Not enough Yeast?

When I was pitching the yeast, as I opened the vial, it started to foam and some (maybe 1/3) was not able to be pitched into my carboy. As the fermentation went along I noticed a great deal of sludge at the bottom of the carboy. Is this sugar that did not get converted by the lack of yeast? I just now tasted the beer and it taste just like it did from when I racked into the carboy. There is more a than usual amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottles too. What went wrong?

the sugar is held in a liquid suspension and i don't know that it will settle out. the trub on the bottom is most likely hot break sediment, some yeast sediment and some hop sediment.

gmeyers said:

I just now tasted the beer and it taste just like it did from when I racked into the carboy. There is more a than usual amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottles too. What went wrong?

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Are you seeing fermentation activity (Kraeusen, bubbles in the airlock)?

T1 already answerd your other question.

Kai

correct, sugar doesn't settle out.


Just so I understand... this beer is already bottled and you have sampled the first bottle?

Is it carbonated or flat?

You mention that fermentation "went along". DId you get foamy kraeusen on top of the beer in the fermenter?

Did you check the gravity with a hydrometer?

I find it strange that this tastes the same now as it did when you racked the the carboy. Was this carboy you speak of the PRIMARY or SECONDARY fermenter?

what I'm getting at with all of these questions is:

I think there is nothing wrong with your beer. Does it taste BAD in anyway? (You never mentioned anything BAD about the beer, just spilled yeast and sediment, neither of which is catastrophic.)

-walker

Taste a little flat, but i used 2/3 cup of Corn Sugar.
The FG was 1.038, for several days.
There was some Krausen, but not a whole lot.

It is still drinkable, I just cant brag about this batch.

Thnx

gmeyers said:

Taste a little flat, but i used 2/3 cup of Corn Sugar.
The FG was 1.038, for several days.
There was some Krausen, but not a whole lot.

It is still drinkable, I just cant brag about this batch.

Thnx

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1.038 is pretty high, unless this was a MONSTER beer.

Can you post the recipe?

Imperial Walker said:

1.038 is pretty high, unless this was a MONSTER beer.

Can you post the recipe?

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It would seem the hydrometer is helping diagnose this issue...hmmm...

Baron von BeeGee said:

It would seem the hydrometer is helping diagnose this issue...hmmm...

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UNLESS the hydrometer reading was wrong... which in that case, the hydrometer is CAUSING a problem.

can you be more specific about what you did?
so far i've got that you spilled some yeast, fermentation "went along", at some point there was "some krausen", at some point it got bottled with 2/3c. corn sugar (and the FG was a whopping 1.038), and now it's in bottles with a lot of sediment and it tastes like it did when it was racked into the carboy...
did you take an OG reading? was it on target? how long did primary fermenation take? did you rack to a secondary fermenter? if so, what was SG at that point and how long did you leave it in secondary?
somebody will figure this thing out with you and we'll have you making awesome beer soon... RDWHAHB....

the og was right on, after i posted thread to get the reading right. It was @ 1.054
IT was in a primary for 11 days. the last 3 had the same fg reading.



5 lbs. Laaglander plain extra-light DME
1/2 lb. Crystal malt (20° Lovibond)
1/2 lb. Crystal malt (40° Lovibond)
1/2 lb. Carapils malt
1/2 lb. Munich malt
1/2 lb. Biscuit malt
1/2 lb. Chocolate malt
3 AAUs Willamette pellet hops (0.66 oz. at 4.5% alpha acid)
1.33 AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.33 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.50 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
1 tsp. Irish moss
2 2/3 to 3/4 cup corn sugar to prime
3 Wyeast 1056 or BrewTek CL-10

