Fermentation Stopped early?

[cubicleman]

I made a raw / no-boil beer from all grain using 10.5lb maris otter grain and 0.5 lb carahell grain. Infused the mash for 90 min at 155-160F and removed the Grain bag. I hopped at various times during the infusion since I didn't boil (raw beer). I used a liquid California Ale Yeast (I guess its really a paste) but when I transferred to the fermenter I didn't mix the yeast into the wort, nor did I do any aeration of the wort. The air lock was pretty active days 2-4 but day 5 seems to be a complete stop of any activity from the air lock. The temp during fermentation has been a consistent 65F according the the thermometer taped to the side if the fermenter. Given it's in my cool basement, it seems to be accurate.

I assume I should let it sit for a total of 2 weeks but I also assumed continued activity beyond day 4. Any feedback / thoughts on next steps? Do I wait?, do I try opening the fermenter and adding anything (Amylase - spelling?)?

Much appreciation for any advice.

 

[BGHSmt7]

Some yeasts can finish within 3-5 days at that temp. Did you take a gravity reading? Only way to know if it's done is by taking gravity readings. Airlock activity is one aspect to watch for, but just because there's no activity, doesn't mean that it's done/not fermenting. I'd let the beer sit for at least the 2 weeks to make sure that the yeast finish cleaning up after themselves. Remember, RDWHAHB

 

[cubicleman]

Some yeasts can finish within 3-5 days at that temp. Did you take a gravity reading? Only way to know if it's done is by taking gravity readings. Airlock activity is one aspect to watch for, but just because there's no activity, doesn't mean that it's done/not fermenting. I'd let the beer sit for at least the 2 weeks to make sure that the yeast finish cleaning up after themselves. Remember, RDWHAHB

Unfortunately, I dropped and broke my hydrometer about 15 minutes before I started my mash. So, I was sort of going through it blindly on this one. I'll go out and buy a new one over the next couple of days, but I'm not sure that I want to open it up until the 2 week cycle is over. I was planning on conditioning for a week in a carboy after the 2 weeks. Without the initial gravity reading prior to fermentation, what can I learn from a single gravity reading after the 2 week fermentation cycle? I assume if the gravity is to high, I'll need to take some additional fermentation action?

 

[BGHSmt7]

If you're expecting an OG of around 54 points and you're SG is around 14 points, then you're good to go, just let it do it's thing and clean itself up. If the gravity is too high, you might be able to fix it with some Amylase, yeast nutrient, yeast energizer, or a yeast or bacteria that can handle to longer sugar chains.

You're right as well. I wouldn't open it up for at least the 2 weeks.

 

[cubicleman]

If you're expecting an OG of around 54 points and you're SG is around 14 points, then you're good to go, just let it do it's thing and clean itself up. If the gravity is too high, you might be able to fix it with some Amylase, yeast nutrient, yeast energizer, or a yeast or bacteria that can handle to longer sugar chains.

You're right as well. I wouldn't open it up for at least the 2 weeks.

Primary Fermentation finished a 2 week cycle...I opened up the fermenter and it looked and smelled great. I took a SG reading and was prepared to use some Amylase if needed. I was expecting a higher final SG but the SG was lower than 1.01...it was more like 1.005. I moved it to the carboy for a conditioning fermentation for a week and will then bottle.

I've never had that low a Final SG...is that low a final SG good / ok?

 

[kh54s10]

Without knowing what your OG was there is no way to tell for sure but 1.005 is not out of the possibility. Is it good? You will be the first to know when the beer is carbonated.

 

[cubicleman]

Without knowing what your OG was there is no way to tell for sure but 1.005 is not out of the possibility. Is it good? You will be the first to know when the beer is carbonated.

It looked and smelled really good. The recipe I had indicated an expect OG of around 1.055, but I did a no boil / raw beer. So, I'm really not sure how that would've effected the OG (up or down). Can't wait for bottling....going to bottle some with priming sugar and then about a gallon of it I'm going to use CO2. I'll report back on it.

 

[BGHSmt7]

Without boiling, the wort wasn't as condensed as it would be in the recipe. I'd assume at least 8-10 pts lower OG-but it's hard to say. My math comes to an approximate ABV of 4.8-5.3%. If that's what the recipe is saying that you should be at, then Huzzah! Drink it and enjoy!

 

[cubicleman]

Finished Conditioning and proceeded to priming and bottling. Tasted a bit though. It seems kind of light, meaning it most likely was a low gravity OG. Although, was hard to tell...had a couple of pints of a high alcohol content Brett beer before I tasted it. So, it might have thrown my taste off a bit. I did taste a slight corn taste...which I hear is, or can be, a result of a no-boil / raw beer. I started to force carbonate a small amount prior to adding priming sugar to the rest of the batch. All bottled and the final wait has begun.

Reflecting on some mistakes: I didn't really sparge, so that probably resulted in a lower efficiency of getting sugars from the grain...and thus a lower OG. I'm going to assume a 1.04 OG. My FG was really close 1.00...prolly 1.003. So, I'm assuming I got about 4.86% ABV.

Just a thought but could I have taken some Malt Extract, boiled it, cooled it and added it to the carboy and conducted a 3rd / supplemental fermentation? Anyone do something like that? is it a bad idea?

I used 11 lbs of Grain (10.5lb Maris Otter and 0.5lb CaraHell) for about 4-4.5 gallons. Didn't quite go the full 5 gal.