Aborted Fermentation?

[justflow1983]

I'm fermenting my first brew, so bear with me. I have a kit IPA in my primary fermenter, me and the brewing buddy wanted to give the equipment a go before we bothered with anything other than pouring the cans of extract in and closing it up.

The airlock in my fermenter started bubbling about 12 hrs after we put it in, and I know that we got a good seal on the bucket and stopper because I brushed the seals with soapy water yesterday to test for leaks. It has been 3 days now since it started bubbling and there's no activity in the airlock. It never really bubbled too hard; maybe 2-3 tims a minute at the most. The shed where the fermenter is was at 69F this morning. I know that airlock isn't how you judge fermentation, I'm going to pick up a turkey baster after work and sanitize it so that I can grab a sample for the hygrometer.

Is it possible that the fermentation never really got going? There is definitely air pressure in the bucket judging by the bulging top, and I can see the remnants of kreuzen stuck to the lid. Its my first brew, and we were a little paranoid that we killed the yeast when we made a starter (almost zero activity) so I'm wondering if its possible that the yeast just never managed to finish the job. We also over-diluted a little and the OG was 1.034 instead of the stated 1.040 (btw how to I adjust the expected FG?)

Apologies if I'm just being too much of a newbie

 

[drayman86]

Assuming that the 1.034 you mentioned was the OG of the starter.

A few considerations.

What type of yeast did you pitch to the starter?

Did you aerate the starter wort well before pitching the yeast to it?

Did you allow the yeast time to get to room temp (vial) or wait for the smack pack to swell properly before pitching?

Did you add yeast nutrient to your starter?

How long did you let the starter "cook" before pitching to the wort?

Speaking of wort, did you ACTIVELY aerate the wort, either with an air pump or oxygen tank, before pitching the starter?

Did you cool the wort properly before pitching the starter to it?

By adjusting the expected FG, are you referring to the starter wort or the actual beer wort.

Oh yeah....NEVER apologize for asking questions. We were all newbs once.

 

[dantose]

hydrometer is your best bet. If it's still heavy you can repitch yeast.

 

[justflow1983]

OG was the OG of the wort, not the starter. Same goes for my question on adjusting the expected FG. Edit: yeast was just the packet from the kit.

It wasn't a real starter, we just tried to kick start the yeast while the wort was cooling. We added the yeast packet to warm water and when we realized 30 min later that it needed something to eat we added about 60ml of wort (after cooling it). There was some brief activity and then nothing. Wort in the fermenter was definitely aerated, its one of those things where you heat two cans of extract, then follow with cold water. We splashed the hell out of the cold water as we added it. No airstone or pump, but I made sure as much water as possible got lots of active surface contact.

The wort was at 24C (75F) when we pitched, as we were having a hard tome cooling it and my mate had to head home... sunday night and we both had to work in the AM.

 

[COLObrewer]

Everything sounds fine here (well except for the buldge in the lid?) Your beer may be fermented, check the gravity to see. You didn't mention the temp of the shed during the heat of the day? As for the buldge, is your airlock plugged? Pull it out and look, clean it out and replace it, then let the yeast finish up. How long has it been fermenting?

 

[beerthirty]

The bulge in the lid and the krausen stuck to the lid lead me to believe your airlock is plugged. At your stated OG it shouldn't take long to ferment. As said by everyone else, hydro reading, hydro reading, hydro reading.

 

[justflow1983]

And beerthirty wins! There was a big lump of it stuck in the bottom of the airlock. On the other hand, looks like things have settled for the most part, but the vodka in the airlock started shifting when i replaced the plug so i don't think its done yet. How would I adjust my expected FG from the one the kit gave me so that I can get a sense of whether its done? Kit OG was stated as 1040, but ours after mixing was 1035, stated final was 1009 so ours would be ___? Is that even something I can calculate?

I didn't have time to test hydro, I just stopped home during lunch. Temp in the shed at 1:30pm was 69F (in Ireland the temp is less about time of day and more about what weather system has blown in off the North Atlantic), thermometer is def not stuck its just that the temp here rarely changes.

Thanks for the help guys! Next week a partial extract Red is going in, sure to be many more Q's.

 

[Yooper]

And beerthirty wins! There was a big lump of it stuck in the bottom of the airlock. On the other hand, looks like things have settled for the most part, but the vodka in the airlock started shifting when i replaced the plug so i don't think its done yet. How would I adjust my expected FG from the one the kit gave me so that I can get a sense of whether its done? Kit OG was stated as 1040, but ours after mixing was 1035, stated final was 1009 so ours would be ___? Is that even something I can calculate?

I didn't have time to test hydro, I just stopped home during lunch. Temp in the shed at 1:30pm was 69F (in Ireland the temp is less about time of day and more about what weather system has blown in off the North Atlantic), thermometer is def not stuck its just that the temp here rarely changes.

Thanks for the help guys! Next week a partial extract Red is going in, sure to be many more Q's.

Your FG will be whatever it is when it stops fermenting. Check it in about a week, and then a couple of days later. If it's the same, and in the 1.008-1.014 range (more or less), then it's done. There isn't any magic number, just the fact that it's in a decent range for the yeast you used, and the recipe you used, and it's not changing any more.

Check the hydrometer in distilled water at 60 degrees sometime, to ensure that it's accurate.

 

[justflow1983]

There isn't any magic number, just the fact that it's in a decent range for the yeast you used, and the recipe you used, and it's not changing any more.

Check the hydrometer in distilled water at 60 degrees sometime, to ensure that it's accurate.

Guess I misunderstood on the FG... will calibrate the hydro this weekend (after I introduce a proper 4th of July to my Irish brethren)

 

[Benjibbad]

Since you pitched the yeast at ~75 degress you need to remember there is a temp correction for your reading. You would have ended up with 1.036 instead of 1.034. In truth as long as you are fairly close to the stated OG you are fine. could have been a diluted sample because it wasn't throughly mixed with the water. Or maybe the water wasn't measured exactly. No worries it will still be beer!!

 

[justflow1983]

i took the temp into account on the gravity using the chart in How to Brew. Thanks though, hydrometer said 1.009 last night and this morning so i'll prob put in the secondary tomorrow