To aerate, not to aerate, that is the question?

So, I brewed a bigger brew a week and a half ago at 1.080. It stalled out at 1.050 and stayed that way for almost a week. I repitched a dry pack of Notty to try and stir things up. When I did, I splashed a little as I was stirring but didn't mean to as I was trying to do it with the lid just barely off enough for me to get the spoon in. I was trying to minimize infection possibilites and didn't think about aeration. So, if I'm repitching, oxygen isn't necessarily a bad thing at this point in time is it as it still has a long way to go from 1.050?

If you have fermentation then you DON'T want to add any more arun the risk of oxydizing youir or you your beer.

I don't have fermentation. It has stalled for almost a week at 1.050.

However I did have some as it dropped from my OG 1.080 to 1.050. I added a new pack and only splashed a little. I guess it is what it is now so if it will oxidize after a little splashing, then this batch was already doomed.

I don't know what you call it, but if my og is 1.080, and it's now at 1.050, then I have fermentation in my beers...what the heck do you think that 30 point drop means, the temp of your fermenter??? There is now alcohol in there.

If you want to pitch more yeast, then do so, but don't add any more oxygen....

Might also help to know WHAT you actually brewed (recipe)... Is this extract, partial mash, or all grain? Depending on the recipe, the yeast might have already converted all of the fermentable sugars present in the batch. If so, then pitching more yeast is just tossing more away.

Also, how did you aerate/oxygenate the wort at the start? Did you use any yeast nutrient in the batch? What temperature has the batch (fermenting wort temp, not ambient) been at?

Definitely don't aerate! No reason to. But I doubt the yeast stalled at 1.050 unless you severely underpitched. My only experience with a stalled fermentation at such a high gravity was from not calibrating the thermometer before my mash. I ended up denaturing the enzymes during the mash. It stalled at 1.040 and didn't taste even slightly sweet. Added some amylase and within half an hour, the yeast started forming a krausen again.

seabass07 said:

Definitely don't aerate! No reason to. But I doubt the yeast stalled at 1.050 unless you severely underpitched. My only experience with a stalled fermentation at such a high gravity was from not calibrating the thermometer before my mash. I ended up denaturing the enzymes during the mash. It stalled at 1.040 and didn't taste even slightly sweet. Added some amylase and within half an hour, the yeast started forming a krausen again.

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Why is it hard to beleive? I had a stout stall at 1.04 and I slightly over pitched. I never tried the amylase but the things I did try didn't work and it ended up getting dumped.

It's hard to believe because yeast don't usually do that. I'm not saying that it's not possible, just unlikely. I think it's more likely that there is too much unfermentable sugar or unconverted starch.

The taste is extremely sweet, so there is still fermentables in there. I've already pitched the 2nd packet of yeast and did slightly splash, so if it ends up ruining the beer, then I'm out a buck on yeast with a beer that was already turning out to be a PITA brew anyways. The beer stalled out for 6 days at the same gravity, so being so high, I was seeing what the damage would have been if I did slightly aerate as well as adding more yeast.

And Revvy, I understand that it did actually ferment. Your sarcasm isn't needed or I wouldn't have asked the question. If this isn't a forum where we are free and open to ask even the most noobiest of questions, then what the hell good is it for beginners?

seabass07 said:

It's hard to believe because yeast don't usually do that. I'm not saying that it's not possible, just unlikely. I think it's more likely that there is too much unfermentable sugar or unconverted starch.

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It's actually pretty common. Could be temperature change, under-aerating, under-pitch, the yeast could just floc too quickly. Lots of ways it could happen.

If you splashed a bit don't worry about it, it likely wont do any harm at all unless you really went crazy. Just try to avoid that next time and definitely don't aerate at this point. As for Revvy, he can be rather blunt sometimes but he has the best of intentions and is always willing to devote his time helping people here so don't take his response the wrong way.


Rev.

Brewnoob1 said:

And Revvy, I understand that it did actually ferment. Your sarcasm isn't needed or I wouldn't have asked the question. If this isn't a forum where we are free and open to ask even the most noobiest of questions, then what the hell good is it for beginners?

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I'm not being sarcastic at all....

THIS is what YOU said..

I don't have fermentation. It has stalled for almost a week at 1.050.

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You say you don't have fermentation happening....All I did was point out that you do....

When you have a drop in gravity, you have fermentation....You may not be complete, but there is alcohol in there, hence a 30 point drop in gravity. So therefore you don't want to aerate.

Just because you don't agree with my answer, doesn't mean I've done anything wrong.....except bother to try to help.

