90% smooth 10% disaster. 2nd brew yesterday.

So I brewed yesterday; Austin Homebrew double chocolate stout. Everything went well until it came time to cool and transfer to my 6.5 gal carboy. By the time the boil was done I had about 1.5 gal of wort. The directions told me to chill the water I was going to use to bring the wort up to 5 1/4 gallons, so I did. Well once I chilled the 1.5 gal of wort and transferred and started pouring the cool water in, the temp quickly dropped to 65 or so. Also I had to guess on temp as my thermometer broke and the fermometer on the carboy got wet and was falling off. So here I am 1.5 gal of warm liquid and 4 gal of cold liquid. The fermometer finally stuck and the reading was at 66. It has been that way all night and this morning the yeast is on the bottom and there is no fermentation going on that I can see. Also when I transferred I used a funnel with a screen and it kept clogging up and I had to stop and toss the trub in the sink and then put it back on and pour. I did this about 5 times and I'm worried I tainted the wort somehow. Everything was sanitized and I was wearing gloves, but still I don't have as much faith as I did last time with my sanitization. So right now, I have the carboy wrapped in a sweater, sitting on a blanket and a towl on a heating pad set on low to try and bring the temp up to get fermentation started. Can I do anything else, or is what I'm doing wrong? Are there any tricks that you use to get the wort into the carboy or what you use keep an eye on the tempurature? Floating thermometer?

I also broke my auto siphon. I am pretty frustrated right now. Hopefully things are allright and it starts soon.
OG was 1.068 and AHB says it should be at 1.056


Dan

try aerating your wort, by stirring, or shaking the yeast back into suspension. It would also be helpful if we knew what kind of yeast you used, and how much?, and how many hours has it been since you pitched? These factors would affect your lag phase for the yeast.

glibbidy said:

try aerating your wort, by stirring, or shaking the yeast back into suspension. It would also be helpful if we knew what kind of yeast you used, and how much?, and how many hours has it been since you pitched? These factors would affect your lag phase for the yeast.

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I pitched at around 6pm yesterday, it was white labs london ale yeast and I'm not sure how much. It was liquid and in a vial. Probably a couple ounces total?


Dan

While they say one vial (35ml?) is enough for 5 gallons, I'm a advocate of using starters. Sounds like you underpitched. Try and get the wort temp up to the optimum range for this yeast which is 66-71f. Get thate wort aerated, and Wait it out, since you underpitched the lag phase will be longer then normal.
so relax.

Consider making a yeast starter next time, you won't be disappointed.

London ale yeast, in my experience, always makes its way to the bottom of the fermenter and looks chunky/nasty for a while. I usually pitch on the cool side and just wait for a little longer than usual. When the wort gets back up to the right temp, the yeast will wake up and start working/multiplying. Giving the carboy a little swirl (gently) might do you well, too.
Good luck!

monk

Thanks. I do think I underpitched as I also spilled some. So I just have to wake them up and wait for them to multiply. I did go out and check it and it seems the temp is rising a bit with the heating pad and I swirled it around to aerate. I will update as things progress.


Thanks for the responses.

Dan

glibbidy said:

While they say one vial (35ml?) is enough for 5 gallons, I'm a advocate of using starters. Sounds like you underpitched. Try and get the wort temp up to the optimum range for this yeast which is 66-71f. Get thate wort aerated, and Wait it out, since you underpitched the lag phase will be longer then normal.
so relax.

Consider making a yeast starter next time, you won't be disappointed.

Click to expand...

I will have to read up on how to make a starter, thanks


Dan

So, it is fermenting as I type. By using the heating pad I have raised the temp to around 71 over the course of the day. I swished it around earlier and it looks as though it will go smoothly from here. It's slow right now but I'm hoping to see more action by tonight. Now my only concern is possible infection due to my funneling debacle. I think from now on I am going to boil, then add room temp water to the boil pot to bring the temp down and then rack to primary instead of pouring. Also next time I will use the moss to try and keep my sediment down. So now I need to go buy a floating thermometer and a new auto siphon.


Dan

I think you'll be fine. Your techniques sound good and it is unlikely that anything bad got into the wort while you were clearing the funnel.

david_42 said:

I think you'll be fine. Your techniques sound good and it is unlikely that anything bad got into the wort while you were clearing the funnel.

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Yeah I think I'll be allright. I was pretty anal about sanitizing everything. It looks as though everything is coming along. Their is a foam covering the wort and it is bubbling out of the airlock slowly. I still have it wrapped in a sweater and sitting on blankets as it is starting to get cold here at night. My next beer might have to be a lager. It's good I have a place like this to come to ask my questions.


Dan

Well I just took my first reading after 7 days in primary. OG was 1.068 and the reading I just took was 1.020.
It is AHB's double chocolate stout and it tastes good so far. I didn't screw it up after all! I am happy, it tastes like a stout right now, can't wait to taste it once it's bottled and carbonated with the chocolate. Should be a great christmas beer!

Thanks for all the help guys. Oh yeah, I bought a wine theif today, man what a great tool!


Dan