A little concerned about this batch...

[LarryC]

Saturday I brewed a 5 gallon batch of oatmeal stout. This is the second time I've brewed this recipe and I've noticed something significantly different that has me a bit concerned. I used a starter (2L decanted down to about 500 mL) and the fermentation took off pretty quickly (bubbles obvious on the surface within about 3 hours). The next morning there was a really nice Kroisen on the top and the blow off tube had starsan foam winding around it.

This morning when I looked in, the Kroisen was gone and although there were still some bubbles coming out of the blow off tube, things were looking pretty darn quite for day 2 of fermentation.

One thing that did happen while I was preparing to pitch my yeast was that my airstone was plugged. I boiled & tried about everything to get it to work but no joy. So I ended up just shaking the c^@p out of the better bottle before I pitched.

This brew is for Christmas presents so I hate to think it won't turn out right. Any suggestions? (I've already gone through RDWHAHB but since I don't drink during the week, I'm back to worrying)

 

[BrewerBear]

It will be fine RDWDHAHBTFN

 

[duboman]

My suggestion would be to take a gravity reading and see where the beer is at. Airlock activity means nothing other than gas escaping.

It sounds as though you aerated well but mentioned no yeast strain or starter used so can't comment on that but my guess is everything is fine and I'm sure a gravity reading will show you are worried about nothing

 

[redsoxfan1974]

the yeast type has a big influence on the length of fermentation. For example, US-04 can ferment out in just a few days while others take longer. I has a OG of 1.072 on a winter warmer that finished at 1.020 in 2 1/2 days.

 

[LarryC]

I used White Labs WLP002 and the batch I brewed a bout 4 weeks ago went for almost a week before the Kroisen fell. That was a bigger beer so I'll credit some of that to the length of time but still quite a difference. I made up a 2L starter about 36 hours before I would pitch it, cold crashed it about 6 hours before pitching then decanted off all but about 500ml and pitched it into the wert. Like I mentioned, it took off right away but when the Kroisen dropped so soon I got a bit concerned. I'm in no hurry, I usually let my beers sit in primary for 4 weeks so I'll wait a couple weeks and maybe take a reading (don't usually bother until bottle or kegging day)

By the way, what is RDWDHAHBTFN???

 

[BrewerBear]

You said you don't drink during the week so relax don't worry don't have a homebrew till friday night

 

[WoodlandBrew]

Shaking the fermentor vigorously for 40 seconds will saturate the wort with air. This results in 8ppm oxygen pretty consistently. So no worries there. Take two more gravity readings. If you record the day and time of the measurements, then you can predict fermentation completion day and the FG.

 

[LarryC]

Shaking the fermentor vigorously for 40 seconds will saturate the wort with air. This results in 8ppm oxygen pretty consistently. So no worries there. Take two more gravity readings. If you record the day and time of the measurements, then you can predict fermentation completion day and the FG.

Interesting concept, I didn't think the fermentation process was that linear. I usually go for the set it & forget it method but maybe I'll take a couple of readings along the way to see what I get.

Thanks!

 

[WoodlandBrew]

It's not linear, but it is predictable with an exponential fit. You need three measurements to solve for final gravity and fermentation rate. If the temperature is consistent and it's well oxegenayed I have been able to predict fermentation completion pretty accurately with this methods which has been useful for getting beers that taste good young in bottles sooner.

 

[LarryC]

Yesterday I decided to take a gravity reading and see where things were with this batch. To my surprise, the SG was 1.020 - which is what BeerSmith said the FG should be. I guess it just fermented out really fast. I'll check the gravity again in about 3 weeks when it goes into the keg and see if there was any change. Again, patience is the rule...

 

[Herky21]

My suggestion would be to stop taking the lid off of your beer every day to make these conclusions. Just brew, cool the wort, pitch the yeast, and leave it alone.

 

[LarryC]

My suggestion would be to stop taking the lid off of your beer every day to make these conclusions. Just brew, cool the wort, pitch the yeast, and leave it alone.

Actually, if you read the beginning of my post you would have read that I normally only take an OG and then check my FG when I bottle/keg the beer in 4 or 5 weeks. On this particular batch I was concerned because it only had observable activity for 3 days. Evidently, this time, that was enough...

 

[Herky21]

I read through everything again and caught that! It's amazing how fast yeast can work sometimes, well, at least visibly. Cheers!