Belgian tripel, didnt pitch enough yeast

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mscg4u

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Alright so this was my first brew, and I've already recognized a lot of mistakes and easy fixes for next time. I brewed and got the wort into the fermenter on Friday, but only put in the one yeast packet that came with the kit. The airlock started bubbling strong with in 24 hours and I had to clean it due to a clog Sunday (@36 hours). It was going strong until I checked it this morning and there was a serious drop in activity. I counted the times it bubbled and it only went about 5 times in a minute. My gut tells me to leave it alone and just let it run the course, but if I can possibly remedy any future problems or fix them id like to go ahead and do it.

Basically I'm wondering if I need to possibly rehydrate and add another packet of yeast or should I just leave it?
 
You'll be fine. Your fermentation could easily be nearing completion in that amount of time. Chances are if you pitched a package of dry yeast, that it was enough. Cant say for sure without knowing your recipe/process, but the short answer is Relax, Don't Worry and Have a Homebrew.
 
Just leave it and don't worry. Lots of my fermentations take off hard and then chug along more slowly until finished, especially with Belgians. Also, a quick check on mrmalty says even for 5 gal up to a 1.090 og you'd only need 1.5 11.5g packs so you didn't too severely underpitch.
 
A couple of points,

1) number of bubbles out of your air lock is not a sign of or indicator of the level of fermentation. Changing SG reading on your hydrometer is the only thing that means fermentation is happening. Just let your beer ride and check (hydro sample) it in a couple of days when you think everything is over. If you have the same reading two days running then everything is over.

2)Yes if you do the math using a pitching rate tool such as Mr Malty, You underpitched your yeast, your not the first and definitely will not be the last one to underpitch yeast it is not the end of the world you will still end up with beer there are some down sides. So unless you notice you underpitch at the time you brewing or within the first 24hours then there is not much you should do until a problem presents itself like being stuck at a high SG reading. The problem is that when you pitch yeast you also oxygenate your brew so that the yeast you pitch can multiply out to the amount need to do the job of fermenting your brew.

So why do you need to pitch the correct numbers of yeast, if you underpitch the yeast will not have enough numbers to get the job done (stuck brew) or the yeast will have to multiply too much and in multiplication they make esters and other flavors (so the beer will be fruitier than expected) and they may be stressed which can cause off flavors and fusel (aka headache) alcohol.

So you say well I'm going to Oxygenate and add more yeast well the problem is this late in the brew you run the risk of having residual O2 left in the beer when it is finished fermenting which will skunk your brew. Also most of the damage has already been done so it is sort of closing the gate after the horse has bolted.

Clem
 
What temp is it fermenting at? What temp did you pitch the yeast? If it was on the high end, it will ferment quicker, but may also have some serious clean up to do. Leave it in your primary for 3-4 weeks, even though the vigorous portion of the fermentation is over.
 
I pitched it at right around 77 degrees, and it is sitting in steady 65-70 degree temperatures.

Thanks to everyone for the help and advice, much appreciated.
 
This is all good advice. I think the most important thing that's been said for this batch is to leave it in the fermenter for an additional 2 - 3 weeks to let the yeast clean up after itself.

As others have said, if you underpitched, it probably wasn't by much. I'm curious as to what your original gravity was and what kind of yeast you used.
 
I don't know the original yeast (again first time mistake), but it came with the kit (brewers best). My OG was 1.086
 
Okay, at 1.086, you probably underpitched a little, but it's really not that big of a deal. I looked into it, and it seems like Brewer's Best use Nottingham yeast for that kit. Does that ring a bell? Did the packaging look like one of these?

NottinghamBrewingYeast2.jpg
notting.jpg


Nottingham is a notoriously vigorous and fast fermenter. It's been known to ferment average gravity beers in as little as 36 hours. Again, I wouldn't worry about this batch too much. Give it some time to clean up, take the best notes you can and enjoy it. You have the greatest resource you could ever want right here in this forum. Read up and carry what you learn into your next brews.
 
I do believe it was the one on the right, thanks again. I'm pretty excited about it, I honestly got interest in brewing because of the TV show Breaking Bad. The brother-in-law brews his beer, and I got the hunch that since I love trying new beers and I can't stand typical American commercial beers that I should try brewing out.
 
I got the hunch that since I love trying new beers and I can't stand typical American commercial beers that I should try brewing out.

That describes 99% of Home Brewers so you are in good company. I'm telling you that you will learn so much about beer that your head will hurt in the first few brews. So warn your friends that your on the road to beer snobbery and just let your personality decide what brewer you will be. Some people like making notes and trying to perfect a beer and make it repeatable and like the science of it all (I put myself in that category). Other people like to go with the flow and let it be what it will be and recipes are not so important. The most important thing is "Relax Don't Worry, Have a Home Brew" or RDWHAHB for short.

Clem
 
Thanks again for all the help guys. Just to give an update, the last activity I saw in the airlock was on Tuesday. I am getting An Irish Red kit on Saturday so I am going to transfer the Tripel to a 5 gallon carboy and brew the red and begin fermenting in my primary.
 
I got the hunch that since I love trying new beers and I can't stand typical American commercial beers that I should try brewing out.

No-one gets into brewing to make the typical American Commercial Beer.

I always find it amusing to think that brewing something like Bud/Miller/Coors (cheap American Beer) is probably the hardest thing to make, and making a decent hoppy Pale Ale (expensive craft beer) is relatively simple by comparison.
 
My Belgian blonde IPA took less than 36 hours with a smack pack into a 1.2l starter pitching at 65 and finishing at a high of 72 to "finish" albeit it will still stay in the fermentor another few weeks.
 
Just to give an update, I bottled the tripel (early I know, but it is my first one and I am anxious). I have a couple questions, first off... How much will the water/sugar mixture add to the gravity? I checked it last week when I moved it to secondary, and I swore it was at 1.02, but I checked it today after putting it in my bottling bucket and it was at 1.022. I could have read it wrong last week I suppose. Also, there is a very strong alcohol taste to it, and smell.... It's off-putting and I really couldn't finish the little bit I poured for myself. A few things I have gathered from Palmers book that could cause it would be mistakes I know I made such as under-pitching, letting it warm up too much during fermentation (it got up to 80), pitching when it was too warm (a little over 80), and not aerating when I pitched. So what are your thoughts?
 
You pretty much nailed down a list if things to work on next time. Your gravity was kinda high to bottle, too, your yeast may have had some work still. But no worries, you made beer. Next time will be better!
 
It is early to bottle, but you don't really have any risk of being underattenuated. 1.020 is a perfectly reasonable final gravity for your 1.086 Tripel. If you took a reading from the bottling bucket after adding priming sugar then that explains the .002 rise in gravity. The alcohol flavor is most likely due to the high fermentation temp. 80* is very warm for Nottingham yeast which has a recommended top end of 70*. High fermentation temperatures can result in the production of fusel, or higher, alcohol which has that harsh, burning character, and causes nasty hangovers. However, since the beer is so young, some of that alcohol flavor will probably subside. Just make sure that you condition those bottles for AT LEAST 3 weeks at at least 70* before you even think about tossing a taster in the fridge. This is a big beer and as such it may need even more conditioning time to both carbonate and mature. You already know that you've bottled early. Don't make the mistake of drinking the finished product too early. That said, I'm sure you will still try one of these a couple weeks in and my prediction is that it will still be quite green. Just remember not to give up on it. Even if it is no good after 3 weeks just keep trying one every couple of weeks. I've had beers that didn't condition out for months.
 
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