about your last batch and good luck on your next.

Pie_Man said:

I don't think pitching your wort at 90 killed the yeast. Especially when you added cold water after pitching. I'd be more worried that you strained the dry yeast grainules before the yeast was able to permeate through the wort. Also, if you topped off with two gallons and then took a gravity reading without mixing well enough, you're going to get an inaccurate reading.

Regardless, next time cool your wort more. Take your initial gravity reading before pitching the yeast, but after you've mixed in your top- off water. Beer can be forgiving. Next time you have an issue, don't dump your beer! It may be an easy fix. Don't stress out about your last batch and good luck on your next.

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+1. I pitch the yeast afte I have strained and topped off. I doubt it's possible to filter out properly rehydrated dry yeast, but if they were still in little dry granules, perhaps the trub acted as a trap.

brewzofo1 said:

Please do share. I may learn from others mistake too.

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OK.

:cross:After 4 weeks of primary that began as an earthshaking initial fementation, I brought the fermenter up from the brew cave to the bottling facility. Let it sit a day to settle the sediment, then popped the top. I have brewed this recipie before, so I was prepared for the thick layer of krausen on the lid, the fermenter walls, and the top of the beer. Hey, I had already cleaned my first blowout off the top of the ferm chamber. What I wasn't prepared for was the log floating in the midst of it. Yes, a log. That's what It looked like. 3" long, about 1" diameter, a perfect little cylinder of krausen.

I had accidently dropped my spare airlock onto the fermenter before filtering from the brew kettle. :cross:

Again, thanks to all for your input. I am not and will not give up brewing. I'm set to brew this Saturday with my brother-in-law/drinking buddy. I've gotten alot of good info here. I wish I would of found this site before. After we finish we will be sharing my last growler of Kern River CITRA. :rockin:

One more short question. . . . .I have this product called YEASTEX that I purchased with my first kit. Do I need to use this? No instructions on it. I was told to add 1 teaspoon at the last 15 minutes of boil. What is YEASTEX? Not much info on the internet on this product.

Thanks again.

not sure exactly what it is, but from the name and the description of usage, I would guess it's some sort of yeast nutrient.

Yeastex isn't necessary. I guess if you are concerned about the freshness and viability of your yeast, it can't hurt to try it, but otherwise I wouldn't bother.

Forget about what you did or didn't do, in the wrong order, blah blah blah on your first batch. You dumped it so you move on, which you're doing by making another batch. IMO that first one was just a dry run to get your process down pat. You know what you did wrong, so just don't do it again. Don't worry about a yeast starter imo just yet, get your first batch under your belt.