I used WLP001 California Ale

Preparation, step by step:
Steep specialty grains in 3 gallons of water at 154° F for 45 minutes. Remove grains and add dried malt extract. Bring to boil and add 0.66 oz. Willamette pellet hops. Boil for 60 minutes and add Irish moss. Boil 10 minutes and then add 0.50 oz. Fuggle hops. Boil another 20 minutes, add remaining Fuggles and remove from heat. Cool to about 70° F and transfer to fermenting vessel with yeast. Ferment at 64° to 68° F until complete (7 to 10 days), then transfer to a secondary vessel, or rack into bottles or keg with corn sugar. (Try lowering the amount of priming sugar to mimic the low carbonation level of Fat Tire.) Lay the beer down for at least a few months to mellow and mature for best results.
All-grain option: Omit extract and mash 6 lbs. pale malt with specialty malts in 9 quarts of water to get a single infusion mash temperature of 154° F for 45 minutes. Sparge with hot water of 170° F or more to get 5.5 gallons of wort. Bring to boil and use above hopping and fermentation schedule.
Specifics
Style: Ale
Recipe Type: Other
Batch Size: 5 gallon
Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.011
Boiling Time: 90
Primary Fermentation: Glass or Plastic 7-10 days
Secondary Fermentation: Either transfer or prime and rack into bottles and let it sit for a week

gmeyers said:

...1/2 lb. Crystal malt (20° Lovibond)
1/2 lb. Crystal malt (40° Lovibond)
1/2 lb. Carapils malt
1/2 lb. Munich malt
1/2 lb. Biscuit malt
1/2 lb. Chocolate malt...

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Hello huge FG!!
There's a lot of unfermentable stuff there...

Shambolic said:

Hello huge FG!!
There's a lot of unfermentable stuff there...

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To top it off:

5 lbs. Laaglander plain extra-light DME

Laaglander is a HIGH dextrin extract. It's only about 65% fermentable, and will leave a lot of gravity points behind when it is done fermenting.

There is no way (my experience an opinion) to get a final gravity of 1.011 if you used 5 lbs of Laaglander as the base fermentables. I would expect something in the mid 1.020's at best.

I used 5.5 lbs of it in my stout, and that brew ended up with a FG of about 1.031 (and I broke my hydrometer after taking the reading). My stout would have been even HIGHER than this, but I had added 1 lb of brown sugar to the wort, which would have thinned it out a little after fermentation was done.

Still... you are up at 1.038 (starting with 1.054). It soulds like VERY little sugar was actually fermented.

Keep a close eye on the bottles and take precautions in case some go boom. (Put them in a box or cover them with a blanket or something.)

-walker

Shambolic said:

Hello huge FG!!
There's a lot of unfermentable stuff there...

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Well, lets to the math on this:

total_app_attenuation = ((DME_attenuation * DME_weight) + (special_grains_attenuation * special_grain_weight * steeping_eff)) /
(DME_weight + special_grain_weight * steeping_eff)

total_app_attenuation = 1 - 38 / 54 = 30%
DME_weight = 5 lb
special_grains_attenuation = 0% (let's assume worst case that there are no fermentables taken from the grain)
special_grain_weight = 3 lb
steeping_eff = 50 %
total_extract_weight = (DME_weight + special_grain_weight * steeping_eff) = 7.5lb

DME_attenuation = (total_extract_weight / DME_weight) * total_app_attenuation - (special_grain_weight * steeping_eff / DME_weight) * special_grains_attenuation
= (7.5 lb / 5 lb) * 30% - 0
= 45 %

Does an appearant attenuation of 45% sound right for the Laaglander DME. It seems pretty low even for an extract that is known for its high content of unfermentables.

Kai

I'm in no mood for math this morning yet, but do your calculations change when you take into account that Laaglander is DRY extract and not liquid?

-walker

Imperial Walker said:

I'm in no mood for math this morning yet, but do your calculations change when you take into account that Laaglander is DRY extract and not liquid?

-walker

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No they don't. You're right that I forgot tho account for the water in LME, but luckily he used DME. I'll just fix the names.

Kai

Im getting ready to do a "old Jock" clone from clone brews, it calls for M&F light DME, but i think that my lhbs has only laaglander and ID Carlson. Which one will work out better.