Yeast problem

This is my second batch an i brewed an irish red ale and the OG before putting I'n the fermentor was 1.040. I pitched the yeast and a week later i checked the gravity ready again and it was at 1.020. Also it seems that the activity of the yeast has stopped. Not sure what to do i was thinking of transferring it to a second stage and re pitching yeast or something any ideas

Did you oxygenate the wort? How much yeast did you pitch?

It has only been 1 week, it is going a bit slow, but there is still time. I wouldn't take it off the yeast cake yet, especially if there is still fermenting to do. I am the no secondary brewer as well.

Did you oxygenate the wort prior to pitching your yeast. Was this an all grain batch, mini mash, or extract?

You could try rousing the yeast up a bit from the bottom of the fermenter, give the fermentor a little tilt. That try and avoid any type of splashing. Also keep try and keep the fermentation temperatures steady, do you have temperature control?

I did not oxygenate the wort i Learned to do that after i brewed a couple days later. Also i pitched a dry yeast which i mixed I'n warm water for about 30 mins and it was an extract brew with speciality grains could

I mabye mix the beer lightly with a brewing spoon to get sone oxygen I'n there.

I would rouse the yeast (gently swirl the carboy for a few minutes) and let it go from there. If needed, warm the carboy up a few degrees after rousing.

avidhomebrewer said:

I would rouse the yeast (gently swirl the carboy for a few minutes) and let it go from there. If needed, warm the carboy up a few degrees after rousing.

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I probably would only give it a gently swirl, and then leave it alone. It's not uncommon at all for extract beers to finish at 1.020.

It just may well be finished and unnecessarily stirring it or agitating it will only risk oxidizing it at this point.

If not 100% necessary to oxygentate the wort when using dry yeast. Did your rehydration of the yeast go ok? If not you may have lost a good amount of viable yeast... I always just pitch my yeast straight from the packet. What dry yeast did you go with?

I would defintitely give it another week. I'll have beers not finish out in 7 days from time to time.

so if i leave it for another week and check the gravity reading and it is still at 1.020 does that mean i could actually bottle the beer or let it mature in the fermentor.

Miket1099 said:

so if i leave it for another week and check the gravity reading and it is still at 1.020 does that mean i could actually bottle the beer or let it mature in the fermentor.

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If it's still 1.020, it's ok to bottle. I'd wait until the beer was clear (less stuff to fall out in the bottle) and then I'd bottle it.

BradleyBrew said:

If not 100% necessary to oxygentate the wort when using dry yeast.

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Dry yeast or not, you should oxygenate the wort for optimal fermentation.

Also, several of my early extract brews finished at 1.020. They turned out fine. 1.020 is not uncommon with some extracts.

JLem said:

Dry yeast or not, you should oxygenate the wort for optimal fermentation.

Also, several of my early extract brews finished at 1.020. They turned out fine. 1.020 is not uncommon with some extracts.

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I agree 100% but I've "heard" that dry yeast can handle having less available oxygen then there liquid counterparts.

yea it was dry yeast my first time using it and i think im going to stick to liquid yeast next time. so if my beer OG was 1.040 and it stayed at 1.020 FG that means my beer has about a 3% ABV which is kinda low. Am i doing the math right i got it off the internet.

Miket1099 said:

yea it was dry yeast my first time using it and i think im going to stick to liquid yeast next time. so if my beer OG was 1.040 and it stayed at 1.020 FG that means my beer has about a 3% ABV which is kinda low. Am i doing the math right i got it off the internet.

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What dry yeast did you use? I would not abandon dry yeast yet ... but I am curious which strain you used!

Miket1099 said:

yea it was dry yeast my first time using it and i think im going to stick to liquid yeast next time. so if my beer OG was 1.040 and it stayed at 1.020 FG that means my beer has about a 3% ABV which is kinda low. Am i doing the math right i got it off the internet.

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If your OG was really only 1.040, then yes, you are correct that this beer is about 3% ABV (2.7% actually). 1.040 seems like a pretty low OG though. Even if you got good attenuation and had an FG of 1.012, you'll only have a 3.7% beer.

OG's are often tough to get accurately if you are doing a partial boil and topping off the fermenter with water - the density differences between the water and the wort tend to create a stratified solution that resists mixing, even if you think you've mixed it a ****-load. Luckily, most extract recipes tend to hit their estimated OG simply because a known amount of sugars is being dissolved in a known amount of liquid.

Was 1.040 your anticipated OG based on the recipe?

No it was not the recipe said the Og should be 1.057 or close to that i thought it was kind of weird that it came out at 1.040. What could cause that to happen maybe not dissolving all of the LME.

Miket1099 said:

No it was not the recipe said the Og should be 1.057 or close to that i thought it was kind of weird that it came out at 1.040. What could cause that to happen maybe not dissolving all of the LME.

