Big Yeast Ooops

[dante42]

So, I was planning on making two batches of beer. I made the first one, and Oatmeal Stout and set it to fermenting. It did not seem to be fermenting at a decent enough clip and I was worried about it. So as I thought about what I could have screwed up, I realized that I had put the Hefenweisen yeast for the wheat beer in the stout.

Is this what is causing it to ferment slowly?
What can I do to fix this debacle?
Is the stout going to taste weird and not be good?
Why did I make such a stupid mistake?

 

[NateM137]

I'm not sure what effect the wrong yeast is going to have or how/if you can change it. I am curious to see how it turns out though. Mistakes make new things and sometimes they are better than what you intended. Please keep us updated when you decide to bottle.

 

[jaytizzle]

A hef yeast on a stout will have an interesting flavor, for sure!

What kind of yeast did you pitch? Dry or liquid? If you pitched a single packet of liquid on a bigger beer you will likely see a slower fermentation as you didn't pitch the correct yeast quantity. Even with dry you may have had a problem if you OG was high enough. What was the OG, by the way?

There's not likely anything you can do to fix this other than wait it out and wash and reuse the hef yeast for an actual hef later.

Not sure why you made such a "stupid" mistake. I try to lay out all of my ingredients, including yeast, before I even put water in my pot. I screwed up today and didn't follow my own procedure and realized after I finished that I forgot to use whirlfloc. Guess my mistake was pretty minor, though.

 

[FATC1TY]

What was the gravity of the stout?

What type of yeast did you use?

It might not be ideal, but it could turn out decent enough if it ferments out enough... Who knows!

I've gotten in the habit of laying it all out, measuring out my boil additions for whatever times they need to be, in individual cups, and pull out the yeast and have it going before I start to boil anything.

 

[KettleCorn]

Interesting... Sounds like a nice experient. Go woth the flow and let me know how it turns out.
I like both, but never heard of this combo. We may see you on the cover of Beer Advocate - Hef-O-Stout Genious

Cheers!

 

[SittingDuck]

Ferment warm and secondary on some cocoa. Choco-Banana Stout!

 

[brewski08]

Ferment warm and secondary on some cocoa. Choco-Banana Stout!

that actually sounds pretty tasty.

 

[wegz15]

There isn't really anything you can do to fix it. Yeast give over 600 flavors and most come during the beginning of fermentation.

 

[dogbar]

This actually sounds intriguing. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[dante42]

Ferment warm and secondary on some cocoa. Choco-Banana Stout!

This does sound intriguing. Being a newb I have some questions.

Warm fermenting means placing the beer somewhere above 70 degree range. So move it upstairs to a warmer bedroom to ferment. This I get.

I do not know about the chocolate. I have never done that. Whats the process there? Chop up some Cadbury eggs and drop them in the fermenter? Or are we working with dark chocolate or bakers chocolate? Do you turn it into a syrup?

Thanks for the help so far. These forums are a regular beer saver for me!

 

[user 98891]

If you want to add chocolate, you would add it in the secondary. I have used 90% cocoa chocolate bars cut up into fine slivers. Other people have used baking cocoa powder in the secondary. Still others have used raw cocoa nibs.

If you use chocolate bars, know that the extra sugar will cause some fermentation and the fats in the chocolate will make a film on the top of the fermenter.

Personally, I say just leave it as is and see how it turns out.

 

[FATC1TY]

I'd toss in some cocoa nibs.. Soak them in some vodka.. Or better yet.. Some 99 Bananas liquor.


I'd personally skip out on tossing in a chocolate bar. It won't melt or anything, and it'll toss a ton of oils in your beer as well.

Worst case.. buy some chocolate extract. I'm not crazy about using any extracts, but it would impart the flavor if you want it.

 

[SittingDuck]

I also don't care for bar chocolate for beer. When I add a chocolate flavor, I usually add some unsweetened cocoa to boiling water and add it to secondary. Nibs in vodka work well too.

That being said, I also like the suggestion that you just ride this one out as is. As a new brewer, this will give you a good opportunity to see how yeast strain effects the overall flavor of a beer. If you add new elements now, and you like it, you may not know what you like. If you hate it, you won't know if it's yeats, cocoa additions, technique changes, etc.

Either way you proceed, the good news is, you will have beer!