Fermentation short lived

[nickatina7]

So I'm on my third batch right now. Started with an extract blonde ale and it turned out ok but I feel like I could taste the extract sweetness in the beer. I just bottled my next batch, a rogue i2pa and I tasted it before bottling and it was good but I still taste that distinct extract flavor of sweetness. Fermentation went good with that batch. Went hard for about 2 weeks. But I got an og of 1.070 and a fg of 1.025. Which only equals 5.9% abv. Should have been different with that beer I think. I've used us-05 dry yeast on every batch so far and I've sprinkled it in instead of activating it which I'm gonna start doing.

Anyways I'm fermenting a batch of citrus IPA from morebeer.com. It's extract. Fermentation started up within 12 hours and foamed up and churned good. But in exactly a week it totally stopped. No bubbling. Very small head. What did I do wrong? I've followed the directions to the T. I like very strong IPAs and I don't want a weak beer.

Thanks!
Nick

 

[SEABrewer]

So I'm on my third batch right now. Started with an extract blonde ale and it turned out ok but I feel like I could taste the extract sweetness in the beer. I just bottled my next batch, a rogue i2pa and I tasted it before bottling and it was good but I still taste that distinct extract flavor of sweetness. Fermentation went good with that batch. Went hard for about 2 weeks. But I got an og of 1.070 and a fg of 1.025. Which only equals 5.9% abv. Should have been different with that beer I think. I've used us-05 dry yeast on every batch so far and I've sprinkled it in instead of activating it which I'm gonna start doing.

Anyways I'm fermenting a batch of citrus IPA from morebeer.com. It's extract. Fermentation started up within 12 hours and foamed up and churned good. But in exactly a week it totally stopped. No bubbling. Very small head. What did I do wrong? I've followed the directions to the T. I like very strong IPAs and I don't want a weak beer.

Thanks!
Nick

Airlock activity and amount of krausen (the head) aren't really great indicators of how your fermentation is progressing or if it's done. What was your OG for this batch? What's the current gravity and what's the target FG?

For your i2pa, did your gravity stabilize at 1.025 or did you only take one FG reading? What was the target FG?

For all your batches, how did you decide that the fermentation was "done"?

How are you aerating/oxygenating your wort before pitching yeast? What are your fermentation temps? If your fementations are consistently slow or getting stuck, it's probably some combination of insufficient aeration/oxygenation, wrong fermentation temp, or underpitching the yeast (which you alluded to).

 

[FatDragon]

My first beer stopped showing signs of fermentation by the second day after pitching. One week is far from unusual.

 

[SEABrewer]

My first beer stopped showing signs of fermentation by the second day after pitching. One week is far from unusual.

To be clear, you mean there was no visible sign of fermentation but it was still fermenting, right?

 

[FatDragon]

To be clear, you mean there was no visible sign of fermentation but it was still fermenting, right?

That I can't say for sure. My hydrometer broke on brewday when I got a little overzealous about sanitization, so I wasn't able to check gravity. By way of being inexperienced, I ended up pitching (S-04) in the upper eighties and had my fermentation chamber set to 74. I had 4-5 bubbles a second in the airlock within about four hours of pitching, one every 2-3 seconds the next day, and no airlock activity the day after that. Considering my temperatures (and the esters I tasted later on after bottling and conditioning) the brew may well have finished within two days.

 

[nickatina7]

My original for the citrus was about 1.055 I think. I have to check. I don't know what my target fg is. The directions don't say. I was just gonna leave it for around 3 weeks and check gravity near the end to see if it stays steady. I will have to check the gravity tomorrow to see where it's at I just get nervous doing it too much because I don't want to contaminate the batch.

Fermentation temp is a very consistent 68* or room temp for all the ales I do.

I checked the gravity a few times for the i2pa and it was stuck at 1.025 for two days so I figured it stopped. It said the og should be around 1.079 and it was 1.070.

Correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't the fg be a bit lower so it doesn't get that sweet taste? Should I let it sit in there for longer?

I'm about to add the drying hops to the fermenter in a few days to the citrus. In the future should I activate the yeas properly and maybe invest in an a system to introduce air into the wert? The brew store guys told me to just sprinkle in the dry yeast.

 

[FatDragon]

My original for the citrus was about 1.055 I think. I have to check. I don't know what my target fg is. The directions don't say. I was just gonna leave it for around 3 weeks and check gravity near the end to see if it stays steady. I will have to check the gravity tomorrow to see where it's at I just get nervous doing it too much because I don't want to contaminate the batch.

