Frankenfest

[Wortlover]

I feel like I just raised the dead. I had what I believe was a stuck fermentation. I analyzed what I did. Cooled wort after boil w/ IC. OG was 1.069 adjusted for temp. Pitched lager yeast @ 70 degrees. Wort Was poured through a screened funnel into carboy, so there was some degree of spashing. Into the fermenfreezer she went, @ a temp of 65 degrees to get her started. Nothing for 60 hours. Checked SG....1.066. I decided to aerate wort. Bought fish tank pump set up, sanitized, then aerated for 10 minutes. Foam everywhere! Waited for foam to subside some, tryed again. 3 minutes and foamed again. I got a total of 20 minutes of aeration. Re-sanitized carboy top and put bubbler back on.

8 hours later, THERE IS A GOD, I HAVE FERMENTATION!! What a relief. This batch was an all grain (EdWort) Oktoberfest. I got so worked up over not having any fermentation.

My question is, should I now RDWHAHB, or should I aerate further with oxygen?(I picked up small bottle @ Home Depot). I've turned the freezer down to 55 degrees.

 

[BarleyWater]

Relax, you do not want to aerate after fermentation has begun until you are pouring a glass.

 

[Wortlover]

Well she's chuggin' away now @ a burp every 3 secs. Moral of the story, aerate your wort properly, and do a starter, which I did not.

 

[WBC]

So many of us forget something while brewing so years ago I made a list of items (check list) to prevent this. I keep it always handy during a brew session and I still look at it even though I have been brewing for 36 years. I know it really helps when I have a few beers while brewing.