Adding more yeast, yea or nay

[mikegio123]

Hi. I'm new to the homebrewing scene. My gf bought me a extract brew kit for xmas and I put all the materials together for brewing in January. I brewed 20L of a Blackrock Lager extract on February 10th. I pitched the saflager S-23 dry yeast at about 20C/68F degrees. After about 1 week the temp in my fermentor was around 10C/50F with no bubbles coming through the airlock. (I did notice condensation on the inside of the plastic lid, though.) I bought a heating mat and I have been able to raise the temp inside to a constant 24C/75F, but still no bubbles. I plan to take another gravity reading today after work to see if there was any fermentation at all, despite the lack of bubbles.

My question is: assuming the gravity hasnt changed in the 10 days since brew day, should I add more yeast? If so, do you have any recommendations? Should I rehydrate? should I proof it first?

Thanks in advance

 

[theveganbrewer]

I'd check gravity first. If it's the same or anything over 1.020 after that long, you might need to repitch.

 

[mikegio123]

Thanks. I wanted to know what kind of numbers I should be working with. What's the consensus on rehydrating and proofing the new yeast package before putting it in the fermentation bucket? What about stirring?

 

[Cyclman]

My guess is your fermentation is almost done. Bubbles do not mean the end of fermentation, they just mean it has slowed. It could continue to ferment for weeks, with slower activity. Only measurements with a hydrometer will tell you when it is done.

Welcome to homebrewing from Colorado!

 

[fishfoolz]

Thanks. I wanted to know what kind of numbers I should be working with. What's the consensus on rehydrating and proofing the new yeast package before putting it in the fermentation bucket? What about stirring?

Yeah man, if you get a gravity of like 1.040 then you should re pitch some yeast. Try white labs liquid ale yeast. Check with your LHBS and they should be able to match the yeast to your brew. Keep your fermentor bucket at between 65 and 70 degrees. That should get the process going and you will probably only need to wait for one week to rack off to secondary or keg/bottle it up and either bottle condition for a week or two or start drinking. Anything below 1.020 on your gravity reading means your fermentation is likely done. You could add some DME ( dissolve in a couple cups of water first) to your batch and then re pitch yeast. Temperature is everything to getting the beer to ferment properly.

 

[mikegio123]

Try white labs liquid ale yeast. Check with your LHBS and they should be able to match the yeast to your brew. Keep your fermentor bucket at between 65 and 70 degrees.

Luckily i had the foresight to buy two packets of the same strain of yeast at the outset. Homebrewing is "illegal" in Japan so my LHBS is the internet. I will post an update when I get home and check the gravity.

Thanks.

 

[lgilmore]

Are you brewing a lager or an ale? You posted a lager kit but it seems like you're treating it as an ale?

splain please?

 

[mikegio123]

Are you brewing a lager or an ale? You posted a lager kit but it seems like you're treating it as an ale?

splain please?

The kit is a lager extract but after rummaging around on the internet I found that the company that makes the extract packages generic "beer yeast" with their product. So I replaced the yeast with a lager yeast. Other than that, I followed the instructions which came with the kit to the letter. My temperature being the difficult to control part. Only after digging around the internet did I find out that there was a difference between lager and ale brewing. I decided to go a head with the brew by following the directions which came with the extract and roll the dice. If this batch fails or ends up funky and undrinkable, it will be a learning experience and I will make an ale next time around.

 

[fishfoolz]

The generic " beer yeast" is the way the maker of the kit keeps you from just getting the particular strain of yeast they use and buying your own ingredients, thereby bypassing them altogether. Keeps you coming back to them because of the taste the finished beer has, which will be different depending on the strain of yeast you use. I would google what strain of yeast to use for you beer category. Should be easy to figure out a great strain to use. Try the liquid yeast, I think you will like it better than the dry stuff. Not to say dry stuff isn't good, in fact some brews work best with them, however, with what you are brewing, you will likely find that the liquid works best and is easier to use. What was your OG and the gravity now? Will let you know if you should add some dried malt extract solution and repitch yeast.

 

[mikegio123]

My OG was 1.036 and the gravity I just measured now was 1.015. It is starting to smell like beer... Sort of. So maybe I don't need to add more yeast. I guess it was fermenting even though the temp wasn't ideal in the beginning. Next question, when to bottle?

 

[fishfoolz]

My OG was 1.036 and the gravity I just measured now was 1.015. It is starting to smell like beer... Sort of. So maybe I don't need to add more yeast. I guess it was fermenting even though the temp wasn't ideal in the beginning. Next question, when to bottle?

Probably ready now. Don't think the gravity will go down anymore than that. Should probably let it condition in the bottle for a couple weeks. Try one after a week just to see how it tastes. I bet it will be good. Might want to add the correct amount of sugar to the batch before bottling. It distributes the sugar more evenly and saves you from putting sugar in each bottle.

 

[theveganbrewer]

Definitely no more yeast. So far so good then, all is well

 

[mikegio123]

Great! I guess my inexperience led to my panic. I'll bottle this weekend. Hopefully it will go smoothly. Thanks for the advice everyone.