easy questions:

[bmaze7891]

1st time brewing beer, so i have some questions that I could not specifically find in the forums even though I am sure it is in here 100x.

I brewed a 5 gal batch of extract big ben pale ale and put it into the first fermentation bucket where it has sat in a 75 degree house the entire time (currently aprox 13 days now). The OG was 1.045 and FG was 1.020. I know this is a low yield and comes to aprox. 2.75% ABV (which I am ok with since it is my first time), but here are my issues that I am hoping you guys can help out with:

Here is a background of the yeast as well and the mistake I made which may change your answer. I purchased the kits, yeast, etc. and then went on vacation for a couple of weeks, so the yeast sat in a box in my house (not refrigerated) for aprox 1.5 weeks. I immediately put the yeast in the fridge and hoped it was not dead (I live in South Florida). After cooling the wort, I threw in the yeast and watched the air lock to see what would happen since I have no idea what to expect. I saw no krausen at all and the airlock did bubble for about a day and then stopped. I let this sit for about 8 days before I took the gravity reading which brought it to 1.020. My first thought was the yeast was not as "active" as it should have been based off of the reading, so I decided put another vile of the same yeast in it hoping it would convert the rest of the sugar (if any) left. There was a residue ring around the top of the bucket as well when I initially opened it. I want to siphon it out tonight and put it into the carboy for stage 2 fermentation and I was curious everyone's thoughts/suggestions so far:

1: With no Krausen, but a change in gravity, am I still ok to move to the carboy?
2. Would you have added yeast like I did just to see what happens or would you have been fine with the gravity change and just move it to the carboy regardless of krausen, etc.?
3. To raise the ABV can I add maltodextrin to the fermentation bucket at anytime since there is excess yeast in it already and that would raise the ABV?
-If so, do you know where I can find a forum link on how to do this, since I know it is never as simple as adding sugar

4. In relation to Carbonation, I am confused as to how this part happens. If I xfer it to the carboy tonight, I assume it will just look like a flat pale ale which I will keep (at what temperature?) in a room for aprox another week or so? I do not have a keg system, so I am curious when and how to add the carbonation and what exactly comes next. I honestly have read quite a few answers on the forum, but I figured I would rather ask in my own way so I could get a more direct answer.

5. Do I need to do anything while the beer is in the carboy, or just let it sit for about a week (what temperature is recommended as well)?

6. After the carboy is done sitting and I want to move it to the bottles, does carbonation happen at this time? If so, how? Do I add the carbonation method while at the fermentation to carboy stage or carboy to bottle stage?
-How again do I do this in a newbie technical way?

I cant thank all of you enough as I am kinda going solo on this and this is a big learning curve for anyone just starting out.

 

[Klutz]

I would leave it in the primary for another week if it if at 1.020, it's does not look finished. I only use a secondary when dry hopping.
When you see a change in gravity you know fermentation is happening. 75 might be a high temp for the yeast depending on what type it is (but it will be ok) you can look up the yeast temps online I run most ale yeast at 65-68.

Before you bottle you are going to add some dissolved sugar (3/4 cup of corn sugar in cup or so of boiled and cooled water) into the bottling bucket, this will give the remaining yeast in your beer something to eat to make the carbonation. Then let that sit in bottles at room temp for about 2 weeks.

 

[Rugrad02]

First off, what type of yeast are you using? Dry? Liquid? Which variety?

I will answer your questions to the best of my ability assuming that you are using liquid yeast.

Usually, ale yeast is pretty darn hardy. Unless you pitched your yeast into wort that is over 120+ degrees, which you said you didn't then it will ferment. Ideally, you want to pitch your yeast for most ale varieties around 70 F or lower. It would be best to keep it below 72 F for duration of fermentation unless the yeast can handle higher temps. If liquid yeast was used than it could have struggled after sitting out at room temp for so long, which could have been the culprit. Really though, a beer can ferment out at 80 F+. There will be some off flavors but it is possible. (Note that some yeast like it hot, wine yeast, saison yeast etc.)

1- Okay, here I go. Secondary fermentation really isn't necessary unless you are making fruit beers. Modern, healthy yeast can handle a long primary fermentation without any off flavors and autolysis doesn't occur for a long time. I say stay away from a secondary. You may end up infecting your beer running it through siphoning equipment on its way to a secondary.

2- I've never had a beer ferment out with a high final gravity but if I did, I would probably have added a yeast. But really, fermentation at this point probably is close to being done. Not a whole lot you can do.

3- Maltodextrin is not fermentable. In other words your ale yeast will not consume it. If you were making a lambic, then maltodextrin would be helpful, as it would become food for the wild Brettanomyces yeast.

4-I don't keg my beer, as I mostly make Belgian style beers. Next time, I say ferment in your glass carboy, then transfer to your kegging equipment or bottling bucket. Keep the beer as low as possible. I too live in the south and its hard to keep fermentation temps down. Use a swamp cooler. It is simply a large Tupperware tub filled with water. Put your glass carboy inside and keep it cool by adding frozen water bottles or ice. Keep in mind that once fermentation begins, temps can really rise.

