4 Hour ferment? 24 hours later no activity?

[Beer-Dude]

Greetings, happy to beer here!
Followed the "Danny Boy Irish stout" recipe from beerrecipes.org added Black patent malt and used WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast.

12 hours after pitching yeast, major activity, filling fermenting bucket head space, blowing the airlock, forcing me to add a blow off set up. I actually watched this happen in real time. Went nuts (smelled fantastic) for 4 hours then stopped. Replaced airlock, no activity for next 24 hours-nothing. No bubbles, no rising foam, nada- Pushing 36 hours as of post-still nothing.

I am still a beginner having brewed about 150g of various beers, never experienced this situation before, and so far, have never brewed a bad beer! (perhaps the beer gods have struck)

Q1- What happened?
Q2- How do I fix it-if its broke?

My sincere appreciation for any and all assistance!

 

[bucketnative]

Airlock activity is not a definitive indicator of yeast activity. Just be patient and let it ride. Maybe check the gravity if you absolutely can't wait longer to do so. I typically don't open my fermenters for at least two weeks in my process.

Just out of curiosity, what was the temperature of the fermentation? Sounds like it might have been high.

 

[kh54s10]

What temperature? Too warm = very fast and not good.

What constitutes no activity? When you removed the wort filled airlock you also released all the built up pressure in the fermenter. It may or may not produce any more bubbling in the airlock or from the blowoff tube. That really means nothing. The co2 production is either not enough to make any bubbling, or it is finding an easier way out of the bucket than through the airlock or blow off tube. At this point you probably need to take gravity readings to determine the progress of the fermentation.

I would just leave it alone for another 8 - 14 days or longer.

Then take gravity readings to determine that you have reached final gravity. If it hasn't then there are steps to be taken, but at this point unless action is, IMO, premature.

 

[Beer-Dude]

Yeast was pitched into 80 degree wort per recipe. Temp on fermenting bucket shows 78.

Thank you for your replies-

I understand your points regarding "activity"-noted!
I will let it sit for a couple of weeks, then take a gravity reading.

 

[ChefRex]

http://www.whitelabs.com/yeast/wlp004-irish-ale-yeast

Look up the yeast lab, they will show all types of information on the yeast including temps it likes, 80F isn't it.
Let it ride out and see what you get, probably not great but it may be drinkable, good luck

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

http://www.whitelabs.com/yeast/wlp004-irish-ale-yeast

Look up the yeast lab, they will show all types of information on the yeast including temps it likes, 80F isn't it.
Let it ride out and see what you get, probably not great but it may be drinkable, good luck

This. Low ABV wort, high pitch temp, warm ferment. Hell, it could be done. But I would let it ride in hope the yeast cleans up after itself some.

 

[ChefRex]

Wait, this is in the instructions,
"If not kegging, 3/4 cup priming sugar for batch and sit in fermenting temp for 2 weeks and then REFRIGERATE! (Bottles explode if left in too warm temps!)"
This would tend to tell me the recipe is flawed

Hang around and read, lots of good information here, ask questions, You should not have a issue with exploding bottles.

 

[kh54s10]

Primary Ferment: 1 Week @ 72 degrees
Secondary Ferment: 1 Week @ 72 degrees

This is too warm in my opinion. 78 degrees is way too warm.

Did you pitch at 80 degrees or add cool top up water when the wort cooled to 80 degrees.

I looked at that site once before. Take those recipes with a grain of salt. They are posted by anyone, it seems, and will have varying degrees of quality. That one also shows 5 stars with one vote! I bet he rated his own recipe. Though it does look good.

I agree that this statement "If not kegging, 3/4 cup priming sugar for batch and sit in fermenting temp for 2 weeks and then REFRIGERATE! (Bottles explode if left in too warm temps!)" brings into question the knowledge of the author. Bottles will not explode if left in too warm temps. If so almost all of the beers I have ever bottled would have exploded. At 2 weeks some might not even be ready to cool down. I rarely cool one before 2 weeks.

 

[Beer-Dude]

Primary Ferment: 1 Week @ 72 degrees
Secondary Ferment: 1 Week @ 72 degrees

This is too warm in my opinion. 78 degrees is way too warm.

Did you pitch at 80 degrees or add cool top up water when the wort cooled to 80 degrees.

I looked at that site once before. Take those recipes with a grain of salt. They are posted by anyone, it seems, and will have varying degrees of quality. That one also shows 5 stars with one vote! I bet he rated his own recipe. Though it does look good.

I agree that this statement "If not kegging, 3/4 cup priming sugar for batch and sit in fermenting temp for 2 weeks and then REFRIGERATE! (Bottles explode if left in too warm temps!)" brings into question the knowledge of the author. Bottles will not explode if left in too warm temps. If so almost all of the beers I have ever bottled would have exploded. At 2 weeks some might not even be ready to cool down. I rarely cool one before 2 weeks.

I added cool top water to the wort first, did a quick stir and then watched the temp until it hit 80, then pitched yeast.

Yes, I did not agree with any of the other information in the recipe regarding bottling or kegging, finding it rather strange. I apparently missed my mark with pitching at the right temp. I should have researched the yeast and or other similar recipes. I hope to turn this experience into an educational one, especially with all the assistance from this forum, appreciated very much!

 

[Beer-Dude]

Wait, this is in the instructions,
"If not kegging, 3/4 cup priming sugar for batch and sit in fermenting temp for 2 weeks and then REFRIGERATE! (Bottles explode if left in too warm temps!)"
This would tend to tell me the recipe is flawed

Hang around and read, lots of good information here, ask questions, You should not have a issue with exploding bottles.

Yea, I did gather that part of the recipe was flawed.....even with my short amount of brewing experience. I even am aware of pitching temps. just for some reason I missed my mark on this one. (egg/beer on face)

I'm hanging.......now I have to see if I can salvage this 5g stout-

 

[Beer-Dude]

My initial gravity reading was 1.050, I took a reading today (48 hr mark) and am at 1.030. Sampled the wort and the flavor profile is definitely intact and I taste no off flavors that would raise any red flags--I was actually surprised--

I will take another reading at the 1 week mark to see if any further changes occur.

 

[Beer-Dude]

This. Low ABV wort, high pitch temp, warm ferment. Hell, it could be done. But I would let it ride in hope the yeast cleans up after itself some.

My original gravity was 1.050, at the 24 hr mark its now 1.030 which I believe to be 2.6%. Flavor profile is intact, no off flavors to raise any red flags. I will let it ride and see how it plays out.

 

[Beer-Dude]

Well, after all the weirdness regarding my "4 Hour Ferment", months later beer has carbonated up just fine, pours smooth with a nice head and tastes very very good! I will have to brew it again, -Correctly- and than do a taste comparison. Very happy with the results ! Many thanks to one and all for your assistance/comments-

 

[interference]

Well, after all the weirdness regarding my "4 Hour Ferment", months later beer has carbonated up just fine, pours smooth with a nice head and tastes very very good! I will have to brew it again, -Correctly- and than do a taste comparison. Very happy with the results ! Many thanks to one and all for your assistance/comments-

Nice! Good luck having any of this batch be around by the time the next one comes in.