Well darn "saving a pale ale"

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BxBrewer

BxBrewer

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As much as i read this forum. Im calling out for advice.

Brewed up a pale ale 3 weeks ago. Pitched with safe ale 05 and everything went just fine. Put it into my ferm chamber and had it at 65-66 degrees with blow off tube. Three days go by and i check on it "i don't look as much as i used to when i stared". When i lifted the lid to the chamber i saw that i had pushed the grommet though the lid and my blow tube was just laying in the hole. No spare grommet and no way to put a air lock on it. I panicked and grabbed my secondary "glass" carboy and transferred to it. The pale ale still had the kurasun "sp".

I had a pack of Muttons from a kit. I used it to repitch. Today "3 weeks later" the yeast has fallen and i took a sample. Came in at 3.5% :mad: I wish i would have pitched another pack of 05.

Should i just leave it as is or would you pitch a pack of 05 on it ? There isn't no where near the amount of yeast sitting at the bottom as I'm used to seeing. It smelled and tasted good just weak.

What would you do ?
 
BxBrewer said:
As much as i read this forum. Im calling out for advice.

Brewed up a pale ale 3 weeks ago. Pitched with safe ale 05 and everything went just fine. Put it into my ferm chamber and had it at 65-66 degrees with blow off tube. Three days go by and i check on it "i don't look as much as i used to when i stared". When i lifted the lid to the chamber i saw that i had pushed the grommet though the lid and my blow tube was just laying in the hole. No spare grommet and no way to put a air lock on it. I panicked and grabbed my secondary "glass" carboy and transferred to it. The pale ale still had the kurasun "sp".

I had a pack of Muttons from a kit. I used it to repitch. Today "3 weeks later" the yeast has fallen and i took a sample. Came in at 3.5% :mad: I wish i would have pitched another pack of 05.

Should i just leave it as is or would you pitch a pack of 05 on it ? There isn't no where near the amount of yeast sitting at the bottom as I'm used to seeing. It smelled and tasted good just weak.

What would you do ?
Click to expand...

What were the OG and FG readings?
 
That is pretty high for a pale ale. Could try bumping the temp to 70ish if possible. Maybe swirling the carboy back and forth a bit to get some yeast back up in suspension.
 
WoodlandBrew said:
1.050 and 1.023? Does it taste sweet?

If you are using a refractometer my money says you forgot to compensate for alcohol.

If you are using a hydrometer, I bet it's inadequate oxygen and it just needs time.

Top ten causes of stuck fg:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-ten-reasons-why-your-final-gravity.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Everything i pour though is a mesh screen. On top of that i use a cordless drill and i wine whip. My batches always has a tight thick foam when im done and pitch the yeast. It doesn't taste too sweet. Im betting that having to rack to a different primary didn't give it enough yeast. Even though i pitched a pack of Muttons, i should have pitched a pack of 05 instead. I guess im going to keg it and chalk it up to experience.
 
Unless you are using a refractometer, I'm at a loss for what the issue might be. If you were using a refractometer it would explain the high FG reading and the beer not tasting sweet. (1.023 is equivalent to 3 teaspoons of sugar in a cup of coffee) In that case you would be at a corrected FG of 1.007 for an attenuation of 86% and an ABV of 5.6%.
 
BxBrewer said:
Thanks for the reply. Everything i pour though is a mesh screen. On top of that i use a cordless drill and i wine whip. My batches always has a tight thick foam when im done and pitch the yeast. It doesn't taste too sweet. Im betting that having to rack to a different primary didn't give it enough yeast. Even though i pitched a pack of Muttons, i should have pitched a pack of 05 instead. I guess im going to keg it and chalk it up to experience.
Click to expand...

Did you make a starter prior to repitching the yeast? This isn't from experience, but from what I've read about reviving fermentations is that just adding a packet of dry yeast won't work since they aren't accustomed to the alcohol environment.
 
biestie said:
Did you make a starter prior to repitching the yeast? This isn't from experience, but from what I've read about reviving fermentations is that just adding a packet of dry yeast won't work since they aren't accustomed to the alcohol environment.
Click to expand...

No i didn't. It did ferment some but the yest cake on the bottom wasn't as thick as 05.

It would have been fine had i not pushed the grommet through the lid. I wish my bucket lit was drilled for a stopper and not a grommit.

Picked up a Better bottle as my new primary. I will use my bucket for big beers and my 5 gal glass carboy for secondary/dry hop duties.
 

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