Well, it seems my first post has disappeared into the nether regions of the internet. I will attempt to recreate my post again here. Please bear with me as this might get lengthy since I've had more time to think since the original posting.
First off, I'd like to give a heads up to all of the posters here. I've been lurking on these boards for a few months now and have gleaned lots of useful information. I've also put to rest some of my fears about brewing from reading. So, thanks again to all of the knowledgeable guys/gals on here. Now, onto my situation(s)!
On January 2nd, I brewed and began fermenting two batches, a British Amber and a Chocolate Rye, both from Austinhomebrew.com. These are the first two batches I've tried solo, I've brewed 3 others with friends. I put both batches immediately into primary fermenters (after cooling down of course) and then moved them to my guest bathroom tub. They have sat since brew day and the temps have ranged from about 62ºF to 73ºF (house temperature). Unfortunately, I didn't manage an OG reading from either of them.
British Amber.
Yeast used: Sterling 514 English Ale Dry Yeast (dry)
Yeast Fuel: No
Secondary: Yes
OG - theoretical: 1.049
OG - actual: N/A
FG - theoretical: 1.011
FG - actual: 1.018 - 1.019 @ 70ºF
I wanted to try out the secondary fermentation deal since I had gotten a hold of a carboy at Christmas. As per the instructions that came with the recipe, I waited 5-7 days (9 actually, Jan 11th) and then moved it to the secondary. There had been no air lock activity for ~2 days, so I figured most of the vigorous fermentation was done and I wouldn't be blowing the top off the carboy. Also, the top of my beer was fairly clear, I had a few flakes floating on top, but 95%+ had fallen out to the bottom.
I took a gravity reading at time of transfer to secondary and it was ~1018 @ 70ºF or so. Yesterday (2 weeks after transfer) I took another reading and it was still around the same reading, no noticeable movement on the hydrometer. This brew is supposed to start around 1049 and finish around 1011. Could this be a stuck fermentation?
Chocolate Rye
Yeast used: Wyeast European Ale 1338 (liquid)
Yeast Fuel: Yes
Secondary: No
OG - theoretical: 1.052
OG - actual: N/A
FG - theoretical: 1.013
FG - actual: 1.02 @ 70ºF
This one has stayed in the primary since brew day. I figured it'd be ready to bottle by yesterday after spending a little over 3 weeks in the fermenter. So, I get everything setup to transfer to my bottling bucket and such. When I popped the top to the fermenter, there was still some krausen on top of the beer. It was about a half inch thick or so, but it had fallen some from the max height. It was up to about 2-3 inches or so by looking at the ring inside the bucket. Most of what I read tells me that this beer is not done fermenting, but some say that it just doesn't fall some times. I also know that every other beer I've done or seen done, this all fell to the bottom. Am I in the minority and mine just didn't fall, or is it really still fermenting albeit very slowly?
Should I just pitch a little more yeast into each of them and give it another 2 weeks or so? Just leave them be?
All of that being said, I re-sanitized the air locks and carboy stopper and closed them both back up until I could decide what to do. Any other time I probably would have bottled the Amber, but taking the gravity reading has given me pause and the krausen on the rye is a first for me.
~Nervous Newbie
First off, I'd like to give a heads up to all of the posters here. I've been lurking on these boards for a few months now and have gleaned lots of useful information. I've also put to rest some of my fears about brewing from reading. So, thanks again to all of the knowledgeable guys/gals on here. Now, onto my situation(s)!
On January 2nd, I brewed and began fermenting two batches, a British Amber and a Chocolate Rye, both from Austinhomebrew.com. These are the first two batches I've tried solo, I've brewed 3 others with friends. I put both batches immediately into primary fermenters (after cooling down of course) and then moved them to my guest bathroom tub. They have sat since brew day and the temps have ranged from about 62ºF to 73ºF (house temperature). Unfortunately, I didn't manage an OG reading from either of them.
British Amber.
Yeast used: Sterling 514 English Ale Dry Yeast (dry)
Yeast Fuel: No
Secondary: Yes
OG - theoretical: 1.049
OG - actual: N/A
FG - theoretical: 1.011
FG - actual: 1.018 - 1.019 @ 70ºF
I wanted to try out the secondary fermentation deal since I had gotten a hold of a carboy at Christmas. As per the instructions that came with the recipe, I waited 5-7 days (9 actually, Jan 11th) and then moved it to the secondary. There had been no air lock activity for ~2 days, so I figured most of the vigorous fermentation was done and I wouldn't be blowing the top off the carboy. Also, the top of my beer was fairly clear, I had a few flakes floating on top, but 95%+ had fallen out to the bottom.
I took a gravity reading at time of transfer to secondary and it was ~1018 @ 70ºF or so. Yesterday (2 weeks after transfer) I took another reading and it was still around the same reading, no noticeable movement on the hydrometer. This brew is supposed to start around 1049 and finish around 1011. Could this be a stuck fermentation?
Chocolate Rye
Yeast used: Wyeast European Ale 1338 (liquid)
Yeast Fuel: Yes
Secondary: No
OG - theoretical: 1.052
OG - actual: N/A
FG - theoretical: 1.013
FG - actual: 1.02 @ 70ºF
This one has stayed in the primary since brew day. I figured it'd be ready to bottle by yesterday after spending a little over 3 weeks in the fermenter. So, I get everything setup to transfer to my bottling bucket and such. When I popped the top to the fermenter, there was still some krausen on top of the beer. It was about a half inch thick or so, but it had fallen some from the max height. It was up to about 2-3 inches or so by looking at the ring inside the bucket. Most of what I read tells me that this beer is not done fermenting, but some say that it just doesn't fall some times. I also know that every other beer I've done or seen done, this all fell to the bottom. Am I in the minority and mine just didn't fall, or is it really still fermenting albeit very slowly?
Should I just pitch a little more yeast into each of them and give it another 2 weeks or so? Just leave them be?
All of that being said, I re-sanitized the air locks and carboy stopper and closed them both back up until I could decide what to do. Any other time I probably would have bottled the Amber, but taking the gravity reading has given me pause and the krausen on the rye is a first for me.
~Nervous Newbie