First time adding dry yeast to secondary

I am brewing a Midwest Supplies Oatmeal Stout kit. It is my first time
using my Son of Fermentation chiller. I live in central Florida and have
never been able to get fermentation temp in the correct range till now.

I pitched Wyeast 1084 9/3 and it took 72 hours for fermentation to
begin. Smack pack did not swell very much. Temps in chiller have averaged
about 63 dgrs. Tested 1.044 OG

I I transferred to secondary fermented 9/ 14. Tested at 1.018
Have not noticed any fermentation activity by lack of airlock
activity. As I suspected today 9/20 it is still at 1.018.
Looking for FG 1.010-1.012 per instructions.

I added a pack of Fermentis Safbrew S-33.

I have never had to do this before.
What should I expect?
How long before I test again?
Do you think this is due to lower temps?

 

it MIGHT dry the beer out a little more if you raise the temp, but with extract brews, sometimes you just hit a point where you just aren't going to get the yeast to eat any more sugars. i would maybe let it go at 68 degrees or so and check it after a week or 10 days, see if anything has happened. if not, the beer is done fermenting and you should just go ahead and bottle it.

 

i would expect an extract to fg around there. probably no change

 

Thanks. Are you saying to keep it around 68 for a week or just take it to
68 and then lower the temp?

 

Let it warm up for a few days, that might get the yeast going again. 63 degrees is at the low end for Irish Ale. Even with a low gravity beer you should be making a starter to get a healthy amount of yeast before you pitch. Under pitching can be the cause of sluggish fermentation and poor attenuation. Hopefully ramping up the temp will wake up the yeast.

 

This was the first time I have not made a yeast starter. Because the Wyeast
Activator is supposed to be able to pitch right in after the pack swells.

I will know better next time and make a starter.

Do you guys keep some DME on hand for making starters?

 

i do. sometimes i brew and pull wort from the fermenter to make a starter.

 

I have DME on hand, and a stir plate w/ flask for making starters. Ignore the packs and vials that claim they are 'pitchable'...since they have NO idea how many gallons you are making or at what gravity, they can't contain an optimal pitch rate for every recipe under the sun.

Also, don't rack from primary until the beer is DONE. Secondary is for aging & clearing, not fermentation. You aren't supposed to see active fermentation in secondary since primary = active fermentation. 2 weeks primary MINIMUM unless you're making a 3% ABV (even then 2 weeks isn't a bad idea). Many guys just do a 3 week primary, then bottle or keg. commercial breweries do a secondary/bright tank for many reasons that the home brewer has the luxury of skipping.

 

I do too. I always keep a bag of dme handy. I also keep frozen wort on hand. I draw off a couple of pints when I'm near the end of sparging, put it in a ziploc and toss it in the freezer. You could also do it with dme, boil ahead of time and freeze for when you need it. Comes in handy!