Fermentation Problem

[cgbroncos113]

On Monday I brewed my first all grain beer (the Bee Cave Haus Pale Ale). Everything seemed to be going real well until I tried to use immersion chiller I had just made. The chiller wasn't working with the modified setup I had drawn up to deal with the fact my sink faucet could not be connected to. I came up with a new setup that was ineffective but at least functioned to a degree.

80 minutes since flame out passed and the temperature was only down to 120F. In frustration (and because I needed to get to bed) I pitched the yeast at that temperature and decided to take my chances. Fermentation started by the next morning. However, I woke up this morning (31 hours after pitching the yeast) and it had slowed down from about 1 bubble every 3 seconds the previous morning to 1 bubble in the airlock every 13 seconds.

Do I have a problem? If so, any advice? Thanks so much in advance for the advice! I really appreciate it!

 

[KepowOb]

Honestly, you might have killed off the majority of your yeast at that temp, and what was left over went through a fast and furious fermentation... meaning if it did ferment (which you say it did), it was at way to high of a temperature, and likely very much under-pitched, due to a lot of the yeast dying off. Even if the yeast could handle 120F, you want your yeast to be within a few degrees of your beer when you pitch it to prevent shocking them... I'm guessing that wasn't the case here.

It's too late now, but if you run into the same problem again, I'd suggest transferring your beer to your primary and just pitching the yeast the next day when the temp has had a chance to go down. While fast chilling is recommended, some people do a no-chill method and it seems to work for them.

I'll leave it up to more experienced people to give you advice as for whether or not the beer can be salvaged at this point.

Can I ask what was wrong with your chiller? You said that you couldn't hook it up to your faucet, and I'm wondering what you tried to do. There might be an easy fix for next time.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Wow. Where to begin...

You probably shocked the hell out of your yeast, and now are severely underpitched. You'll probably have to repitch. The problem is you're pitching into a hostile environment now. Make a starter and pitch it at high krausen, and hope for the best. No promises, as I think you really screwed the pooch on this one.

At that temp, the yeast that survived have made some pretty bad off flavors. Hopefully the new recruits will clean up the mess. You're going to have to leave this in the primary for a couple of weeks... and pray. A lot.


Next time, just close the lid on the kettle, or rack to the fermenter and seal it, and go to bed. Pitch in the morning. Your chance of infection is small, just as long as you're not opening it and messing with it all night.

Fermentation temps are the second most important part of brewing, behind sanitation.

Edit: Ninja'd by KepowOb.

 

[cgbroncos113]

Thanks for the advice KepowOb and K1ngl1ves. I realized I was taking a major risk and was willing to live with any potentially negative consequences. Unfortunately, since I'm leaving town tomorrow I don't think I will be able to get to a homebrew store and get more yeast to pitch until Sunday. Do you think I should just scrap the whole batch or is it worth still trying to repitch on Sunday?

As far as the immersion chiller is concerned, I am living in DC this summer and the place I'm staying only has a jet faucet that I can't hook my tubing up to (even with a faucet adaptor. I thought staggering the level of my fermenter filled with water, the brew pot, and a draining bucket would allow the chiller to work thanks to gravity. It didn't. Until I go back to my normal apartment I think I will just chill in an ice bath. Its worked for me in the past.

Anyways, thanks again for the advice. If the batch is ruined, thats too bad. At least I learned some important lessons and I will give it another go and hopefully do better next time!

 

[surffisher2a]

I wouldn't repitch any yeast at this point. It already fermented and more yeast won't do much more if you already had a nice vigorous fermentation (which from your description sounds like you did).

The bigger question is what was the OG and what is the current gravity? If the gravity is high now ( above 1.026) then maybe shaking it up and pitching more yeast might help finish off the fermentation.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

I wouldn't repitch any yeast at this point. It already fermented and more yeast won't do much more if you already had a nice vigorous fermentation (which from your description sounds like you did).

The bigger question is what was the OG and what is the current gravity? If the gravity is high now ( above 1.026) then maybe shaking it up and pitching more yeast might help finish off the fermentation.

I made my starter recommendation because I don't think he had that vigorous of a fermentation. At elevated temps, his fermenter would have looked like a volcano science project. I would think it's underpitched and incomplete, with off flavors abound.

OP: If you have to wait until Sunday to make a starter, I would think it's not going to help at that point. Just let it finish up, taste it as a punishment, and move on.

My condolences on your loss...

 

[frazier]

Wow. I think it's way too early to write off the batch as a loss. Give it time - lots of it. Check the gravity, and let it go another 3 weeks. And, RDWHAHB.

Yeah, you made some mistakes. BFD. Too bad you're not perfect like I am, but I'm sure you've learned from them. Thomas Edison once said that he tried 100 different materials for the filament in his lamp, before he finally found one that worked. But he considered each of those 100 trials a success.

Every time I make a batch that I consider sub-optimal (OK, so maybe I'm not perfect after all), I try to figure out why, and I remind myself that there are breweries out there making money off beer that I can't choke down. That always cheers me up, at least a little.

Cheers,

 

[boydster]

What is the gravity right now? As you know, you pitched really hot. Obviously, some yeast survived and fermented. At high temps, they go fast. They also make off flavors. Expect some esters and, at 100°+ also expect a hot alcohol flavor from fusels.

Whether or not pitching more yeast will do anything depends on the gravity. Additional yeast won't get rid of the off flavors (well, brett might help to a certain degree if you want to wait a year or so). I think your fermentation is complete, though.