Baker's yeast questions.

[dnr]

So I am a first time home brewer. My wife got me a kit 7 years ago and now under quarantine, I figured I would try to make this batch. I already know this isn't going to taste great, but I wanted the experience. So, I realize on Brew day my yeast is well dead.
I have no Brew shops near me and just grab Fleischman Instant Yeast.
Of my 5 gallons to start, I bottles 24 12oz bottles after 6 days due to lack of activity in primary fermenter. I made a pear slurry to add to the remaining 2.75 gallons for secondary fermentation.
I plan on refrigerating after about 2 weeks in bottle and after that, plan on bottling my other half of my split batch.

Sorry, long way to ask about timeframe of Baker's yeast vs. Ale yeast at about 70° F.
Also, OG before pitch was 1,055. Finished at bottling at 1,020. Just in case that matters.

Thank you.

 

[Krasdale]

It ferments fast but flocculates very slowly.

 

[dnr]

Thank you.
Do you think I'm safe to leave the secondary fruited fermentation going on for 2-3 weeks?
I don't want dead yeast to run this already troubled beer.

 

[RM-MN]

Thank you.
Do you think I'm safe to leave the secondary fruited fermentation going on for 2-3 weeks?
I don't want dead yeast to run this already troubled beer.

I might start to worry about dead yeast in 2-3 months but 2-3 weeks is my usual beer schedule. It give the yeast plenty of time to finish fermentation and settle out. I find that longer time in the fermenter lets the yeast settle there instead of in the bottom of the bottle.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

So I am a first time home brewer. My wife got me a kit 7 years ago and now under quarantine, I figured I would try to make this batch. I already know this isn't going to taste great, but I wanted the experience. So, I realize on Brew day my yeast is well dead.

Was it dry yeast? In which case if you've stored it at room temperature or lower it should still be pretty alive - it might have lost 50% viability but it should be usable. I've revived dry yeast that was 18 years old.

Different bread yeasts vary in their suitability for making beer - I've had quite good results with some of the British ones, from the sound of it the US ones aren't so good. You may want to take a look through this thread :
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/the-gap-grocery-and-produce-beer-experiment.69313/

 

[dnr]

Was it dry yeast? In which case if you've stored it at room temperature or lower it should still be pretty alive - it might have lost 50% viability but it should be usable. I've revived dry yeast that was 18 years old.

Different bread yeasts vary in their suitability for making beer - I've had quite good results with some of the British ones, from the sound of it the US ones aren't so good. You may want to take a look through this thread :
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/the-gap-grocery-and-produce-beer-experiment.69313/

I had the dry ale yeast that came with the Brew kit at room temp, watched a tutorial on how to activate yeast for pitching, and over the course of an hour saw nothing happen. Tried agitation, and still nothing. Kept it on my table until I decided to pitch the Baker's yeast and almost added the ale, but nothing was happening over the course of an hour+. I didn't want to just throw dead yeast in. Like I said, it's 7 years old, and figured I'd do a meh beer, then experiment with the other half for a first timer.

No Peng here.
I also said screw it, and added all my hop pellets at 60 because I like high IBU. So that should mask the old malt extract.

 

[dnr]

I tested a bottle to check for over carbonation, crimped the cap back and figured I'd refrigerate it as a test. Cold crash didn't get rid of much suspension, I don't think, but I definitely made beer. So that happened.
Had a bit of a nutty roasted flavor, I assume from the old LME and yeast still in suspension. I felt like I tasted some esters, maybe Apple which makes me think acetaldehyde? But I don't really care that much about flavor as much as process right now.
I'll keep letting the bottles age and post the results.

 

[dnr]

I might start to worry about dead yeast in 2-3 months but 2-3 weeks is my usual beer schedule. It give the yeast plenty of time to finish fermentation and settle out. I find that longer time in the fermenter lets the yeast settle there instead of in the bottom of the bottle.

So I've noticed no bubbling for a few days in the second half of my split with added fruit slurry. I see no signs of active fermentation. No CO2 or krausen formation.
I boiled some water, added a little raw cane sugar, used a baster to pull some of my stuck beer (currently 1.020) mixed with .5 tsp sugar and .5 tsp of my dry yeast. It's been a few hours and I'm not seeing anything happen.
Any ideas?

 

[dnr]

Also, is there a different way to bottle condition if my yeast has stopped any activity for about a month? I only had 24 bottles and I'm going to use gallon jugs for the rest of my batch in a dark temp steady area.