Fermentation temp is a very consistent 68* or room temp for all the ales I do.

I checked the gravity a few times for the i2pa and it was stuck at 1.025 for two days so I figured it stopped. It said the og should be around 1.079 and it was 1.070.

Correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't the fg be a bit lower so it doesn't get that sweet taste? Should I let it sit in there for longer?

I'm about to add the drying hops to the fermenter in a few days to the citrus. In the future should I activate the yeas properly and maybe invest in an a system to introduce air into the wert? The brew store guys told me to just sprinkle in the dry yeast.

While aerating with a stainless steel airstone and an O2 tank is probably the best way, most of us just shake the fermenter before pitching. Depending on what you ferment in, that can be easier said than done, but where there's a will, there's usually a way.

And yes, if you're using dry yeast, rehydrate in pre-boiled water at the proper temperature. It's easy to do and should give you better beer in the end.

 

[nickatina7]

How vigorously should I shake it? Just a bit to see some bubbles or a head form? Should be easy. I can throw the plug on and shake the carboy.

 

[SEABrewer]

Correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't the fg be a bit lower so it doesn't get that sweet taste? Should I let it sit in there for longer?

I'm about to add the drying hops to the fermenter in a few days to the citrus. In the future should I activate the yeas properly and maybe invest in an a system to introduce air into the wert? The brew store guys told me to just sprinkle in the dry yeast.

The higher the FG the sweeter the beer will be, but if fermentation is done (or stuck) then simply letting it sit longer won't do anything about that. If fermentation is still happening, all you need to do is give it more time.

It sounds like your fermentation temp was about right for US-05. Apparent Attenuation for US-05 should be around 80%. For your i2pa, it looks like your attenuation was closer to 64% (based on OG of 1.070 and FG of 1.025), so I'd say that fermentation got stuck. For your citrus IPA, if your OG was 1.055, then your target FG should be around 1.012 to reach 80% apparent attenuation, which sounds just about right for an IPA. So, once you've let it sit for a bit longer, if the FG has stabilized but isn't close to 1.012 you should look into ways to unstick that fermentation (lot of articles on HBT address that topic).

You don't necessarily need to invest in an aeration system, but it wouldn't hurt either. At a minimum, you need to make sure you stir/rock the living crap out of it.

 

[SEABrewer]

How vigorously should I shake it? Just a bit to see some bubbles or a head form? Should be easy. I can throw the plug on and shake the carboy.

Shake/stir the crap out of it. You want a nice head to form. Don't worry about over-aerating, since that's virtually impossible.

 

[unionrdr]

My original thought from the outset was that you aren't giving the beer time to get down into the stated FG range of the kit or recipe. Getting a lot of stuck ferments Tells me your temp starts high to begin with. After the rapid bubbling slows or stops,only initial fermentation is done. It'll then slowly,uneventfully creep down to a stable FG. You should get your start temp down to 64F or so,which is way better than starting high. So much the better if you have temp control. so when initial fermentation is over,you could raise the temp a couple degrees to help get the yeast to fully attenuate. That should def get US-05 to finish. My beers have gone as high as 8.81% with US-05 performing very well 99% of the time.

 

[nickatina7]

Ok so I will look up how to restart stuck fermentation and try that if the gravity isn't changing much.

So my next batch I should pitch the yeast at a lower temp? I use a coil to cool the wert and it seems hard to get below 80. Maybe if I wait it out it will get lower. Pitching it at 70* would be ok? I'm also going to activate the yeast and shake or aerate the wert after pitching the yeast.

 

[unionrdr]

If you're still doing partial boils ( I do PB/PM BIAB),then chill the couple gallons of water you normally top off with in the fridge at least a day or two before brew day. I chill the wort down to about 75F in an ice bath,then strain into the fermenter. I top off to recipe volume with the now very cold gallon jugs of local spring water. This typically gives about 64-65F start (pitch) temp. I've even gotten it down to 53F in the dead of winter.
I hydrate my dry yeast packets in 400mL of luke warm (about 70-75F) water in my 1000mL Erlynmeir flask. Pour the yeast onto the surface of the water in the flask & cover the top with the yeast packet sort of bent down lightly over the top. Wait 15 minutes & stir it in with a sanitized skewer or the like. Wait another 15 minutes & stir again. After 30 more minutes,stir & pitch. This usually works pretty well for me,as it's also within 10 degrees of current wort temp at pitch time. Makes for a higher number of healthy yeasts cells ready to party on!
But for now,raise the temp a couple degrees,then gently swirl the fermenter to get some yeast into suspension. It took mine till the next day to see any action.

