Activated liquid yeast and at room temp. Cant brew yet.

[brewfreaky]

The hydrometer was floating. It was more a fuzzy black dot. Definitely darker and fuzzy.

Yea, the instructions said that if it didn't read 1.022 or below, to gently stir and let it finish fermenting, check in 4 days.

The pics were right when I opened it, no stur.

I did taste a little and it was very sweet.

 

[IslandLizard]

The hydrometer was floating.

Have you checked it in plain (or if you have it, distilled or RO) water? It should read 1.000, or close to it (+/- 1-2 points) at it's calibration temp. Cal. temp is printed on the paper scale.

Unless your yeast didn't work, (iow, being dead or heavily underpitched), there's no good reason for it to be at 1.050 after 19 days. Chances are, an infection will have taken over by that time.

What was your OG at the time of pitching yeast?
At what temp did you pitch the yeast? Did you chill the wort before pitching?

 

[brewfreaky]

Yup, I checked tap water and it was a 1.00.

I didn't check the OG at the time of pitching. Wasn't mentioned in instructions . I used s wort chiller and brought it down to 80f


Edit:

Just looked at the water lock and beer has taken it over and overflown from holes in the cap! I see it actively bubbling

 

[brewfreaky]

 

[IslandLizard]

I didn't check the OG at the time of pitching.

OG is a fairly useful data (reference) point... It tells you how well your brew went, and such. Although still good to know the OG, it's a little less important when brewing with extracts, as all (or most) sugars added per the recipe are usually accounted for, unless there's much wort leftover in the kettle, or spilled. Or your end volume is way off for whatever reason.

I wish Williams was a bit more on the ball with their instructions. Otherwise they're a very good company, from what I've heard and read over the years.

That said, I'm really puzzled about your "FG" gravity reading.... Did you kill the yeast by any chance, like adding it to the boil perhaps?
80F is a bit high to pitch for a few reasons, but it won't kill the yeast.

Does Williams offer a warranty on their kits? Seriously, check it.

Don't lift the lid, unless absolutely necessary. Doing so could cause infections and oxidation.

 

[brewfreaky]

OG is a fairly useful data (reference) point... It tells you how well your brew went, and such. Although still good to know the OG, it's a little less important when brewing with extracts, as all (or most) sugars added per the recipe are usually accounted for, unless there's much wort leftover in the kettle, or spilled. Or your end volume is way off for whatever reason.

I wish Williams was a bit more on the ball with their instructions. Otherwise they're a very good company, from what I've heard and read over the years.

That said, I'm really puzzled about your "FG" gravity reading.... Did you kill the yeast by any chance, like adding it to the boil perhaps?
80F is a bit high to pitch for a few reasons, but it won't kill the yeast.

Does Williams offer a warranty on their kits? Seriously, check it.

Don't lift the lid, unless absolutely necessary. Doing so could cause infections and oxidation.

The instructions said to 85f! I also did this outdoors on a hot day. Let the hose water run through for hour or so. I did an update to previous post. Also the new foam over. Looks like its the fermentation process I've been looking for?

Edit. I'm sleeping next to it and I hear consistent bubbling

 

[IslandLizard]

From Williams Brewing:

India Pale Ale Home Brewing Beer Kit​

Includes 8 3/4 lbs. of our blended malt extract, English Fuggle and Hallertau hops, 125 ml of liquid ale yeast, and corn sugar for carbonation. Makes 5 gallons of hearty ale with a starting gravity of at least 1.054.

My emphasis. ^

So if you put 5 gallons of brewed and chilled wort in your fermentation bucket, without adding any top up water, your OG is expected to be around 1.054.
You then pitched 1 liter of a relatively fresh yeast starter when the wort was around 80-85F.
==> Did you let the yeast come to room temps (or better yet to around 75-85F) before you pitched? Or did you pour it in coming straight out of the fridge?

Edit. I'm sleeping next to it and I hear consistent bubbling

Is this the first time you hear and see bubbling? None during the past 20 days?
If so, that may explain your high gravity 20 days later. Your beer didn't ferment much, only 4 points or so, instead of 40-some.

 

[brewfreaky]

ahh I see. Good to know thee OG. Will keep that in mind for next brew!

Yup, I brought the yeast out and it came to room temp before adding it. Sat at room temp for around 2-3hrs.

Yup, first time hearing and seeing bubbling. I hope its still good!

 

[brewfreaky]

Errrrr. I think it's infected

Check today. The gravity did go down a little. No foam, but something else.

 

[IslandLizard]

Visibly, none of those images look like an obvious infection right now. Have you tasted some of it? If so, how is it?

