Airlock activity only lasted short hours?

[Devvrider]

Flame was on during mash, right?
No stirring during mash, right?
I wonder what the temp was. Higher mash temp will make less fermentable wort.

Yes flame was on , i keep it almost the lowest power.

I did stir the mash quite often and that’s where I found the bottom temp is quite different from the top. I think I will need a submerged thermometer next time for more accurate readings. Top reading can be 55C but after stirring it will be over 65C

 

[kh54s10]

Yes flame was on , i keep it almost the lowest power.

I did stir the mash quite often and that’s where I found the bottom temp is quite different from the top. I think I will need a submerged thermometer next time for more accurate readings. Top reading can be 55C but after stirring it will be over 65C

Because that is always a problem with direct fired mashing, I chose not to even try that. I went with a 3 vessel system with a water cooler mash tun. When it is very cold outside, I insulate it by wrapping blankets around it. When I do small batch BIAB, I preheat my oven to about 150 and put the pot in there. If I stir, it is usually only once half way through the mash. I usually only drop a few degrees during the hour long mash.

BTW 65C is pretty low for a mash temperature, unless you are aiming for a very dry beer. Quite the opposite of the problem you are experiencing.

 

[seatazzz]

Thanks, while I'm wait my bottles to arrive I will keep it at optimal temperature.
If it's still stuck at 1030 next week, will I be making some bombs ?

If it is still at 1.030 next week, pitching more yeast may be your only option. However, I would suggest (and I know I'm going to get some flak here) not pitching more BRY-97. If you really want to salvage this beer, go with something that will attenuate better, like Safale-05 or Nottingham. Both ferment clean, with little to no esters, and while it might take it down a bit further than expected, shouldn't add any off-flavors as long as the beer itself is free of any infections.

 

[Devvrider]

Because that is always a problem with direct fired mashing, I chose not to even try that. I went with a 3 vessel system with a water cooler mash tun. When it is very cold outside, I insulate it by wrapping blankets around it. When I do small batch BIAB, I preheat my oven to about 150 and put the pot in there. If I stir, it is usually only once half way through the mash. I usually only drop a few degrees during the hour long mash.

BTW 65C is pretty low for a mash temperature, unless you are aiming for a very dry beer. Quite the opposite of the problem you are experiencing.

I will try to use a mash tun next time.

One thing I realized was my fermentation volume is less than my target, my target is a 20L batch, but after boiling my batch is just around 16L.
Is that why I had such high OG?

Should I top it up with boiled sugar water before I bottle it?

 

[kh54s10]

I will try to use a mash tun next time.

One thing I realized was my fermentation volume is less than my target, my target is a 20L batch, but after boiling my batch is just around 16L.
Is that why I had such high OG?

Should I top it up with boiled sugar water before I bottle it?

\

You should work on your boil off rate so that you end up with the proper volume into the fermenter. Expecting 20L and getting only 16L will cause your OG to be high.

You will need a sugar priming solution, carbonation tabs, or something like Domino Dots for priming. Without addition of a small amount of some sugar, there will be no carbonation.

Use a priming calculator so that you use the proper amount. I use this one: https://www.northernbrewer.com/pages/priming-sugar-calculator

 

[Devvrider]

Update:
My bottles have arrived.

So before I bottle I took another hydrometer reading. It read 1.012 at first when I put it in then it settles at around 1.015.

I guess the repitching worked?
A bit off then the targeted 1.010 mark but I guess it’s now safe to bottle. It smells even better now

Thanks guys

 

[bleme]

Yes flame was on , i keep it almost the lowest power.

I did stir the mash quite often and that’s where I found the bottom temp is quite different from the top. I think I will need a submerged thermometer next time for more accurate readings. Top reading can be 55C but after stirring it will be over 65C

You are usually better off letting your mash temp drop than trying to maintain it with a flame. A low temp with convert the sugars slower but a high temp can stop conversion altogether, so I always err toward lower temps.

To maintain temps, you can mash in a cooler, wrap your mash in a sleeping bag, or store your mash in an oven preheated to 150F.

 

[Devvrider]

Updates:

Two weeks after bottling and today without chilling nor cold crashing I tried and opened one of them. It was gushing and 2/3 of the beer is gone.