 

[nickatina7]

Thanks unionrdr I will do that next batch.

As for the citrus IPA I measured the gravity and it's at 1.020 after 9 days. Started at 1.055. The taste was good. Not as sweet as the last batches. I haven't seen a bubble for a long time out of the airlock though. And I just added the drying hops. It is earlier than the directions say but I was told I could add them early if I wanted.

So should I wait and measure gravity again in a couple days? If it doesn't change what can I do to rekick up the fermentation? I searched around and couldn't find a thread on it.

 

[unionrdr]

Some do ad dry hops after initial fermentation,but the aroma in my mind would be lighter. The hop oils coat the yeast cells in suspension & go to the bottom with them. That's why it's better to wait till FG is reached & the beer has settled out clear or slightly misty. Wait a couple days & check it again. If it hasn't changed,raise the temp a couple degrees & swirl some yeast off the bottom. It should start fermenting aagain by the next day if it's going to.

 

[peterj]

So I'm on my third batch right now. Started with an extract blonde ale and it turned out ok but I feel like I could taste the extract sweetness in the beer. I just bottled my next batch, a rogue i2pa and I tasted it before bottling and it was good but I still taste that distinct extract flavor of sweetness. Fermentation went good with that batch. Went hard for about 2 weeks. But I got an og of 1.070 and a fg of 1.025. Which only equals 5.9% abv. Should have been different with that beer I think. I've used us-05 dry yeast on every batch so far and I've sprinkled it in instead of activating it which I'm gonna start doing.

Anyways I'm fermenting a batch of citrus IPA from morebeer.com. It's extract. Fermentation started up within 12 hours and foamed up and churned good. But in exactly a week it totally stopped. No bubbling. Very small head. What did I do wrong? I've followed the directions to the T. I like very strong IPAs and I don't want a weak beer.

Thanks!
Nick

1 week is more than enough time for a beer to completely ferment out, so don't worry about that. I would say for most beers the krausen dies down and bubbling slows in about 5-7 days. Of course as was already said, you can't assume a beer is completely done when this happens. Only gravity readings can show that.

Also, if you added all of the extract and came out with the right volume, then you shouldn't have a different OG (at least not as different as 1.070 and 1.079) than what the recipe said. You may just not have mixed it quite well enough and gotten a false reading.

Your FGs are definitely way too high, and that's what's giving you that sweet taste. From reading your posts I really think this is mainly recipe related. Judging from how high your FGs are though, I don't think it is completely recipe related. So I would definitely start rehydrating your yeast in warm (95F - 100F) water. I'm sure yeast health and pitch count factor in somewhat to giving you a higher FG, but I think it's very unlikely that you got 3 stuck fermentations in a row. In all of my time brewing, I've never even had one. And if you're keeping the fermentation at 68F you shouldn't have a problem with the yeast going dormant early. I think what many people call "stuck fermentations" is actually just as low as their recipe and yeast choice will allow the beer to go. A lot of extract is usually pretty unfermentable which I think is probably your biggest problem. When I would make extract recipes I would usually substitute about 1 pound of corn sugar in for maybe 1.5 pounds of extract to counteract this.

 

[unionrdr]

I only had problems with extract fermentability once. Now I do pb/pm biab & use plain DME as the extract. but when I do use LME,I get it from someplace where I know it's as fresh as can be. It's not so much the extract,but how fresh it is & how it's used.

 

[Hardin66]

Hi guys; tagging along with this thread: I'm brewing my first batch and I believe I'm stuck. I'm doing a stout based on Papizan's Armenian Imperial, and all went very well, except that 8 days in primary now, I'm only down from OG 1.055 to 1.030, where it's been for three days. I'll address my many small errors in my next batch, but for now, any advice?

 

[unionrdr]

What have your ferment temps been? When did you add the extract,& how much? Yeast? Rehydrated or starter?

 

[peterj]

Hi guys; tagging along with this thread: I'm brewing my first batch and I believe I'm stuck. I'm doing a stout based on Papizan's Armenian Imperial, and all went very well, except that 8 days in primary now, I'm only down from OG 1.055 to 1.030, where it's been for three days. I'll address my many small errors in my next batch, but for now, any advice?

1.055 sounds too low to be an Imperial anything. What did the recipe say the OG should be? If you followed the recipe, maybe you didn't stir the wort up well enough before taking a gravity sample.

 

[Hardin66]

What have your ferment temps been? When did you add the extract,& how much? Yeast? Rehydrated or starter?