5- I say keep the beer in your primary fermenter now. Again, not a lot you can do at this point.

6- If bottling your beer, sanitize your bottling equipment and bottles, transfer the beer to a bottling bucket, boil the amount of sugar necessary for the style (google KOTMF priming calculator for sugar amounts) fill and cap your bottles.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out. I hope I was able to help out a bit.

 

[cobrem]

I'll take a stab at some of these:

1: With no Krausen, but a change in gravity, am I still ok to move to the carboy?

I wouldn't bother if only for one week of conditioning, unless you are adding something (dry hopping, oak, etc...). Use of secondaries is a frequent topic of discussion - there are risks. I would keep it simple for your first brew.

Questions 2&3 - I'll leave these for someone else...

4. In relation to Carbonation, I am confused as to how this part happens. If I xfer it to the carboy tonight, I assume it will just look like a flat pale ale which I will keep (at what temperature?) in a room for aprox another week or so? I do not have a keg system, so I am curious when and how to add the carbonation and what exactly comes next. I honestly have read quite a few answers on the forum, but I figured I would rather ask in my own way so I could get a more direct answer.

Your beer should be flat until you bottle it. You have to prime it with sugar immediately before bottling it. (It would also be a good idea to be sure the beer has stopped fermenting before bottling. Do a search for bottle bombs for an explanation why.)

The residual yeast left in suspension eat the newly added sugar in the capped bottles, and the CO2 builds up. After a couple of weeks, the pressure increases to the point where the gas is forced into suspension (eg. bubbles).

5. Do I need to do anything while the beer is in the carboy, or just let it sit for about a week (what temperature is recommended as well)?

No - keep it covered from light and don't touch it. Unless you're doing a Belgian, you want to keep the temps well within the recommended strain temp range (probably below 70F).

6. After the carboy is done sitting and I want to move it to the bottles, does carbonation happen at this time? If so, how? Do I add the carbonation method while at the fermentation to carboy stage or carboy to bottle stage?

See #4 above.

Not sure what yeast you used, but it sounds like you may have fermented too hot. It may have some off-flavors (especially if you used Nottingham) - some of these won't condition out. If this happens, chalk it up to a good learning experience, and get prepped to do a swamp cooler next time (plenty of posts on this - excellent low cost technique).

 

[Pratzie]

Just a clarificaiton on the carbonation part... U put the sugar in and then bottle the beer and cap it. The beer will carbonate IN the bottle while it is capped as the remaining yeast eat the sugar u added.

 

[woozy]

I brewed a 5 gal batch of extract big ben pale ale and put it into the first fermentation bucket where it has sat in a 75 degree house the entire time (currently aprox 13 days now). The OG was 1.045...

What did the recipe say the O.G. would be? I ask because: with extracts the o.g. is determined entirely by the amounts of sugars in the extract and the amounts of water and nothing the brewer does in terms of boiling, mixing, pitching, cooling, etc. will effect it. Thus the o.g. will be what the recipe says it will be. Often brewers will get a bad reading by ... well, for many reasons, and think their o.g. is off. But if the added the correct amount of extract and the correct amount of water then the mistake is in the reading.

... and FG was 1.020.

That is pretty high. It's possible the fermentation wasn't completely finished. You should take another reading 3 days later and compare see if the specific gravities drop. If not, fermentation is not completely done.

Or it might be stalled. Or it might be done with a lower than expected yield.

...so the yeast sat in a box in my house (not refrigerated) for aprox 1.5 weeks.

Not a problem.

---edit---
d'oh. I was assuming dry yeast vacuum sealed. Liquid yeast... I'm not an expert the posters above seem to think that is fine.

I immediately put the yeast in the fridge and hoped it was not dead (I live in South Florida).

If it was it was the manufacturer's fault and *not* yours. But your yeast wasn't dead so that's not an issue.
--edit---
ditto the above edit.

I let this sit for about 8 days before I took the gravity reading which brought it to 1.020. My first thought was the yeast was not as "active" as it should have been based off of the reading, so I decided put another vile of the same yeast in it hoping it would convert the rest of the sugar (if any) left.

A little pre-mature. I'd have waited until day 10 or 14 before checking. At 1.020 at tail end of fermentation everything is fine and I'd let it continue.

There was a residue ring around the top of the bucket as well when I initially opened it.

You did have krausen. You just never saw it.

I want to siphon it out tonight ...

Clarification: Do I have this straight. On day 8 you added yeast and it is now five days later. Did you take a reading today and it was still 1.020? Or are you saying it was 1.020 5 days ago.

and put it into the carboy for stage 2 fermentation

Many people, including myself, will tell you that secondary is unnescessary. Many people, including myself, will tell you not to do it.

1: With no Krausen, but a change in gravity, am I still ok to move to the carboy?

