Have I Lost my Beer?

Any opinions would be appreciatted.

I'm attempting a Doppelbock for my first homebrew. Yes, I know it's Lager and I should have started with an Ale, but I'd rather learn on the type of beer I plan to be making. I do have a dedicated beer fridge, and it is holding steady at 52 degrees.

Only problem is, today is the 3rd day, and the water lock has ceased to be bubbling.

I'm concerned for a few reasons, besides the fact that the fermentation seems to have stopped:

#1--After steeping my grains and removing from heat, adding my malt, and then returning to the heat, the wort was on the stove for at least 30min before it finally began to boil and I added my Perle hops. So by the time I was done, it had been on there for an hour and a half. (Yes, I added some SAAZ hops 5min to the end)

#2--When I went to pitch my German Lager Yeast, I read the vial and realized I was suppossed to take the yeast out of the fridge 5 hours ago. Oh well, it had to be pitched cold. (The wort/water mix was probably around 90 degrees at this point, but luke warm to the touch on the side of the fermenter).

#3--26 hours pass--still no bubbling from the water lock! I haven't put the fermenter in the fridge yet because what I've read says to leave it out until it starts to ferment. So I panic and boil up some basic dried yeast (I have no idea what type it is---it was just sitting in my kit). I let that cool for 15 minutes and then I pitch it over the brew. Plus I accidently knock the waterlock into the mixture and have to fish it out with a spoon before snapping the lid back on---good going--I know.


So that's what I know I did wrong. It started to ferment in about 8 hours after that second "mystery yeast" pitch. I moved it into the fridge and by morning it was at 52 degrees where it has stayed since. But today, day 4, (day 3 in the fridge), it seems to have stopped fermenting. HELP, WHAT DO I DO!?!?

I can take it if everyone's opinion is that it's a wash. This is my first brew and I expect to have problems, but I want to identify what the problem is before attempting it again. Otherwise though, I'd love to keep it going somehow.

Thanks in advance.

-Matt

First off: you never boil yeast. At about 105f, they die. Without a doubt, the yeast that you "boiled up" died in the pot; the fermentation you had was the original yeast just getting a late start. This was probably due to the fact that you shocked the hell out of it by pitching cold yeast into warm wort, and so it needed alot of time to adjust.

Second: The only way for you to know whether your fermentation is done is to take a specific gravity reading of a sample (don't put the sample back in afterwards, just drink it!!) Compare the attenuation that you got with the standard attenuation of your original yeast (usually you can find this out by checking the manufacturer's website or the website of a retailer that sells it). If your attenuation is within or close to that range, your fermentation is pretty much done.

Then what you need to do is take it out of the fridge and let it warm up to room temp (60's preferably) for a "diacetyl rest"...this allows the yeast to "eat" the diacetyl that was produced (diacetyl makes a beer taste like butter, and is a common problem in lagers). After a day or two of resting at room temp, slowly bring the temps back down with your fridge over the course of a few days, finally ending up in the low 40's (f) to upper 30's. Keep it there for at least a month or two.

If your attenuation is way low and your fermentation is not complete (i.e. "stuck"), then you should probably get some dry lager yeast, fast, and pitch it into there. And for the love of Flying Spaghetti Monster, DON'T BOIL IT! Just open the package and sprinkle the yeast into the wort.

Good luck. In all likelihood, it'll be fine. My first lager finished in TWO DAYS, and it turned out great!

Matt E said:

I'm concerned for a few reasons, besides the fact that the fermentation seems to have stopped:

#1--After steeping my grains and removing from heat, adding my malt, and then returning to the heat, the wort was on the stove for at least 30min before it finally began to boil and I added my Perle hops. So by the time I was done, it had been on there for an hour and a half. (Yes, I added some SAAZ hops 5min to the end)

Click to expand...

Just wanted to note that this first item is not a problem. It does take some time to bring the wort back to a boil---this is normal. And you do want to wait for it to return to a boil before adding any hops, which you correctly did.

Well, you know what went wrong. Correct those steps before your next batch. Get a thermometer. I was a "touch the side of the bucket" guy, and found out that what I thought was 65 or so was around 90-95. The side is never as hot as the middle. For example, blueberry muffins. Yeah, I know, but I love those things! Pull it out of the pan, let it rest until cool on the side and then take a bite....like eating lava! Anyhow, get a thermometer, and plan you next batch. Beer is pretty forgiving, let your current batch sit quiet for a week, and then get on with your next steps. You might have shocked the first yeast you put in there, and the second dose might take up the slack.
Good luck and let us know what happens.

Thanks guys. As of this morning, the water lock is bubbling again, and all I did was take it out of the fridge for the night. So we'll see what happens...

The store where I got my recipe from said after a week or so I should transfer the brew to another bucket to separate or breakup the trub, leave it out for a day, and then put it back in the fridge. Anyone have an opinion on this? And/or could explain why it might be beneficial to the brew.

Thanks again.

Matt E said:

Thanks guys. As of this morning, the water lock is bubbling again, and all I did was take it out of the fridge for the night. So we'll see what happens...

The store where I got my recipe from said after a week or so I should transfer the brew to another bucket to separate or breakup the trub, leave it out for a day, and then put it back in the fridge. Anyone have an opinion on this? And/or could explain why it might be beneficial to the brew.

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

Warming the beer up will cause the yeast to be more active and the liquid will hold less CO2. So either cause could be the reason for the bubbles.
What your LHBS was recommending was to transfer to a secondary and do a diacetyl rest. By transferring it to a secondary you get the beer off of the old yeast and allow it to clear better. By warming it up you allow the yeast left in suspension to clean up the diacetyl as described in an earlier thread. I think one week is early for a lager. I think 2-3 weeks is more normal.
I would just leave it at fermentation temp for 2 weeks then check the gravity. If the FG is in the expected range for the style then you are good for the diacetyl rest followed by extended lagering.

Craig

So my lager has been fermenting for about 10 days, bubbles have calmed down to about 2-3 every minute, and I'm probably going to transfer it tomorrow to another container to do the "diacytal rest" (I know I spelled that wrong). I intend to leave it out of the fridge for a day before putting it back to lager at 50-55 degrees (where it is now).

My question is should I rack the brew into the other container to separate it from the trub, or should I just pour it all in together?

And, does it need to be stirred, or should I try to keep it as calm as possible?

Lastly, what kind of fermentation/bubble frequency should I expect after the transfer?

Thanks.

you need to siphon it when you transfer, don't pour or agitate or aerate at all. you want to seperate it from the trub.

So the racking went well and the airlock sped up for a day. But now it's not going at all. I've lowered it again to 50-55 degrees, but nothing seems to be going on.

Does this mean I should start thinking about bottling? Or should it just sit in there and lager for a few weeks eventhough the fermenting seems to have stopped?