Did the yeast go dormant?

[grouperdude]

Its my first batch of beer and I don't have a is it infected concern. I am confused on why my gravity is still so high after 2 weeks? The hydrometer in the beginning was 1.073 two weeks in the primary its 1.052. Shouldn't it be a lot lower than that? There was a cold snap so I think the yeast went dormant? I racked to the secondary is when I took the reading. Do I need to re-pitch new yeast?

 

[ETCS]

You are in Florida, how cold is a cold snap? What kind of yeast did you pitch, liquid, dry? If liquid did you make a starter? If dry, did you rehydrate it or pitch it in dry? Have you taken more than one hydrometer reading?

 

[FastAndy]

We would really need to see your recipe/process to be any help.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Yeah, we need a step-by-step of your process. And I seriously doubt Florida could ever snap cold enough to knock-out your yeast

 

[chitownbrewer]

What was the temp of your wort when you pitched your yeast, florida temps can fluctuate a lot from day to night. Where you keeping it regulated at one constant temp?

 

[grouperdude]

Sorry left some details out. It was a dry yeast pitched at 72 degrees. The first 5 days the process was really intense with the amount of gas off. I was keeping the fermenter in a cooler in a garage with a ice bottle (stayed around 68 the whole time). Right before I left to go out of town, I switched to a chest freezer with a temp controller. When I was out, the temp dropped down to 45 degrees over night. So when I came back there wasn't a bubble coming out of the lock but every 10 minutes. That was day 9, I left it in there until the 2.5 week mark and took the second hydro.

 

[BamaRooster]

I had something similar happen to a stout. The temp in my basement dropped into the 50's while I was out of town. When I came back and checked on things my gravity was still a bit higher than expected. I raised the temp to 68 and gently rocked the bucket to rouse the yeast and the next day things had taken off again and finished in a couple days.

Did you raise your temp up from 45 and if so to what temp. Did you try rousing the yeast by gently rocking so as not to introduce air into the brew after the temp was raised?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Don't use airlock bubbles as an indicator of active fermentation. Changes in temperature and jostling the fermenter will cause CO2 to be released from solution.

Five days at 68° should have taken you down to expected FG. IMHO there is something else going on

 

[Reno_eNVy]

How much yeast did you pitch initially?

 

[grouperdude]

11.5g of safale US 05

 

[Brewnoob1]

Have you since raised the temp back into the upper 60s? If not, do so and gently rock the secondary back and forth to get the yeast back in suspension.

 

[grouperdude]

I have racked it to the secondary and dumped the sediment. Therefor I would have to re-rack to the primary and pitch new yeast??

 

[grouperdude]

hydro is the same reading today. I'll rack back to the primary where there is more room for the fermentation with a new pack of yeast.

 

[MrManifesto]

I really would have warmed it up. Racking does nothing to solve your problem, as it sounded like your yeast was dormant, not dead. Each time you rack it's a chance for infection or oxidation (more likely the latter). That being said, you may as well just pitch another packet at this point.

 

[grouperdude]

Thanks for the input guys. I pitched a new pack of yeast in a warmer section of the house with a blowoff. Its dropped a point and a half after 24 hours.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Excellent. Glad it's on its way.

Good luck