Oktoberfest with German ale yeast to start

[mingo]

Unique situation here that I'd like some opinions on. I brewed an Oktoberfest 5 weeks ago, original gravity hit 1.066, fermentation took off fine with German ale yeast. Had issues with cooling and maintaining correct temps. Very hot here in Georgia and our A/C took a dump. At three weeks gravity was at 1.040. I had some harvested American ale yeast that I made a starter and pitched. Fermentation is robust now. The questions I have is out of curiosity, I will know soon enough I suppose. Do you think the first couple of weeks with the German ale yeast will impose those flavors? What, if any issues will result from using the 1056?

 

[ImNoExpert]

It doesn't make sense to me. With a hot fermentation, the German yeast would have fermented it out faster. Three days more likely than three weeks. What temps were you fermenting at?

Using 1056 on the back end will probably not result in any issues due to that yeast, but I don't think you're going to get much lager character from either of those yeasts, especially at higher temps.

 

[jdauria]

Three weeks dropping to 1.040 with hot temps seems definitely wrong. Was it possible the yeast was really old? Only reason I could think of for a beer only dropping 26 points with a hot ferment.

 

[mingo]

77 degrees is where I've been stuck since brewday. I even hit it with another pack of German ale yeast in between the original, before making the starter with the American.

 

[helibrewer]

Something just doesn't seem right. The measurements are with a hydrometer and not a refractometer correct?

What was the grain bill and mash temperature?

 

[mingo]

Refractometer. 11lbs Munich, 1 lb Vienna, 8oz Caramunich. 152 degree mash. It is fermenting well as we speak now. Could be that I roused the second pitch of German yeast too, I aerated well with the starter pitch.

 

[balrog]

Refractometer readings were corrected for presence of alcohol weren't they?

 

[mingo]

No, brand new and the first time in use. I was not aware that corrections were necessary. How is that done?

 

[pepindavid]

I'm still a newbie, but according to this calculator (http://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/), your corrected 1.040 reading is most likely closer to 1.020 (which makes way more sense). The second fermentation you're doing now will likely dry it out a lot. I would simply wait until fermentation is stopped, wait until you have two identical refractometer readings in a row, and then package (taking an actual gravity sample with hydrometer at that point, if you want to know your exact FG).

Refractometers are handy tools during brewday, and to know if fermentation is completed, but not so great to get accurate readings (especially of fermented wort).

 

[balrog]

What @pepindavid said. I've used my refractometer with hydrometer for a while and it matches VERY well on brew day but always seems a bit off trying to zero in on measuring final gravity so I went a different route and use one of those expanded range hydrometers - easier for old eyes to read and all that.

But the brewersfrirend tool is quite decent, you'll have some head scratching if you're like me with all the "wort correction" which in my case ended up really unnecessary to match hydrometer on original gravity. For final gravity, it's close, within a few points (2-7) depending on I know not what.

 

[Buc_Nasty]

Once alcohol is present, it messes up with the readings of the refractometer and you're supposed to do a correction. You can find them if you google them, but I've never used them and instead use a hydrometer. I use a refractometer just to check my pre-boil and boil gravities just to make sure they're where they're supposed to be. Use a hydrometer if you have one, that's probably more accurate during and after fermentation.

 

[mingo]

I still have my hydrometer too. Learn something new everyday, that phrase had Homebrewers in mind. I'll check out that link. Thanks guys!

 

[helibrewer]

I still have my hydrometer too. Learn something new everyday, that phrase had Homebrewers in mind. I'll check out that link. Thanks guys!

This is a very good tool also, you will need your original (starting) brix reading: refractometer tool

 

[balrog]

That's actually the calculator that Brewer's Friend tool uses, or the algorithmical innards thereof.