There was krausen; you just didn't see it. *this* batch shouldn't be moved at *this* time because you just added yeast five days ago and you haven't let it do its stuff. Give it several more days and take readings a couple days apart when the readings are the same twice in a row then it's okay to transfer or bottle.

2. Would you have added yeast like I did just to see what happens or would you have been fine with the gravity change and just move it to the carboy regardless of krausen, etc.?

I wouldn't have. However had my readings stabilized (read the same three days apart) at 1.020 and figured it was stalled, I don't know what I would have done. Well, I'd have bottled bottled and just sucked up the stalled fermentation (I don't like to muck with things) but that might not have been the right thing to do.

3. To raise the ABV can I add maltodextrin to the fermentation bucket at anytime since there is excess yeast in it already and that would raise the ABV?

Errr, ummm, you *can*.... I don't think you should. You'r concern is that the 1.020 is too high so there *is* sugar in there. Let the yeast finish that up.

4. In relation to Carbonation, I am confused as to how this part happens.

Bottling day. Sanitize everything: bottling bucking, 50 beer bottles, caps, tubing, siphon, etc. Mix about 5 oz. of dextrose (corn sugar) with about a cup of boiling water and add to the bottling bucket. Rack (siphon) the beer gently with no splashing onto the sugar in the bottling bucket. Racking the beer gently will stir the sugar adequately. Siphon the beer and leave all the trub and junk behind. Use siphon/spigot/tubing and/or bottling wand to fill each bottle up to one inch from the top. Cap. Store in a dark warm place (70s) for 2-3 weeks (which will means three weeks-- everyone gets hopeful and assumes 2-3 weeks means two weeks and they are *always* disappointed-- 2-3 weeks always means three weeks).

What going on is the newly added priming sugar will "wake up the yeast" and they'll start farting away inside the capped bottles and the co2 will have nowhere to go.

Now, yes, that is a rough guideline, and yes, there is a *lot* of variables and a lot of discussion. Yes, you can use table sugar. Yes, you can use honey. Yes, some people have theories on stirring and others have complete different ones. No, five oz. is not that universally agreed upon amount. Yes there are a variety of thechniques. When it comes time 15 forum uses will hit you with 17 different opinions.

Also, as the beer is carbonating, the beer is also aging and the flavors are mellowing. That also takes time and is an important step in the beer making process. It happens concurrently but utterly independent.

5. Do I need to do anything while the beer is in the carboy, or just let it sit for about a week (what temperature is recommended as well)?

No. You sit and let it clear and do its thing. At about 68 degrees give or take 10 degrees. It's not as important as the fermentation temperature.

Now remember when I said I was going to tell you you don't need to secondary? This is it. You don't need to secondary. You can leave it in the primary for an extra week or two while the beer does its clearing and conditioning and it'll be much the same. Or you can transfer to a secondary vessel if you want. oh, wait... I said I'd tell you not to. Okay, *don't* transfer to a secondary vessel. Oh, never mind, I *won't* tell you not to. (But you really, really, don't need to.)

"Secondary fermentation" is a misnomer as the fermenting all happens in the primary vessel and only clearing and conditioning happen in the secondary (or will continue to happen in the primary if you don't use a secondary. Which you don't need to do.)

6. After the carboy is done sitting and I want to move it to the bottles, does carbonation happen at this time? If so, how? Do I add the carbonation method while at the fermentation to carboy stage or carboy to bottle stage?
-How again do I do this in a newbie technical way?

See above. You move the beer into a bottling vessel and add sugar and put into bottles. The carbonation happens *while* it is in the bottles. The newly added sugar kick starts a mini-fermentation but this time the goal is the CO2 and not the alcohol.

 

[nevertrustahipie]

To help answer some of your questions:

1) if you take gravity readings a day apart and get the same reading, fermentation is done. At this time it is "OK" to move the carboy and bottle/keg. Whether you should is all dependent on taste. See #2

2) I would have at least tasted it first. if it still tasted very sweet like the wort, I may have added yeast just to experiment. If it tasted like flat beer, i would not have added yeast.

3) I wouldn't worry about raising the ABV.

The most important thing i've learned homebrewing is to leave well enough alone. Or more simply RDWHAHB.

 

[bmaze7891]

Sorry for the late reply, but I did what you guys suggested. I did not xfer it to the carboy and just kept it in the fermentation bucket and added the same batch of yeast just in case (white labs british ale yeast). I waited until yesterday and took another gravity reading and to my surprise it went from OG of 1.045- FG 1.010, so I am happier then then last gravity reading I took of 1.020.
I bottled everything and it is now going to sit at aprox 70 degrees for 2-3 weeks. I know the flavor profile will be tough to discuss, but I would have to say (for a first time taster at this stage) it seemed like a bitter pale ale with a combination of a Budweiser pilsner to be honest, even though the color looked nice with the exception of it being a little cloudy. I am sure that it is just the way it brewed from all aspects and I am at least happy it was not a throw out batch. I will keep you guys posted on the final flavor profiles, etc. and I cant thank you again.