Had fermenter lid open for hours before adding yeast

[IEpicDestiny]

Hi,

I added in my wort and topped it to 25l (I had to add ice cubes and wrap a wet towel around the fermenter to cool it down before adding the yeast)

I had the lid open for about 5 hours as I let it cool down before adding the yeast at the correct temperature.

Is this okay to do? Will it effect my beer? (oxygenation?)

It's 7.5% beer, Evil Dog IPA

I'm also wondering how to figure out how much sugar to put in for secondary fermentation if I have increased the amount by about 2 litres. Would it need more sugar? And will my beer taste watery?

Thanks

 

[PCABrewing]

Not the best idea though open fermenters were common in the old days.

 

[pvtpublic]

While it's true that open fermenters are a thing, doing that at home is not a good idea. There's too many nasties flying around. The breweries with open fermenters have been doing it so long that the yeast is covering every surface and is the dominant microbe in the air.

Unless I'm mistaking a cracked open seal for an open space, I doubt your beer will survive.

 

[pvtpublic]

Another question, why are you adding sugar?

 

[IEpicDestiny]

Another question, why are you adding sugar?

It says I have to whilst bottling

 

[IEpicDestiny]

While it's true that open fermenters are a thing, doing that at home is not a good idea. There's too many nasties flying around. The breweries with open fermenters have been doing it so long that the yeast is covering every surface and is the dominant microbe in the air.

Unless I'm mistaking a cracked open seal for an open space, I doubt your beer will survive.

My airlock is bubbling so I suppose its okay? I have sealed it now

 

[SonomaBrewer]

I bet you'll be fine, though likelihood is high that you will have a mixed fermentation.

Might not be able to taste a difference. But could also have funk flavor bugs (hopefully not spoil flavor bugs). If the latter dump it and learn better for your next batch!

 

[hotbeer]

It says I have to whilst bottling

If your secondary fermentation is in the capped bottle then yes you do add sugar or fermentable wort at bottling time.

However when a person uses the words "secondary" and "fermentation" in the same sentence, we think you are talking about moving the beer to another fermentation vessel and bottling is not imminent.

 

[RM-MN]

I added in my wort and topped it to 25l (I had to add ice cubes and wrap a wet towel around the fermenter to cool it down before adding the yeast)

I had the lid open for about 5 hours as I let it cool down before adding the yeast at the correct temperature.

Your wort is very good medium for growing bacteria and wild yeast but....it took some of that 5 hours too get cool enough for them to grow in the wort. While I would prefer to have it covered by something, I suspect that you don't have a huge load of bacteria in your home air and then it takes a while for the bacteria to grow. As they started to grow, you dumped in several billion yeast cells that would quickly (at least as quickly as the bacteria) increase their numbers (which was huge to start with, much bigger than the number of bacteria) and create the conditions they like and the bacteria can't tolerate to grow their numbers.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

If your secondary fermentation is in the capped bottle then yes you do add sugar or fermentable wort at bottling time.

However when a person uses the words "secondary" and "fermentation" in the same sentence, we think you are talking about moving the beer to another fermentation vessel and bottling is not imminent.

I meant putting it in another fermenter to then add the sugar and then bottle after that

 

[hotbeer]

I meant putting it in another fermenter to then add the sugar and then bottle after that

Then we need some more information. Your priming sugar for carbonating your bottled beer should be added the day or even the hour you bottle your beer.

If you put that sugar in a secondary FV, then it might be all gone by the time you get to bottling days later.

Most of us don't use secondary FV's. There isn't any reason to for most homebrew beers. And I'd consider moving beer to a secondary an advanced brewing technique that is only useful for a few circumstances and not something done for every brew you do. At one time early in the re-birth of do-it-yourself beer it was thought necessary, but now we know it's mostly dogma.

Perhaps if you are using a keg and wanting to naturally carbonate, then that might be considered a secondary. I'd just consider it kegged.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

Then we need some more information. Your priming sugar for carbonating your bottled beer should be added the day or even the hour you bottle your beer.

If you put that sugar in a secondary FV, then it might be all gone by the time you get to bottling days later.

Most of us don't use secondary FV's. There isn't any reason to for most homebrew beers. And I'd consider moving beer to a secondary an advanced brewing technique that is only useful for a few circumstances and not something done for every brew you do. At one time early in the re-birth of do-it-yourself beer it was thought necessary, but now we know it's mostly dogma.

Perhaps if you are using a keg and wanting to naturally carbonate, then that might be considered a secondary. I'd just consider it kegged.

I would not leave the sugar, I would bottle straight after putting the sugar in the 2nd fermenter. I keep getting suggested to use a 2nd fermenter when making my brews. My previous brews have been terrible, no head whatsoever, just fizzy beer. So now I am going to try putting the sugar in the secondary fermenter instead

 

[pvtpublic]

My previous brews have been terrible, no head whatsoever, just fizzy beer.

That could be the result of contamination from leaving the lid off. Try some other method for cooling your wort, with the lid on. An ice bath would work great, or, if you can, pick up an immersion chiller. Or, as a last resort, leave it over night and pitch the next day.

