BlackToothGrin
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- Jan 25, 2015
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Hi y'all,
I am sickly worried about my first attempt at a 5gal batch. It's been over 30 hours and no sign of yeast activity or bubbling, all the yeast has sunk to the bottom and remained lifeless. I would have preferred to share a success story with you helpful folk as my first post but I am freaking out a little at the prospect of losing this batch! (Never failed a 1gal, why is this happening now??) I was hoping the voice of collective experience could point me in the right direction to save the day!
Recipe:
20lbs Honey
4gal Spring Water
EC-1118 Yeast
3tbsp Ground Black Tea Leaves
1 Lemon juice + rind
1 Lime juice + rind
Considerations I ruled out:
Everything was properly sanitized with StarSan, but even contamination shouldn't have this kind of impact. I gave the must a good 10mn shake to aerate before adding the yeast starter, and the carboy's been covered with several layers of cheesecloth to let it breathe since. The yeast starter didn't go wrong either; I simply used 2 cups warm spring water with 2tbsps brown sugar for one pack EC-1118, soak time 20mn with some stirring; it had the usual yeasty smell. I don't boil the must either.
Potential Culprits:
It's a crazy sweet must, my OG was 1.140. I've read that too much sugar can overwhelm and stall the yeast; will I potentially have to split the batch and dilute further?
I've always brewed all-natural, so no chemical energizer or nutrient (I use powdered tea leaves and citrus juices/rinds and never had a prob), maybe a 5gal batch goes beyond that? Can I really just add some DAP and kick start the yeasties?
Also its the first time brewing in my new apartment and I'm not 100% familiar with the behavior of the different rooms yet; I'm worried that temperature variation may have affected it overnight.
My gut tells me either I overdid it on the honey and its too sweet, or I am psyching myself out and need to wait longer.. Any thoughts are appreciated, thanks
I am sickly worried about my first attempt at a 5gal batch. It's been over 30 hours and no sign of yeast activity or bubbling, all the yeast has sunk to the bottom and remained lifeless. I would have preferred to share a success story with you helpful folk as my first post but I am freaking out a little at the prospect of losing this batch! (Never failed a 1gal, why is this happening now??) I was hoping the voice of collective experience could point me in the right direction to save the day!
Recipe:
20lbs Honey
4gal Spring Water
EC-1118 Yeast
3tbsp Ground Black Tea Leaves
1 Lemon juice + rind
1 Lime juice + rind
Considerations I ruled out:
Everything was properly sanitized with StarSan, but even contamination shouldn't have this kind of impact. I gave the must a good 10mn shake to aerate before adding the yeast starter, and the carboy's been covered with several layers of cheesecloth to let it breathe since. The yeast starter didn't go wrong either; I simply used 2 cups warm spring water with 2tbsps brown sugar for one pack EC-1118, soak time 20mn with some stirring; it had the usual yeasty smell. I don't boil the must either.
Potential Culprits:
It's a crazy sweet must, my OG was 1.140. I've read that too much sugar can overwhelm and stall the yeast; will I potentially have to split the batch and dilute further?
I've always brewed all-natural, so no chemical energizer or nutrient (I use powdered tea leaves and citrus juices/rinds and never had a prob), maybe a 5gal batch goes beyond that? Can I really just add some DAP and kick start the yeasties?
Also its the first time brewing in my new apartment and I'm not 100% familiar with the behavior of the different rooms yet; I'm worried that temperature variation may have affected it overnight.
My gut tells me either I overdid it on the honey and its too sweet, or I am psyching myself out and need to wait longer.. Any thoughts are appreciated, thanks