hardly any fermentation

[SATXbrew]

So I did my first all grain by myself. I hit all the expected numbers and volume, but I have had the beer in the fermentor about a week and it has only gone from 1060 to 1050. The only thing I can suspect is that I pitched the yeast into wort that was too hot (about 90 degrees). It was taking too long to cool and I ran out of ice so I just pitched it. If that is the case, what can I do at this point? Pitch a new vile of yeast? Thanks for the help!

Recipe: 13lbs 2-row
1oz centennial 60 mins
1oz cascade 10mins
pre-boil gravity: 1050
OG: 1060

 

[SATXbrew]

forgot.. California Ale liquid yeast

 

[android]

what temp have you been fermenting at? unless you're fermenting too low, it sounds like the yeast aren't happy or are dead... i would definitely try to pitch more. you could use a dry yeast like nottingham or us-05.

 

[SATXbrew]

One other variable to throw in there that I thought of last night. I had that yeast in the freezer for about 2 weeks and then took it out on brew day. I took it out around 10am and pitched it that evening around 8pm.

Funny thing though.. so I took a sample last night. Today, I go into the spare room the beer sits in (in the closet) and it smells very strong like beer and there are bubbles in the airlock. WTF?

Im not sure the exact temp android. My thermostat in the living room reads 72. Its probably a few degrees cooler in that closet.. 70 degrees or so. Thanks for the input!

 

[shortyjacobs]

Woof. Well, you shouldn't have pitched at 90F, you shouldn't have frozen your liquid yeast(!), and you should have used a starter.

All that being said, it sounds like it's fermenting slowly....you could repitch or you could just wait and see...

BTW, bubbles in the airlock means little...if your room is going through even small temp swings, it could just be offgassing. Check by hydrometer if you wanna be sure.

 

[Denny]

90F didn't kill the yeast, but freezing pretty surely will.

 

[bknifefight]

Freezing yeast without mixing it with a glycerin mixture will surely kill them. And thawing the yeast (if frozen properly) will leave them very sleepy and sluggish for a while.

 

[SATXbrew]

hmm.. makes sense. Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I will try a starter next time. My brother (who is way more experienced than I) bought an extra yeast and some extra hops last time we went to the store, and he threw them in the freezer. I guess I just assumed that was no problem.