 

[RM-MN]

My previous brews have been terrible, no head whatsoever, just fizzy beer. So now I am going to try putting the sugar in the secondary fermenter instead

You just described the effects of not rinsing out the cleaner well enough. Modern soaps (detergents) will destroy the heading on your beer. Wash your drinking container by hand instead of the dishwasher. Rinse it well and see if that solves the problem. If not, check how you wash bottles and maybe even the fermenter and bottling bucket. All of those need to be clean but all detergent residue must be rinsed out. I wash bottles with dish soap but double rinse them, once in the sink, once directly from the tap.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

You just described the effects of not rinsing out the cleaner well enough. Modern soaps (detergents) will destroy the heading on your beer. Wash your drinking container by hand instead of the dishwasher. Rinse it well and see if that solves the problem. If not, check how you wash bottles and maybe even the fermenter and bottling bucket. All of those need to be clean but all detergent residue must be rinsed out. I wash bottles with dish soap but double rinse them, once in the sink, once directly from the tap.

Trust me I must have spent 5 hours rinsing everything after using VWP. So it must be something else.. I just have no idea what. I make sure the caps are on as tight as possible too

 

[IEpicDestiny]

Does anyone know what happens to my beer if I increased it from 23 to 25l? Will the beer taste worse? Should I empty some out? How much sugar should I put in for bottling? It says I need 150g of sugar for 23l so how much should I add for 25l? 163g?
I am transferring the beer to a secondary fermenter before bottling so when I add the sugar to the secondary fermenter should I give it a good mix before putting into bottles?

 

[jerrylotto]

You should dissolve your priming sugar in water and boil it. How much to use depends on how many volumes of CO2 you want in your beer. The difference between 150 g and 163 g of going to be pretty minor. You then gently stir the cooled priming sugar solution in to your finished beer in a bottling bucket... That's not called a secondary fermentation.

 

[Zambezi Special]

Part of the confusion here is coming from terminology.
You're planning on using a bottling bucket, if I understand correct. Calling it a secondary fermenter means something else.
Anyway, I use 6 to 8 gr sugar per litre for my beers. That should give you a bit of an indication.

As for cooling: you can look at no chill (cooling overnight or longer in a closed vessel), an immersion chiller, placing the wort in a bucket with cold water or ice etc
But keep it closed.
If you can't cool it far enough you can also look at yeasts that like higher temperatures

 

[Worf]

A subtle comment you made seemed to have gone unnoticed. You say that you 'added ice' & I'm assuming directly to the wort.

Everything in the wort has been boiled.Yet, unless you have an incredible water filter (<5 micron & carbon filtered) or it was frozen-after-boiling, I'd be worried about the frozen bacteria that could easily be in the ice.

 

[jerrylotto]

Good point about the ice. I had just naturally assumed that he had made an ice bath and lowered his kettle into it but maybe he did add it directly.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

Good point about the ice. I had just naturally assumed that he had made an ice bath and lowered his kettle into it but maybe he did add it directly.

Yeah I did add it directly. So what should I do, just chuck it all down the drain??

 

[jerrylotto]

Of course not. Good judgment comes from experience and experience come from poor judgment.

 

[hotbeer]

My previous brews have been terrible, no head whatsoever, just fizzy beer.

And fizzy beer means what? It had a good amount of carbonation that lasted long enough for the beer to be enjoyed. Or was it overly carbonated and perhaps didn't seem to last very long.

What about taste? I'm okay with a good tasting beer that is carbonated well whether it has a good head or not. Wouldn't be my submission to a judging contest though.

You mention VWP, and that's probably a little obscure to most of us. However I thought that is a cleaner. As such it probably should be rinsed off with a no-rinse sanitizer such as StarSan, Iodophor or whatever is common in your region.

https://www.vwpcleanersteriliser.co.uk/

 

[Broken Crow]

Yeah I did add it directly. So what should I do, just chuck it all down the drain??

Just finish it and see how it comes out... if you don't like it or it's gone off, it's still very suitable for soaking a pork-roast or ribs in. "Waste" is usually just a missed learning opportunity.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

And fizzy beer means what? It had a good amount of carbonation that lasted long enough for the beer to be enjoyed. Or was it overly carbonated and perhaps didn't seem to last very long.

What about taste? I'm okay with a good tasting beer that is carbonated well whether it has a good head or not. Wouldn't be my submission to a judging contest though.

You mention VWP, and that's probably a little obscure to most of us. However I thought that is a cleaner. As such it probably should be rinsed off with a no-rinse sanitizer such as StarSan, Iodophor or whatever is common in your region.

https://www.vwpcleanersteriliser.co.uk/

The head would just fizz out in a few seconds and the beer would taste sort of yeasty, and I was careful with the trub too. The funny thing is, the first ever batch I did made perfect beer but ever since then using the same method it just turns into fizzy horrible tasting beer

 

[oakbarn]

We had one infection over the years and the fermentation was explosive. Knudsen erupted and threw the airlock out and ran down the sides of the fermenter.

We let it go but when we tasted, we threw it out and double cleaned every thing.

We used to only cover our carboys with the first few days. I think regardless of how much you sanitize, some wild yeast or bacteria will get into the wort. You want to get the yeast in an working so it is well ahead of any beasties that might be there. By cooling quickly and adding yeast, you get ahead of the curve.

It might be terrible or fine. I would let it ferment out and taste it before botting. We taste every brew at every step, so we can tell the end product with some warm wort!

 

[Zambezi Special]

What ice did you use?
We can buy cubes here that are uv treated etc.
Maybe yours are the same? Or did you make your own?