Fermentation issues

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edgewoodbrewery

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Location
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Ok, this is bugging me. Two weeks ago I brewed a modified version of my Oatmeal Stout- this time I added 4oz of peat smoked grain to it for a smoked oatmeal stout. Brewing went great however I didn't have time to make a starter before i brewed so I made one on the brew day and pitched it the next day... or so I thought.

I brew with a friend of mine- we've been brewing for a couple years together and we split the costs of all our equipment. He usually comes over to my house every Sunday afternoon to brew. On this occasion he stayed the night with his girlfriend because he wanted to brew again with her the next morning before heading home to Lansing. He brewed an imperial stout.

Before I left for work the next morning I asked him if he would just pitch the starter we'd made the afternoon before when he was going to leave that afternoon- Sure.

When I got home from work that evening I immediatly noticed that the starter was still sitting on the counter... damn. He must have just forgot in his rush to get headed home. Oh well I'll just pitch it now, no biggie... *blub blub blub**

Then I saw the note on the table-:eek:

"Hal, I pitched the starter we made yesterday. The one on the counter is for the Imperial Stout, Please pitch it tomorrow!" ****.

So this leads to my question:

Originally he pitched The White Labs WLP004 Irish Ale starter. A couple hours later I pitched a starter made with Wyeast Smack Pack American Ale 1056. Original Gravity was 1.067. I just transferred to secondary and took a gravity... 1.047. ****. What do you think went wrong and now what can I do to save this beer?
 
A couple questions.
What temp. did you ferment?
How did you oxygenate?
What was your mash temp?
Was there a lot of activity during fermentation?
Did you use a hydrometer or refractometer?
With that much yeast I don't think you should be looking there.
mark
Beer Diary...
 
A couple questions.
What temp. did you ferment?
How did you oxygenate?
What was your mash temp?
Was there a lot of activity during fermentation?
Did you use a hydrometer or refractometer?
With that much yeast I don't think you should be looking there.
mark
Beer Diary...

1. 68-72F
2. Violent transfer pouring.... no oxygenation system.
3. 161
4. Not an overly amaount of bubbles.
5. Refractometer
 
#5 is probably your problem if you used the refractometer both times. Use a hydrometer to read your FG or convert using ProMash or BeerSmith if you have it?

+1. I started double checking my refractometer with hydrometer, and there are differnences up to 1 Plato. Both fermetning and unfermented wort. Crappy tool. I'm switching back to good old hydrometers.
 
Yeah, maybe re-check the gravity with your hydrometer and the other thing I notice is the high mash temp. That may be contributing to a larger then normal amount of un-fermentable sugars.
mark
Beer Diary...
 
I use a refractometer exclusively these days. I have the adjustment calculations on my computer and have been developing files for each brew. Which software do you use?
mark
Beer Diary...
 
I use a refractometer exclusively these days. I have the adjustment calculations on my computer and have been developing files for each brew. Which software do you use?
mark
Beer Diary...

I use Beersmith. I have been plugging in the numbers and thats how I got what I got. I think checking it against a hydrometer is a good idea to see how accurate it is.
 
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