inactive fermentation

[wtrfwlnut]

So I brewed a rather simple IPA this weekend. I have watched it daily and it seemed to take a couple days to get going on the fermentation and then is seemed very inactive. Built what looked like a decent Krauzen after a couple days in the ferm chamber and then it petered out. I'm hoping some of the more experienced brewers might offer opinion on what happened and if there is anything I can do to make sure it completed attenuation... I know I probably need to take a reading but it's only been fermenting for about 5 days.

Here is the recipe and detail:

Grain:
10lb 2-row
1 lb Briess Caramel 40
.5 lb Caramel/Crystal 15L

Hops:
.75oz Centennial @ 60
.75oz Centennial @ 20
1oz Centennial @ 10
.5oz Cascade @ 0
2oz Cascade Dry Hop 7-10 days before cold crash

Whirlfloc Tabs @ 5 min - I used 5g Irish Moss at 10 min

Yeast - It asked for Wyeast 1056 - I pitched two purepitch packs of WLP001 Calif Ale Yeast. This may be the problem. I (for the first time) did not make a starter. I always make a starter but we have been super busy on the weekends and it's been cutting into my brewing time. I had this batch for a few weeks and decided to brew late on a Sunday afternoon so no time to make the starter. I thought that would be fine, the Purepitch packs said best if used by 6-21 and it was 6-11 so, good to go. I pulled them out of the fridge and let them warm to room temp slowly. Once I cooled the wort down to about 64 deg F, I pitched both packs of WLP001 into the carboy. I had the ferm chamber ready to go at 67 deg F and popped her right in there. I normally run a blow-off tube into a small bottle of star-san, but this time I went with the rubber stopper with the thermo-well for the ferm chamber temp control probe and a normal air lock. A couple days in, no bubbling in the air lock and not much foam building in the carboy. By Wednesday, I had a decent head of krausen but still not many bubbles in the airlock when I checked....I expected to see the little plastic piece in there dancing on a constant stream of bubbles. So I check it again first thing on Thursday and the Krausen seems to have reduced and not much action at all...Today (Friday) there isn't much left in the way of bubbles/foam on top of the beer. I feel like it wasn't a very active fermentation and I'm not sure what to do. Do I make a starter and pitch again?

I took a gravity reading before I pitched the yeast and it was at about 1.040 (maybe 1.042).... I thought that was a good and meant a lot of sugars for the yeast to eat...Then the inactive fermentation

so what would the more experienced brewers do? Do I need to take a reading and see of all of the sugars have been converted? Should I try just pitching again.

I would appreciate any help. Also, if I have excluded any important details, let me know and I will share what I did or used.

Thanks

 

[Nokie]

I think you'll be fine, as long as you've got krausen formed then you're fermenting. You won't be able to tell what it's doing until you get some readings. It's hard to judge just by the krausen alone. Unless it's a recipe you've done exactly before. I've had some batches that have a 1/4 inch krausen and some with 5 inches.
I would leave it for 2 weeks and take a reading, then wait 2 days and take another and compare them. If they hadn't changed then you're done.
It also looks like 67* is on the lower side for wlp001. That may be why it seems slow and not as aggressive

 

[wtrfwlnut]

I think you'll be fine, as long as you've got krausen formed then you're fermenting. You won't be able to tell what it's doing until you get some readings. It's hard to judge just by the krausen alone. Unless it's a recipe you've done exactly before. I've had some batches that have a 1/4 inch krausen and some with 5 inches.
I would leave it for 2 weeks and take a reading, then wait 2 days and take another and compare them. If they hadn't changed then you're done.
It also looks like 67* is on the lower side for wlp001. That may be why it seems slow and not as aggressive

Thank you!. Yeah, I read that on the package also for the WLP001. Apparently it likes 68-73 Deg. Perhaps I'll bump the ferm chamber up a deg.

Might just brew it again and make a starter and see which one turns out better..

Anyway, going to wait it out for another week or two and see how she reads.

Thanks again

 

[SlitheryDee]

A gravity of 1.040-1.042 isn't super high actually. It's perfectly respectable for a beer, but it's on the low end of what I usually shoot for. Lower gravities tend to result in shorter periods of active fermentation, and I would guess less vigorous as well.

That's all beside the point really. One thing I'm thinking is that sunday to Friday seems like a perfectly normal time period for you to see a krausen. I pitched my last beer on last Saturday. Upon checking it this morning I saw that the krausen was nearly gone. That's one day slower than yours, but it was a considerably heavier wort. I fermented at 61 degrees and at that temperature the yeast was pretty sluggish, so I never really saw a ton of airlock activity either. Still, I bet if I checked it right now I'd be at or near FG.

In other words, I think your beer is fine. Don't do anything hasty. Just bump the temperature up to the low 70s and give it another week.

 

[wtrfwlnut]

A gravity of 1.040-1.042 isn't super high actually. It's perfectly respectable for a beer, but it's on the low end of what I usually shoot for. Lower gravities tend to result in shorter periods of active fermentation, and I would guess less vigorous as well.

That's all beside the point really. One thing I'm thinking is that sunday to Friday seems like a perfectly normal time period for you to see a krausen. I pitched my last beer on last Saturday. Upon checking it this morning I saw that the krausen was nearly gone. That's one day slower than yours, but it was a considerably heavier wort. I fermented at 61 degrees and at that temperature the yeast was pretty sluggish, so I never really saw a ton of airlock activity either. Still, I bet if I checked it right now I'd be at or near FG.

In other words, I think your beer is fine. Don't do anything hasty. Just bump the temperature up to the low 70s and give it another week.

Awesome!, that's my plan. Thanks for the reassurance on that. I definitely need more practice.

 

[TungstenBeer]

A gravity of 1.040-1.042 isn't super high actually. It's perfectly respectable for a beer, but it's on the low end of what I usually shoot for. Lower gravities tend to result in shorter periods of active fermentation, and I would guess less vigorous as well.

That's all beside the point really. One thing I'm thinking is that sunday to Friday seems like a perfectly normal time period for you to see a krausen. I pitched my last beer on last Saturday. Upon checking it this morning I saw that the krausen was nearly gone. That's one day slower than yours, but it was a considerably heavier wort. I fermented at 61 degrees and at that temperature the yeast was pretty sluggish, so I never really saw a ton of airlock activity either. Still, I bet if I checked it right now I'd be at or near FG.

In other words, I think your beer is fine. Don't do anything hasty. Just bump the temperature up to the low 70s and give it another week.

I agree with all of this. Two Purepitch packages is a really good amount of yeast for 1.040 or so, too. So I'd say it just fermented really fast and it's (mostly) complete.

 

[wtrfwlnut]

I agree with all of this. Two Purepitch packages is a really good amount of yeast for 1.040 or so, too. So I'd say it just fermented really fast and it's (mostly) complete.

Right On, thanks! With hat in mind, I dry hopped this weekend and will cold crash and then keg it next weekend provided the readings look stable.

Cheers!