Beginner with a few questions...(Hydrometer, Yeast, etc.)

[HAL_9000]

Greetings brewers,

I've recently started brewing the last 2 months and like Im sure many of you can describe, I'm hooked. I've just started fermenting my 3rd batch (an Amber ale, and Nut brown ale in bottles). I'm working with a solid starter kit, two 5 gallon glass carboys with glass airlocks, a nice ceramic kettle and some straining equipment. I have a couple of basic questions...

1. My 3rd batch is in its 5th day of First stage fermentation. The airlock is bubbling much more intensely than the other two batches did. But two issues have come up; Half of my krausen has turned brown, the other half white (split in hemispheres), and the smell is getting sort of sour and less sweet. Is this normal?

The Recipe I used:
-3.3lbs. of Muntons Amber wME
-1 lb.Briess Amber DME
-1oz. Styrian Goldings Hops (boil)
-1oz. Ginger
-1oz. Orange Peel
-1oz. Horizon Hops (aroma)
-White Labs belgian ale Yeast

2. I've been using ice to cool my wort before pitching the yeast, about 2 gallons. What would be the advantage of a wort chiller? Worth the money at this stage?

3. Liquid fermenting of the yeast. Would this just be necessary for any brewing or just high gravity beers? Also what are high gravity beers?

I realize this is a lot of questions, but any knowledge would be great.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

1. Pictures help a lot. It's hard to tell by description whether it's a normal krausen, or an infection. I highly doubt that it's an infection if you're noticing it 5 days in though. Infections take a few weeks to show visual signs.

2. The benefits of a wort chiller are that you'll cool your beer a LOT faster. I used to use ice water...and it worked sometimes. But, when you get in the dead heat of summer, you'll quickly find out that ice doesn't cut it. Any kind of wort chiller will help cool your beer much faster. I cool 10 gallon batches to 65F in about 15 minutes.

3. I'm assuming you're asking whether you need liquid yeast or dry yeast for high gravity beers? High gravity beers, in my opinion, are anything over a starting gravity of 1.070. These beers are high in alcohol. It doesn't matter what yeast you use, as long as you use the right amount of yeast.

A good habit to get into is making a starter. Even if it's a small beer (4-6%), you should make a starter. Only when using liquid yeast....dry yeast doesn't need a starter.

Starters will help your yeast stay healthier and give you better beer.

 

[Captain Damage]

1. It's pretty much impossible to diagnose an infection after just 5 days. Most infections take more time to bloom and the action of the yeast overwhelms them in the beginning. Every beer is a little bit different. Different colors on the kraeusen can be explained by different particulates, e.g., hop pieces or bits of trub.

2. If you're doing partial boils at 2-3 gallons, a wort chiller probably won't chill your wort much faster than an ice bath. My partials cool to pitching temp in less than 15 minutes in an ice bath. A wort chiller is pretty essential for full boils though.

3. A starter is recommended (some might say demanded) with all liquid yeasts, for beers of any gravity, but to be perfectly honest I rarely make them and my beers come out fine. It's just laziness, not any contrarian impulse on my part. I've never heard of anyone saying using a starter made their beer worse.

 

[therealrsr]

Just to make sure it is clear because he was right about the starter, dry yeast needs to be rehydrated per the packet instructions before adding. FWIW I've used smack packs above 1.08 and fermented out, but it was lazy and not smart. I do wait until the packets are a balloon though.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Just to make sure it is clear because he was right about the starter, dry yeast needs to be rehydrated per the packet instructions before adding. FWIW I've used smack packs above 1.08 and fermented out, but it was lazy and not smart. I do wait until the packets are a balloon though.

The bag blowing up doesn't improve the yeast, it just proves the yeast is viable.

As for dry yeast... it's a good habit to rehydrate, but it's not fully neccissary. I've gotten in a hurry a few times and just sprinkled the yeast in and stirred it up. It worked just fine.

 

[therealrsr]

The bag blowing up doesn't improve the yeast, it just proves the yeast is viable.

As for dry yeast... it's a good habit to rehydrate, but it's not fully neccissary. I've gotten in a hurry a few times and just sprinkled the yeast in and stirred it up. It worked just fine.

Activator™ packages include a sterile liquid nutrient pouch that, when “smacked”, releases its contents into the yeast slurry and “activates” the package. The available nutrients initiate the culture’s metabolism which in turn generates CO2 and causes swelling of the package. This process will reduce lag times by preparing the yeast for a healthy fermentation prior to inoculation. Activation also serves as a viability test of the culture. Expansion of the package is an indicator of healthy (viable and vital) yeast. Although beneficial, cultures do not need to be activated prior to inoculation.

Guess where that came from. Just viability, huh?