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Your low OG reading is most likely a result of the wort and water you topped off with not mixing. I'd bet a million dollars your actual OG is close to the predicted 1.057 - assuming you made the batch size indicated on the recipe. It is very hard for extract beers to not hit their estimated OG.

So, 1.057 down to 1.020 isn't quite so bad - a very respectable 4.9% ABV

To know for sure, you could pull a sample, ( a little more than enough to take a hydrometer reading) and do a forced fementation test on it. Place the sample in sanatized container (cover w/ tin foil) raise the temp to 80-90 deg's for two days and recheck the gravity.

I don't have a way to keep temp on the jar to 80 to 90 degrees. Is there any way to test and make a good reading maybe stir the beer a little or something to get a accurate reading

With a sample that small you could warm it up using your hands. Then wrap something around it (towel) to keep the temp up... or heat up a small cooler with hot tap water and stick it in there, don't go above 90. Really though, do what you can to raise the temp up (above 70-75) and 24-48 hours later see if your gravity has changed.

Be VERY CAREFUL if you plan to bottle, a gravity change of 3 deg is enough to fully carb your beer, add this to what you normally do to carb your bottles and that could be pushing the carb levels to far.

Also, what is the temp of your fermentor right now?

K I'm gonna try heating up some water and out it I'n a cooler with a sample of the beer. Also what does that do tongue beer to get an accurate reading

So by taking out that much beer it could cause the gravity reading to change

Taking samples will not change the gravity.

What you do not want to do is bottle a beer before it has completed fermentation. If the yeast is not done yet you should leave it in the fermentor.

Left over gravity points means more potential for pressure in your bottles down the road. Knowing where the bottom is (gravity) will let you know when it is safe to bottle.

What is the temp of your fermentor right now?

Alright so i brought home my thermometer from work and my beer is at 73 degrees I'n the fermentor. I wrapped a small blanket around it to see if i could brink it up a few degrees

Your fermenter is warm enough already, I'd recommend not raising the temp anymore. See what the forced test gives you for a final number, you may be there already as others have mentioned.

If your recipe predicted a 1.057 and you got 5 gallons into the fermenter I'd say more than likely your OG reading of 1.040 was off, as other have mentioned as well.

Your low OG reading is most likely a result of the wort and water you topped off with not mixing.

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+1

1.057 down to 1.020 means about 65% attenuation; this is certainly in the realm of some types of highly flocculant. What type of yeast did you use?

Mike,
More than likely, your beer is fine. The OG would have been spot on as long as your volumes were correct. Your attenuation is OK depending on the yeast strain and considering it is an extract batch.
Giving it a gentle swirl to re-suspend some of the yeast, and warming it up a couple of degrees will help it to finish quicker, but isn't necessary. The head space in the fermentor will be filled with CO2 and won't oxygenate your beer as long as you haven't messed around with it to much.
I'd most likely just push it in the corner and forget about it for a couple of weeks and then bottle. Time is your beers friend.

Bull

I checked the forced test and it gave the same gravity reading 1.040 iv decided
To wrap a small blanket and forget about it for another week it wouldn't be I'n the fermentor for a total of 3 weeks and bottle and see what happens

But thank you guys for all the info and ideas i am going to adventure into all grain brewing next and try and brew better beer

Miket1099 said:

I checked the forced test and it gave the same gravity reading 1.040 iv decided
To wrap a small blanket and forget about it for another week it wouldn't be I'n the fermentor for a total of 3 weeks and bottle and see what happens

But thank you guys for all the info and ideas i am going to adventure into all grain brewing next and try and brew better beer

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I'm confused. I thought the gravity was down to 1.020. How is it now 1.040?

Yes your right my bad i didn't indict proof read what i wrote it's at 1.020

Miket1099 said:

I checked the forced test and it gave the same gravity reading 1.040 iv decided
To wrap a small blanket and forget about it for another week it wouldn't be I'n the fermentor for a total of 3 weeks and bottle and see what happens

But thank you guys for all the info and ideas i am going to adventure into all grain brewing next and try and brew better beer

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All grain brewing won't fix these types of problems, if that's what you're aiming to do. Make sure you pitch with the proper amount of healthy yeast:

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

And maintain the proper fermentation temperature. Otherwise, you'll have the same problems with all grain that you find in extract brewing.

businesstime said:

All grain brewing won't fix these types of problems, if that's what you're aiming to do. Make sure you pitch with the proper amount of healthy yeast:

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

And maintain the proper fermentation temperature. Otherwise, you'll have the same problems with all grain that you find in extract brewing.

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While proper yeast pitch and fermentation temps are very important, I think a major part of the 1.020 curse is the lower fermentability of some extracts. In many cases, even a huge pitch of yeast with proper aeration and perfect temps will not get you any more attenuation. There has to be fermentable sugars in there for the yeast to eat.