Yeast problem?!

paanderson86 · Jun 22, 2016

So I am brewing a west coast IPA, OG of 1.090, and the CO2 blowoff during primary is going really well for the first 48 hours but now it is essentially stopped altogether. Currently I am 72 hours into fermentation. My only thought is that I didn't hydrate the yeast when pitching which I normally do but forgot and was pinched for time, so I just dropped the yeast in. Again, it activated very well initially. Any thoughts?

schematix · Jun 22, 2016

How much yeast and what type did you pitch?

Check gravity with hydrometer and report back if possible.

paanderson86 · Jun 23, 2016

It's at 1.024, and I used 11.5g (one packet) Safale S-04, dry ale yeast. Pitched it right in per the packet instructions. Did drop it in at about 82 degrees F and packet says ideal is 54-77 but obviously like I said the yeast took off like crazy right away b

zgja2 · Jun 23, 2016

How much wort are you fermenting?

madscientist451 · Jun 23, 2016

Doesn't look like a yeast problem from here. Your OG was 1.090 and it stopped at 1.024, you have an apparent attenuation of 72% and an ABV 8.66%. I'd change out the blowoff tube for an air lock and let it age a while. You may gain a few points. If you are thinking about a rebrew, you should consider finding a way to chill the wort down to 65F, hold the fermentation temp to 68 and use a yeast nutrient. Fermenting a big beer that fast may produce some "hot" alcohol notes, but everyone's taste is different and it may be ok for you.

paanderson86 · Jun 23, 2016

zgja2 said:
How much wort are you fermenting?

5.25 gal

paanderson86 · Jun 23, 2016

I had a taste this morning when checking the FG and it certainly did have that flavor. Like a wine almost. So with that in mind, as well as an ABV much higher than I had in mind (wanted around 6-7%), can I add water to it before bottling to drop the content a little without destroying the beer?

zgja2 · Jun 23, 2016

paanderson86 said:
5.25 gal

That volume at 1090 you did under pitch so in the future make sure to use a calculator like

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

Could you share your recipe? That FG is going to make for a rather sweet DIPA. Also if you were going for a 6% beer 1090 was way too high a OG. Are you useing any software to calculate OG IBU FG volumes etc?

Also that yeast at that temp is bound to produce some nastiness. Google "Swamp Cooler Homebrewtalk"

madscientist451 · Jun 23, 2016

paanderson86 said:
I had a taste this morning when checking the FG and it certainly did have that flavor. Like a wine almost. So with that in mind, as well as an ABV much higher than I had in mind (wanted around 6-7%), can I add water to it before bottling to drop the content a little without destroying the beer?

I suppose you could, but adding water will change the beer in other ways,
like the overall taste and mouthfeel.
I'd avoid adding water at this point and think your process through.
I'd let it age in the carboy a while before doing anything.
Since its an IPA, are you going to add dry hops?
As far as the ABV being too high, you have some options: Brew a 4% "session " IPA and blend the two beers to hit your target ABV. Or bottle
what you have and "blend in the glass" with a lower ABV beer.
It would be interesting to bottle the 8.5% beer as is and lay some back for a year or so and see how it changes in flavor.
If you do a rebrew, you can enter your brewing ingredients into an online recipe calculator and be able to get a better prediction of your results.

paanderson86 · Jun 23, 2016

Partial mash with 4lb of golden promise ending with 3gal in the brew pot
Maris Otter (6 lb) extract and briess Pilsen DME (3 lb)
1 oz Warrior at 60
Irish moss at 15
1 oz Citra and 0.5 oz Mosaic at 10
1 oz Citra and 1 oz Mosaic whirlpool for 45 minutes down to 165 degrees
Cooled with a gallon of cold sanitized water and an ice bath (don't have wort chiller)
Safale S-04 dry ale yeast, 11.5 g
Dry hop immediately, for 14 days with 1 oz Citra and 0.5 oz Mosaic.

I got this recipe online, supposed to be a Surly Todd the Axeman clone. I have only done 4 other brews in the past, all kits, so I did not check it on a calculator as I am still figuring out what "normal" numbers are, and this clone did not offer the FG or OG.

zgja2 · Jun 23, 2016

I would let it bulk age for at least three weeks then dry hop.

FYI: always use something like Brewersfriend.com to calculate everything
Always control ferm temps
Always calculate how much yeast you need
Never add water post ferment

Brew on friend! :mug:

paanderson86 · Jun 23, 2016

I already did the dry hopping. Unfortunately I don't have the means for controlling the temp but it is currently at 68 degrees so that should be good. Thanks for the advice and the reference to brewersfriend.

paanderson86 · Jun 23, 2016

zgja2 said:
I would let it bulk age for at least three weeks then dry hop.