I pitched at 74 or so, but my ferment temps have been in the low 60s. The extract boiled with the mash wort for 60 minutes, it was 8# of LME and 1 # of dextrose. The grains were just 1.5# of roasted barley and black patent malt. I used a wyeast Irish Ale smack-pack, but no starter.

Peter, the recipe was changed enough that I'm not sure the original estimate would still apply, but for the record, the target was OG 1.07-1.075 and FG 1.018-1.025. The recipe change was from 10# of LME to 8# of LME and 1# of dextrose. Also, I didn't stir the wort at all before taking the sample! Damn it!!!

 

[FatDragon]

I pitched at 74 or so, but my ferment temps have been in the low 60s. The extract boiled with the mash wort for 60 minutes, it was 8# of LME and 1 # of dextrose. The grains were just 1.5# of roasted barley and black patent malt. I used a wyeast Irish Ale smack-pack, but no starter.

Peter, the recipe was changed enough that I'm not sure the original estimate would still apply, but for the record, the target was OG 1.07-1.075 and FG 1.018-1.025. The recipe change was from 10# of LME to 8# of LME and 1# of dextrose. Also, I didn't stir the wort at all before taking the sample! Damn it!!!

When you're using extract and sugar, you don't need to take OG samples, just use a calculator; since you're not extracting sugars yourself, the OG will be consistent with the amount of water and fermentibles you use. Subbing two pounds of LME for one pound of dextrose will drop the OG by a few points in five gallons, and your FG should end up lower than the original target as well.

Tossing just your LME and dextrose into an online calculator, I'm getting 1.065 OG and target FG 1.016, versus 1.070 and 1.018 with ten pounds of LME.

 

[unionrdr]

Plus boiling all the extract from the beginning will give more mailard reactions,producing darker colors & maybe some "extract twang". Certainly a lil more unfermentables that will give the darker color & flavors.

 

[Hardin66]

Okay, all good input. Thanks! So I moved the carboy to a bathroom with a thermostat, stirred up the yeast cake with a sanitized racking cane. It's been sitting at 70 degrees now overnight, and I'm getting the occasional bubble through the airlock this morning. Think that's enough? I have another liquid yeast vial in the 'fridge, or I could add some nutrient? Any input on those?

 

[unionrdr]

Just leave it like it is for another week. Then check it again.

 

[nickatina7]

Well I tried the rogue IPA I bottled a week ago. The bottles have been sitting in my house which is probly 60* (it's like 30* outside). There was some carbonation but not enough I think. Anyways it had a sweet taste to it. And smells a lot like an apple cider. I like a crisp hoppy IPA. And this is definitely not like that.

It's an extract recipe kit and the final gravity was a bit high. But it was visibly fermenting for a while. Where do you think I went wrong? It fermented in a constant 67* temp. And I pitched dry 05 yeast directly into it. Is this apple smell and flavor from the extract in the recipe? I want to go all grain but don't have the money yet and I wanted to get extract totally down first. I know you can make good extract beer. What's wrong here?

Thanks : D

 

[nickatina7]

Yeah I just drank some more after I typed that. Tastes so much like a kind of hoppy hard cider. I feel like less of a man for drinking it. I need to drink a gnarly IPA and this isn't doing it.

 

[unionrdr]

60F is too cold for carbing & conditioning. Get them in a warmer place for a week or two. They'll clean up that apple flavor some more too. but it sounds like initial ferment temp was too high,thus the apple flavor.

 

[peterj]

Well I tried the rogue IPA I bottled a week ago. The bottles have been sitting in my house which is probly 60* (it's like 30* outside). There was some carbonation but not enough I think. Anyways it had a sweet taste to it. And smells a lot like an apple cider. I like a crisp hoppy IPA. And this is definitely not like that.

It's an extract recipe kit and the final gravity was a bit high. But it was visibly fermenting for a while. Where do you think I went wrong? It fermented in a constant 67* temp. And I pitched dry 05 yeast directly into it. Is this apple smell and flavor from the extract in the recipe? I want to go all grain but don't have the money yet and I wanted to get extract totally down first. I know you can make good extract beer. What's wrong here?

Thanks : D

1 week is not long enough for it to carbonate. Especially at 60F. If you can't keep it warmer than 60F then I would give it like 4 weeks. The sweetness you're tasting is the priming sugar because the yeast hasn't had time to consume it to produce CO2 (which is also why the carbonation is low). Just be patient. I never try any of my bottles until at least 3 weeks.

 

[nickatina7]

At eggs temp should I get it into the carboy? And what temp should I pitch the yeast at?

 

[nickatina7]

*at what temp