nowelsmd
Member
Hi,
About a month ago my friend and I decided to start brewing cider. It's cheap, easy, and it tastes good. So we tried making a 5 gallon carboy using Safale S-04 yeast and keeping it at about 52 degrees F. We also did two 1 gallon batches using Red Star Champagne yeast two weeks later and kept them at about 60 degrees. The 5 gallon batch initially read 6.5% and the two smaller ones were at 11% and 21% (just for fun).
However the other night when we were planning on bottling the larger batch, we ran a hydrometer test on it but the specific gravity was still the same as when we took it initially. This seems kind of strange considering that, while it wasn't super active, there still was some activity.
We resolved to just re-pitch the batch using some of the champagne yeast and then bottle one of the smaller batches. So before we bottled, we took a hydrometer reading of the 11% batch but found that it still read 11%. Seeing a pattern we decided to take a hydrometer reading on the 21% batch and achieved the same result.
Both of these batches had been very active, creating a kraeusen for at least 3 days, almost 6 for the 11%.
If the yeast is active then why hasn't there been any change in the alcohol content of the brew?
Please help.
About a month ago my friend and I decided to start brewing cider. It's cheap, easy, and it tastes good. So we tried making a 5 gallon carboy using Safale S-04 yeast and keeping it at about 52 degrees F. We also did two 1 gallon batches using Red Star Champagne yeast two weeks later and kept them at about 60 degrees. The 5 gallon batch initially read 6.5% and the two smaller ones were at 11% and 21% (just for fun).
However the other night when we were planning on bottling the larger batch, we ran a hydrometer test on it but the specific gravity was still the same as when we took it initially. This seems kind of strange considering that, while it wasn't super active, there still was some activity.
We resolved to just re-pitch the batch using some of the champagne yeast and then bottle one of the smaller batches. So before we bottled, we took a hydrometer reading of the 11% batch but found that it still read 11%. Seeing a pattern we decided to take a hydrometer reading on the 21% batch and achieved the same result.
Both of these batches had been very active, creating a kraeusen for at least 3 days, almost 6 for the 11%.
If the yeast is active then why hasn't there been any change in the alcohol content of the brew?
Please help.