Well, I'm not going to argue with you, but by saying I have fermention (When I meant that I haven't had fermention to completion and that it has stalled out at a high gravity for 6 days) and then that I can pitch if I want with no other advice as to why or why not, the post was in no way shape or form helping me...it was just making me feel stupid. So bravo to you for that sir. I'll just move along now....thanks to everyone else however. This thread can be closed.

Uhhhhhhhh. Any body mention temps? Why would this stall, lets look at this,what where your temps during fermentation? You didnt kill the yeast trying to hydrate with too high a temp?? Need some info and less bickering. NO offense.

Temps are between 64-68. Which you are basically asking the question that is at the root of all this. Stalled for 6 days, so I took the last resort from other threads of the similar nature and re-pitched. I then realized I aerated with some stirring which brought up the question. However, due to the nature that this thread has taken, I'd rather remove myself from it and seek my answers somewhere else.

so is it ok to bottle a 1.099 OG at 1.040 FG?

Sorry you feel that way,but how many days did you take this gravity check after repitching,excuse me if i failed to see this previous.You origionally pitched with Nottingham too or what yeast?One week with what yeast? Try rousing and getting the temps up if its too low?

I had stable gravity of 1.050 for 6 days. I re-pitched today. The original was a Wyeast smack pack and the Notty was all I had.

By-Tor said:

so is it ok to bottle a 1.099 OG at 1.040 FG?

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My OG 1.170 Barleywine that has been in a tertiary for a year and will be in bottles for around 4 more years is finished at 1.040.

There was plenty of yeast (two strains actually, with HUGE starters) plenty of initial aeration in the first 24 hours as recommended by the folks at white labs, and plenty of yeast nutrients, and at 17.6% ABV it's done.

If you've tried everything (warming, swirling, re-yeasting) and did everything right, and you've made sure that that all the unfermentables are gone, then yes it is safe to bottle. But you have to make sure.

Ok from the little i know of wyeast and big beers is you need a starter. #2 answer Goldiggie's questions it will help.What are the specific temps for that wyeast? When is the last gravity you took after the notty pitch? Again.?

your going to be fine if you repitched,if you want to check it in a week or two im shure it will be good and dropping. Im not getting the when you checked you first reading of how long after pitching,seems there is alot of misunderstanding in this thread.

Revvy said:

My OG 1.170 Barleywine that has been in a tertiary for a year and will be in bottles for around 4 more years is finished at 1.040.

There was plenty of yeast (two strains actually, with HUGE starters) plenty of initial aeration in the first 24 hours as recommended by the folks at white labs, and plenty of yeast nutrients, and at 17.6% ABV it's done.

If you've tried everything (warming, swirling, re-yeasting) and did everything right, and you've made sure that that all the unfermentables are gone, then yes it is safe to bottle. But you have to make sure.

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ah crap, it's already in secondary, originally pitched 2 packs 04, should i pitch a pack in the secondary?

I did make a mistake by not having a starter and have another thread on that beer specifically on OG being 1.100 and me finally getting it down to 1.080. I mentioned then I didn't have a starter and was worried about under pitching. It seems that the majority that came out of that thread was to pitch what I had to get something going and address it from there. Well, I had some fermentation and on day 5, I took a gravity reading. It was 1.050. 6 days later, I checked again and it was the same...stuck at 1.050. So I had 6 days of stalled fermentation even after trying to re-ignite the yeast with no success. I re-pitched what I had which was a packet of Notty. I haven't taken a gravity reading after pitching as I just pitched today. This beer has been doomed since the beginning. I followed the recipe which was an extract with steeping grains and somehow came up with a 1.080 when it should have been closer to 1.060 OG. It has plagued me since the start. So, if re-pitching and some aeration ruins this beer, then the only thing more I lost was a buck packet of yeast.

By-Tor said:

ah crap, it's already in secondary, originally pitched 2 packs 04, should i pitch a pack in the secondary?

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How long has it been in secondary?

The mere act of racking is often helps kick up fermentation because the yeasts get woken up.

Do you have alot of chlorimine in your water?

Revvy said:

How long has it been in secondary?

The mere act of racking is often helps kick up fermentation because the yeasts get woken up.

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been in secondary for a week and a half, and i will say there was a bit of action in the airlock, but just a little.

Probably more than enough, i usually get 0 airlock activity. Using a wide mouth glas carboy with a kind of shoddy lid for it,i guess.I seal it up with tape and everything but never get bubbles,but always a finish gravity.
Make shure your hydrometer is correct and you thermometers, ive had one off about 12 deg.that i discovered after 2 batches.You never know whats right under your nose sometimes