Is this normal? Tasted the beer it seems fine . The bottles were left in room temp 25-27C for two weeks, is it too warm?

I tried to relief some pressure by prying the cap a bit but it keeps coming.

Did another hydro reading and it’s 1.008 now.

I have put them in the fridge for now

 

[balrog]

CO2 dissolves into liquid (beer) based on overhead pressure and temp of liquid.
Warm liquid will not hold as much CO2 as cold
High pressure will force more CO2 into liquid that low pressure

If you have a carbonated closed bottle at room temp, you have some CO2 forced into liquid as there is pressure in the bottle. Release the pressure and the system will rebalance---CO2 comes out of warm liquid in low pressure. That's gushing.

Chill the bottles a day or two. If it's still gushing, you might have picked up an infection that further fermented (does it taste sour and it should not be sour?).

 

[Devvrider]

CO2 dissolves into liquid (beer) based on overhead pressure and temp of liquid.
Warm liquid will not hold as much CO2 as cold
High pressure will force more CO2 into liquid that low pressure

If you have a carbonated closed bottle at room temp, you have some CO2 forced into liquid as there is pressure in the bottle. Release the pressure and the system will rebalance---CO2 comes out of warm liquid in low pressure. That's gushing.

Chill the bottles a day or two. If it's still gushing, you might have picked up an infection that further fermented (does it taste sour and it should not be sour?).

Yup I put all of them in the fridge now hopefully the CO2 gets dissolved.

I also put one in the freezer for an hour without getting it to freeze. At the moment opening it, it was stable, but all of a sudden it gushes again and picking up all those residue at the bottom lol.

It's not sour, but not particularly good either, I think it's because the residue got kicked up when it's opened.

I hope it's not an infection !

 

[deadwolfbones]

It's more likely that fermentation actually wasn't finished and continued in the bottles. If so, there's not a lot that you can do except chill them very well and crack them open a little to relieve pressure. Still might gush.

 

[Devvrider]

It's more likely that fermentation actually wasn't finished and continued in the bottles. If so, there's not a lot that you can do except chill them very well and crack them open a little to relieve pressure. Still might gush.

I was thinking is it because of my re-pitching? The gravity did get stuck at 1.030 then i re-pitched, and before I bottle it was 1.014.

Note to self: Make sure to take multiple gravity readings in a row before bottling.

 

[balrog]

How much volume did you bottle and what amount of priming sugar did you use and how did you combine priming sugar and beer to bottle? I'm wondering if overcarbed.

Anything visibly floating in beer? I'm thinking if hop material there, or anything at all really, it give nucleation sites for CO2 to immediately come out of solution and start a cascade effect.

 

[Devvrider]

How much volume did you bottle and what amount of priming sugar did you use and how did you combine priming sugar and beer to bottle? I'm wondering if overcarbed.

Anything visibly floating in beer? I'm thinking if hop material there, or anything at all really, it give nucleation sites for CO2 to immediately come out of solution and start a cascade effect.

Since I didn’t hit my target volume at the beginning, I only got around 16 to start with.

Then I boiled 3.5L of water with 90g of table sugar. Let cool and pour it into my second bucket. I then siphon from my primary bucket, and the tube goes to the bottom of the second bucket. Minus the trub loss I think 13L got into my second bucket.

I got a bottling tube with valve. I filled each 330ml bottle with the whole tube in until the beer reaches the top, when I pull it out it leaves around 1-2inch head space.

There isn’t much floating after bottling. Just a number of bubbles.

The beer isn’t particularly clear though, once settled there’s still a layer of residue.

 

[balrog]

You shouldn't need 3.5 L water to prepare priming sugar, a cup should do, about .25 L. But 90g is not too much for 16L fermented at about room temp

 

[Devvrider]

You shouldn't need 3.5 L water to prepare priming sugar, a cup should do, about .25 L. But 90g is not too much for 16L fermented at about room temp

Maybe I should let them chill in the fridge for a couple more days.

I found that when I tried to release the pressure, carbon bubbles will be formed at the bottom around the sediment and lift them up causing the chain reaction to gush in the whole bottle.

 

[Devvrider]

Here’s the result [emoji1]

Turns out quite good apart from a little bit over carbed

It feels a bit stronger than the calculated ABV

Thank you everyone for the help!