OG too high for yeast to work?

I'm currently working on my third batch of home brew so I'm still a bit new to this.

I used a chocolate porter kit, but I doubled the cocoa powder, added peanut butter powder, and 1lb of oats. Thus resulted in an OG of 1.075 when it was supposed to be about 1.051. I used Wyeast 1338 European Ale. I put the yeast in when the fluid was 67.5°... there are small bubbles in the air lock, but I don't see active bubbling about 24 hours later. Should I worry?

you should be fine. i assume you didn't make a yeast starter and if thats so it'll take a little longer for the yeast to get movin because of the higher gravity. give it a week or so and then check the gravity.

Ok. It was a liquid yeast so out should I have been pitched from breaking the food packet in it.

Side note, the instructions said 10-12 days in the fermenter, but I'm thinking a solid 3 weeks with all the extra stuff in it? Should I have add extra yeast?

You under-pitched, should have made a starter. The yeast will be stressed a bit, but may get through it. A lot of it will depend on how healthy the yeast were when they were pitched (age of pack and how they were stored). Let it go and see what happens

yeah you underpitched a bit if you threw a liquid yeast packet right in without a starter but as calder said they'll be stressed but should ferment out. the yeast may throw a few off flavors but since its a big dark beer most of those will stay hidden

Good to hear, thanks guys. So going forward I should put an additional starter with a liquid yeast pack even after it's been fully engorged on its own start food?

This is what Wyeast says on that topic, I'm hoping eveything works out on my beer....

Wyeast Laboratories. Customer Service FAQs

yeah I always make a starter for liquid yeast unless it's 1.050 or below. wyeast and white labs both say their stuff is directly pitchable into 1.060 wort but you won't find too many experienced homebrewers that think it's best for your beer.

if starters are as annoying for you as they were for me when i started look at using dry yeast. only a few strains are available but its a lot cheaper and you don't need starters. 2 packs of us-05 (enough to directly pitch into about a 1.100 wort) are about the same as a pack of wyeast 1056 which requires the added time and expense of a starter. those 2 strains are almost identical and i use them in almost all my ales

Great info, thanks Jester. I'll just attempt to keep my calm and give it literally a few weeks before I take its FG and hope for the best!

Just wanted to update everyone, it started bubbling today!!

I noticed a HUGE difference when I made a starter for the Wyeast. The bubbling is fairly violent in comparison!

bassballboy said:

Just wanted to update everyone, it started bubbling today!!

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good to hear

Recipe makes me hungry.:fro:

Next time, check out mrmalty.com for a pitching rate calculator. You input OG, yeast age (production date is on the package), etc.
I would guess it says you needed to pitch two liquid yeasts for that high an OG (or an appropriate starter).
good luck.

I put it in the fermenter on Sunday. Should I pour another yeast packet in it?

What is gravity now?

Also, I don't see how your OG gets 24 points higher than the kit with that small amount of extra fermentables. Unless your volume is less than 5 gallons.
Plug the ingredients in BeerSmith, or a
freebie like hopville.com.
You also need to calibrate your hydrometer in distilled water (mine reads .004 high, which made me happy bc all my beer was finishing at "1.018")

I calibrated my hydrometer, it reads pretty much spot on.

I measured the gravity last night, it came to 1.024... fairly big beer. I filled to 5.5 gallons, but possibly should have done 6 with all the chocolate etc in it. I'll give it a few more days then bottle it.


I will say this - there was an incredible amount of sludge sitting on top of the beer that covered the whole thing - the yeast was apparently having a nice dinner!

I used Euro yeast about 6 months ago...even with a starter it had a decent lag time of around 15 hours.

Hmm, well cocoa powder doesn't have any fermentables in it, so while it will raise the OG simply by being dissolved in the wort, it won't contribute to any sugars being consumed by the yeast. Be prepared that your FG will be quite a bit higher than the recipe target. The sugar in the PB powder will ferment out, but not the rest.

sheeshomatic said:

Hmm, well cocoa powder doesn't have any fermentables in it, so while it will raise the OG simply by being dissolved in the wort, it won't contribute to any sugars being consumed by the yeast. Be prepared that your FG will be quite a bit higher than the recipe target. The sugar in the PB powder will ferment out, but not the rest.

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Plan is to check it again Monday then bottle if it hasn't changed

bassballboy said:

I calibrated my hydrometer, it reads pretty much spot on.

I measured the gravity last night, it came to 1.024... fairly big beer. I filled to 5.5 gallons, but possibly should have done 6 with all the chocolate etc in it. I'll give it a few more days then bottle it.


I will say this - there was an incredible amount of sludge sitting on top of the beer that covered the whole thing - the yeast was apparently having a nice dinner!

Click to expand...

So it has been 2 weeks with a yeast starter issue? I would wait at least another week, if not more and see where the gravity goes. The sludge on top is pretty good sign it is still fermenting. When the yeast are done the kreusan will fall to the bottom. Thats been my experience, just a suggestion. Cheers