But each time you lift the lid, you're exposing your beer to air and "bugs." increasing the risk of attracting an infection and oxidizing the beer.
I wish you could just leave it alone and hope for the best over the next 2 weeks in a warmish place (66-74F).

I have an inkling you severely underpitched, possibly after killing most of the yeast culture somehow somewhere along the way, and she's struggling to ferment.
You didn't add any artificial sweeteners or other "magic stuff" I hope.

Most beers (ales) given a good healthy yeast pitch, together with decent wort oxygenation, are close to terminal gravity within a week to 10 days. Then creep slowly to final gravity while conditioning out for another 2-3 weeks. You're still at 1.046 after almost 4 weeks.

You could add a pack of dry yeast, such as S-04 (British Ale Yeast) or US-05 (U.S. Ale Yeast) and see if it helps resuscitate it. Just sprinkle it on top.

 

[brewfreaky]

yea, shoulda left it longer. Went by the Williams Brewing instructions, to check again after 4 days, but since it gravity barely moved from 1.05, i should have waited longer.. I will leave it for two weeks and see how check again.

I did not add any other stuff to it

I did taste a little again. This time I could taste a little more bitterness and beer, less sweet.

I will get a pack and give it a try!

 

[MikeScott]

If it didn't taste off, and I were you, I would check it again in 4 days, if you don't have activity and a krausen, then I would take @IslandLizard 's advice and dump some US-05 in it. That wort is getting pretty long in the tooth. If you don't have some on hand, I would go about getting it now. If you don't need it, it'll keep for a long time.

 

[brewfreaky]

Checked today. Doesn't look that great? White stuff.
Was going to just add the packet but wanted to check first

Edit:
Sounds like it is normal and could be krausen or yeast floating up from the trub?

 

[brewfreaky]

If so I will add the packet

 

[IslandLizard]

If so I will add the packet

You may now actually have an infection... white chunks floating around (from a pellicle). Also in your hydro sample tube.
Did you taste that hydro sample you took?

Don't pitch yeast until you tasted it. If putrid, adding yeast won't make it better, would be a waste of good yeast.

 

[brewfreaky]

I tasted a little. Diesnt taste bad, less sweet. Has more bitterness. Looks little different now. I can definitely see that filmy layer

 

[IslandLizard]

I tasted a little. Diesnt taste bad, less sweet. Has more bitterness. Looks little different now. I can definitely see that filmy layer

Sad to say, but at this point I'd consider tossing it. That beer is not going to get better, only worse.
Everything your infected beer touched needs a good scrub with Oxiclean Free (or homemade PBW). Perhaps even a bleach bath.

What cleaners and sanitizers are you using right now?

A few things definitely went wrong, the biggest issue being the health of your yeast.
The time the beer sat there without healthy yeast fermenting it, gave other microorganisms the opportunity to multiply and spoil the beer, instead.

If you can, trace all your steps in making the yeast starters, and how much slurry you actually pitched.
Was there enough growth in your starters?
How much of the yeast starter (slurry) did you pitch?
And how much yeast (slurry) did you save out for a next batch?
You didn't cook your yeast, by accident, did you? Temps over 100-120F will kill most yeasts.

That's why it's generally advised beginning brewers starting out using dried yeast. It's simpler, far less susceptible to errors.

Once a (beginning) brewer gets their various processes sorted out, cleaning, sanitation, brewing, chilling, transferring to fermenter, aerating, pitching the right amount of (dry) yeast, controlling fermentation temps, taking samples, racking, packaging, etc. they will know what healthy fermentations look and taste like, they can start venturing out into "more complicated" things, such as proper yeast handling.

Remember, from the very start, all the way to the end, it's all about the yeast: we're zymurgists!

 

[marc1]

My guess is the concentrated starsan hurt your yeast starter. Plan everything out and try again after a good cleaning, it can take a few mistakes to learn how it goes. Good luck!

 

[IslandLizard]

My guess is the concentrated starsan hurt your yeast starter. Plan everything out and try again after a good cleaning, it can take a few mistakes to learn how it goes. Good luck!

Yeah, that is very likely the culprit.
We never saw a 1/4-1/2" yeast cake settling on the bottom of the starter flask, which would have been the big tip-off the yeast wasn't growing as it should have.

 

[MikeScott]

Back to the drawing board, but don't get discouraged, think of all the things that you learned! You'll use that next time and make better beer for it!

 

[brewfreaky]

Had a busy month. Yup I learned much from all this so I'll be ready for the next batch!