I made some bourbon barrel aged ale. Bottled it. The vanilla taste was too much. Was going to combine it with Porter at bottling. Screwed up and poured bottled beer in wort before pitching yeast. Never fermented. Maybe yeast got warm for too long. Added outdated bread yeast in desperation. No fermentation. Added 1.5# sugar and 11g Safale yeast to the ten gallons, stirred well. Three days and no activity. Sure smells good when I open the lid but not doing anything. Not too bright here but... any ideas?
Combined bottled beer with wort, didn't ferment
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brownni5
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Sorry - I (and maybe others?) can't really follow what's going on here. You talk about bottled beer, then wort. Which is it? Wort = no yeast added.
Too warm for yeast is generally over 100 deg F. Is it possible the alcohol content is beyond the tolerance of the yeast you used?
Too warm for yeast is generally over 100 deg F. Is it possible the alcohol content is beyond the tolerance of the yeast you used?
I got the extract kit in April and didn't boil the wort until July. The yeast was in my shop at about 60 to 75 degrees for that time. I can imagine not following this unbelievable story.
I poured 40 bottles of the ale into the ready to ferment 5 gallons of Porter and pitched the yeast.
I asked a friend who has a brewery and he wrote this:
"Do you have a hydrometer to check the sugar content? That’s the only certain way to know if it’s fermenting or not. Just because you don’t see bubbles or foam doesn’t mean that it’s not doing its job, especially if you lift the lid to smell it, which would release any pressure that would otherwise make bubbles in your air lock.
If you have a hydrometer, I would check it with that after a few days. If it’s the same as it was the day you pitched the yeast, I would add Safale US-05. I’m not sure which Safale you got before, but some don’t like to work in low ph ranges. Finished beer has a lower ph than wort, and dark malts like in a porter lower the ph too. Sorry for the technical mumbo jumbo, but I’ve had a fermentation stall on me before using S-04 in a beer with a lower ph.
If you don’t have a hydrometer, I would let it hang out for 3 weeks since you pitched the fresh yeast. Then, taste it, and if it tastes good I would bottle it like normal. I would only add more yeast to the wort if it tastes very very sweet. If it is very sweet, I’d add US-05."
If that still doesn’t get fermentation going, then I’m stumped. The only thing I could think of after that is adding yeasts like a dried Kveik yeast or Safale BE-134. These are known for eating anything and working quickly, but will add a Belgian beer character to your beer. You could add Gluco Amylase enzyme (Yes, this is probably at the Homebrew shop.) and even more us-05. This enzyme breaks down all of the long-chain sugar in the beer into very fermentable short-chain sugars. It will make a very very dry beer with a higher alcohol content than you were planning. You’ll lose the body you’d want in a barrel-aged beer, but at least the fermentation could finally get going.
I poured 40 bottles of the ale into the ready to ferment 5 gallons of Porter and pitched the yeast.
I asked a friend who has a brewery and he wrote this:
"Do you have a hydrometer to check the sugar content? That’s the only certain way to know if it’s fermenting or not. Just because you don’t see bubbles or foam doesn’t mean that it’s not doing its job, especially if you lift the lid to smell it, which would release any pressure that would otherwise make bubbles in your air lock.
If you have a hydrometer, I would check it with that after a few days. If it’s the same as it was the day you pitched the yeast, I would add Safale US-05. I’m not sure which Safale you got before, but some don’t like to work in low ph ranges. Finished beer has a lower ph than wort, and dark malts like in a porter lower the ph too. Sorry for the technical mumbo jumbo, but I’ve had a fermentation stall on me before using S-04 in a beer with a lower ph.
If you don’t have a hydrometer, I would let it hang out for 3 weeks since you pitched the fresh yeast. Then, taste it, and if it tastes good I would bottle it like normal. I would only add more yeast to the wort if it tastes very very sweet. If it is very sweet, I’d add US-05."
If that still doesn’t get fermentation going, then I’m stumped. The only thing I could think of after that is adding yeasts like a dried Kveik yeast or Safale BE-134. These are known for eating anything and working quickly, but will add a Belgian beer character to your beer. You could add Gluco Amylase enzyme (Yes, this is probably at the Homebrew shop.) and even more us-05. This enzyme breaks down all of the long-chain sugar in the beer into very fermentable short-chain sugars. It will make a very very dry beer with a higher alcohol content than you were planning. You’ll lose the body you’d want in a barrel-aged beer, but at least the fermentation could finally get going.
How strong was the bourbon barrel ale? What were the measured gravities of the porter before and after adding the finished beer and the sugar to it? What temperature are you fermenting at?
You could try making a starter with fresh beer yeast and then pitching that while it's very active
You could try making a starter with fresh beer yeast and then pitching that while it's very active
The bourbon barrel ale was supposed to be 8.2%. I've alway just followed directions before and have no hydrometer.
So I think I will you your recommendation and my friend's that I posted above. See how sweet it is in three weeks and add a starter like you say. The tasting idea seems good and basic even though it is so subjective.
I promise to get a hydrometer and do it right next time.
So I think I will you your recommendation and my friend's that I posted above. See how sweet it is in three weeks and add a starter like you say. The tasting idea seems good and basic even though it is so subjective.
I promise to get a hydrometer and do it right next time.
Munster51
Well-Known Member
So, first you made a bourbon barrel ale that had vanilla that was too overpowering.
Then you made a porter, added the bourbon barrel ale to the porter wort, and then added yeast?
What was your process when you made your bourbon barrel ale and your process for bottling it?
Then you made a porter, added the bourbon barrel ale to the porter wort, and then added yeast?
What was your process when you made your bourbon barrel ale and your process for bottling it?
Yep. Added yeast after pouring bottles of bourbon Barrel Ale into the Porter wert. It was 75 degrees when I added yeast.
Made the BBA. In a week moved it to secondary and added 12 oz. Bourbon and cubes of oak.10 days later bottled it. We used a bottle filler and siphoned it into the bottles. (The bottle filler didn't exist when I last made beer years ago. Great invention.) That was in late April. The big screw up we are talking about here was on July 13.
Made the BBA. In a week moved it to secondary and added 12 oz. Bourbon and cubes of oak.10 days later bottled it. We used a bottle filler and siphoned it into the bottles. (The bottle filler didn't exist when I last made beer years ago. Great invention.) That was in late April. The big screw up we are talking about here was on July 13.
Thanks very much for the replies I've gotten here and excuse the typos I found after rereading this thread.
Does anyone see anything wrong with my friend's suggestion to bottle it if it tastes right at three weeks after the fresh yeast addition or add Safale US-05 if it tastes "really really sweet?"
Does anyone see anything wrong with my friend's suggestion to bottle it if it tastes right at three weeks after the fresh yeast addition or add Safale US-05 if it tastes "really really sweet?"