:

Sorry for all the novice questions, but multiple posters have said to let it age. Does this do anything to drop the ABV or change the flavored much? I had planned to let it sit for 14 days for the dry hopping, but I had thought that after about 3 days of the same FG it is ok to rack?

MrFancyPlants · Jun 23, 2016

If you do adfd water be sure to boil and then chill it to drive off oxygen. I would add in a little sugar during the boil to kick the yeast back up to drive off additional oxygen.

schematix · Jun 23, 2016

paanderson86 said:
I already did the dry hopping. Unfortunately I don't have the means for controlling the temp but it is currently at 68 degrees so that should be good. Thanks for the advice and the reference to brewersfriend.

Temperature matters much less now than during early fermentation. Next time don't pitch until you're in the mid to high 60s, at most the lowe 70s.

I am going to give you what I consider to be the best piece of advice that I can give to all new brewers - don't try to make high ABV beers yet. In theory it sounds great that you'll have 5 gallons of 8% beer, but you're likely to end up with 5 gallons of bad 8% beer that will be hard to enjoy. Target 1.050-1.055 for an OG next time.

I'd also recommend finding a way to get fermentation temps under control for at least the first few days. There are a number of really cheap ways to do this. Most common is frozen water bottles in an ice bath. It'll make a world of difference to your brew.

zgja2 · Jun 23, 2016

paanderson86 said:
Sorry for all the novice questions, but multiple posters have said to let it age. Does this do anything to drop the ABV or change the flavored much? I had planned to let it sit for 14 days for the dry hopping, but I had thought that after about 3 days of the same FG it is ok to rack?

This being a high gravity beer (not recommended for new brewers) it will take a considerable amount of time to condition (fusal alcohol flavor and aroma to subside, flavors to meld and come out, yeast to clean up undesirable off flavors, etc). We are talking about 3-8 weeks here if you want good beer. Also note that 14 days is likely way too long for a dry hop. I dry hop my beer for 4 days at most (granted i usualy dry hop with 5-8 oz). Longer dry hops just impart vegital, harsh flavors.

As other posters have mentioned. Ferm temps are important during active fermentation (the first 2-5 days) and less important after that. Since you had such high ferm temps plus high gravity there is a very high likelihood this beer will have very strong off flavors that will not subside with aging. again google "swamp cooler".

Also you mentioned you racked it? Not necessary unless adding fruit or long term aging. Dry hop in the primary fermentor after 2 weeks.

The upside, lots to take away from this brew and apply to your next. :mug:

paanderson86 · Jun 24, 2016

When I say rack, what I mean is to rack it off the trub into the bottling bucket, then will be bottling. I understand that my methods are different than a lot of others probably, but I followed to a cue from a book that came with my brewing kid from MoreBeer.com.

kh54s10 · Jun 24, 2016

You are only 3 days into fermentation... It usually takes 5-10 days... The active part of the fermentation went quickly because the temperature was too warm.

Leave it alone until day 10-14 then take another gravity reading and let us know what it is then.

If the gravity was truly 1.090 you definitely underpitched the yeast. It might have stalled but it doesn't really seem so. Use a yeast pitch calculator as suggested earlier.

From what you have noted so far it doesn't seem like there is really big thing to worry about yet.

paanderson86 · Jun 24, 2016

What does that mean to under pitch the yeast?

schematix · Jun 24, 2016

paanderson86 said:
What does that mean to under pitch the yeast?

Not enough yeast was added.

If it's a low strength beer and you don't add enough you'll probably just get off flavors. Moderate strength and above you run the risk of the yeast colony not being strong enough to finish the job.

Do a google search for 'yeast pitching calculator'. It'll tell you how much to use. This batch needed 2 packs.

paanderson86 · Jun 25, 2016

Being it is at 8.6% after 3 days, wouldn't that mean that the yeast took up plenty of the sugars?

zgja2 · Jun 27, 2016

paanderson86 said:
Being it is at 8.6% after 3 days, wouldn't that mean that the yeast took up plenty of the sugars?

Yes but yeast do a lot more than eat sugar and poop co2 and alcohol. They produce lots of flavor compounds many of which can taste bad. When you stress the yeast (too few cells, too hot, too cold) they can produce more off flavors. Hence the recommendation to use a pitching calculator every time.

paanderson86 · Jun 27, 2016

Oh ok. Thanks for the explanation. I didn't understand that part of it (them producing their own flavored).

Yeast problem?!

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