Just finished brew, off the chart reading?

[benbradford]

Corny kegs are simple, here is what I did... chicompany.net has extra lids for like $4.00. I drilled a hole in my extra lids and added rubeer stopper, and there you go!

1/6 and 1/2 barrel kegs are even easier, because the hole in the top once you remove the spear fits a stopper too, and there are fewer parts remaining once the spear is gone. Even better, once all of this is done, you can connect keg to keg and move beer from keg to keg using co2!

 

[harrydrez]

I don't even bother taking an og with an extract brew; if you added all of your extract you should be at your OG. If your og is off and your volume is right I guarantee that your wort and top off water is just not well mixed. RDWAHAHB,

 

[Brewnoob1]

Just an update, I had very little bubbling out of the airlock (I know this isn't a great indicator of fermentation, but still....) I saw a little bit of Krausen Saturday morning so I knew things were slowly happening. All bubbling stopped by Saturday night so I popped the top just long enough to take a peak. It seems that I have about an inch to inch and a half of Krausen, so I'm just going to let it do it's thing. I'm really worried that I under-pitched and this will turn out crappy. I'm still not home to check the recipe numbers, but I'm seriously surprised by the OG reading with this being an extract brew with specialty grains that the LHBS put together for me. The LME wasn't out of a can or I'd be able to tell exact quantities. Oh well, nothing much I can do now but wait it out. Hopefully, this won't turn out with esters and lots of off flavors due to under pitching the yeast. Live and learn I guess.....

Side note question: I'll be letting this sit in the primary for about 4 weeks until I get back from vacation. Should I move to a carboy for another 2-3 weeks? Or go ahead and take a reading and throw it into the keg?

Second side question: I'm leaving this fermenting down in my in-law's basement. Would it cause any issues other than potentially stirring up the sediment at the bottom if I transferred the fermenter from their house to my own?

 

[Corey_James]

To answer your first question. There are people on here who say to leave it on the yeast and not use a secondary; then there are those that live by using secondary. The question is, what is the temp of the basement? The thing I would look at is fermentation done before you leave on vacation, then I would transfer before you leave and let that sit for the 4 weeks. Some fermentations can be quick or they can be slow. Did you pitch an ale yeast or lager yeast?

As for the fermentation, I also would take a gravity in a couple of days and see how far it has dropped; if you under pitched you can always add a second smack pack of yeast.

 

[Brewnoob1]

The basement is sitting in the mid 60s. I checked the fermentor before I left and the thermometer on the bucket was reading 68. I may have to find some time to get out there and bring it back to my home so that I can further monitor this. Would the transfer do anything to the brew except stir up the sediment in the bottom?

I won't be able to get yeast until tomorrow at the earliest. Being 3 days in, what should the estimated drop in gravity be? I believe it was an ale yeast, though I'll need to double check.

 

[Corey_James]

The reason I asked the question is different yeast required different temps. If your beer is sitting at 68, then is should be fine for an ale. As for what your gravity should be is based on a bunch of different variables. I would measure it either tonight or tomorrow and see. If it is 15-20 points above your target FG, then wait and check again in a day or so. If is greater than that, I would pitch another pack of yeast. There are more issues with underpitching yeast than to over pitching yeast; this is one of the time where you can err on the side of caution and over pitch and not really have issues.

 

[Brewnoob1]

Well, if that's the case, I may go get the fermentor tonight and then buy some more yeast tomorrow. My LHBS is closed today or else I'd pitch more tonight. There shouldn't be anything wrong with transfering the bucket in the car is there?

 

[Corey_James]

If you stir it up a little you may rouse the yeast a little and get it going again. Sometimes when they work really hard and need just to get resuspended it the beer to keep it working.

(side note, you need to clear your inbox so I can reply to your other comment.)

 

[Brewnoob1]

I just cleared it. Sorry about that!

 

[Corey_James]

No problem.

 

[KevinW]

If I am correct in my assumption, you are brewing a Maibock with 3-4lbs of LME and 1lb of honey for a 5 gallon batch?

Your gravity cannot be anywhere near 1.080, more like 1.045. If you did not stir enough than the action of the yeast should finish mixing for you but it is always a good idea to stir the extract for several minutes before pitching. It is also a good idea to add all of the extract in the kettle before transferring to the fermentor for sterlizing and dissolving the extract.

If making a Maibock you should be using a lager yeast so moving the fermentor to the basement may not be a bad idea as warmer temps can give some interesting(unwanted) flavors to lager yeasts! If using an ale yeast then the mid 60's should not be too bad!

Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[Brewnoob1]

Yeah, I'm thinking that mixing was the culprit to be honest with you. It couldn't have been more than 3-4lbs of LME and 1lb honey. I had to add the last....I'd say 10th of the LME straight into the fermentor as my small boil pot couldn't handle anymore. I added hot water and tried to dissolve it the best I could. I mixed for a good 5 minutes which dropped the OG from 1.100 to 1.080. I'm sure if I could have dissolved better and had the time to keep mixing, I probably could have gone lower. This is my hopes anyway. I had the wort exposed for a while and being a new brewer...got anxious to get the yeast pitched.

I just brought the brew back home today and it's now out in my garage. The garage stays in th mid 60s pretty constant, so I'm hoping that is cool enough temps. The therm on the side of the bucket still reads 66-68 degrees. I'm extremely limited on resources and space, so that will just have to do for the time being. I am getting no bubbling out of the air lock but as mentioned before, I popped the top just enough to peek and I have an inch or two of Krausen, so I know they are at least working somewhat.

I'm now debating on whether to get another packet of yeast to add to the mix tomorrow. What do you guys think since I do have krausen? Add more yeast? Or wait it out and let them rock it out for 3-4 weeks in the primary?

 

[benbradford]

My experience with buckets is that they do not bubble anywhere near a carbou. There just seems to be air gaps on the seal, even with an oring and brewing bucket. The krausen speaks for itself. Let it be...

 

[Corey_James]

It seems like you have fermentation. Give it till this weekend to take a gravity on it. Stop opening your bucket, it will only introduce O2 to the mix and now at this point you do NOT want that getting in the mix. I would not leave it on the yeast for a month, but transfer to carboy before you leave on vacation and throw and air lock on that. Let it age in the carboy vice the bucket. They are great for primary, but not the greatest for secondary. The only secondary I do in a bucket is dry hop, because I got tired of cleaning them out of the carboy. I know this hobby can be stressful, but now is the time to take a breath, let the yeast do their job and RDWAHAHB (if you haven't figured this one out it is Relax Don't Worry And Have A HomeBrew).

 

[Brewnoob1]

Just an update...took a gravity reading this evening which would make day 6. It's down to 1.050. So, I still have a LONG way to go! But...stuff is happening so I'm just letting it go. I'll be on vacation this time next week, so I won't be able to check it for 2 more weeks. Hopefully, it'll be at or near it's FG by then. That would be 3 weeks in the primary. Hopefully it won't stall out....but I'm hoping not. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

 

[Brewnoob1]

My fermentation has definitely stalled. It's sitting at 1.050 for 3 days now. I still have about an inch of Krausen on top, but I checked the gravity earlier this week and now this morning and got 1.050. Should I add another packet of yeast? All I have is Nottingham 11g packet. Any issues you guys see with me adding this?

EDIT: I'm fermenting at about 66-68 degrees

 

[benbradford]

i dont trust that hydrometer... does it taste sweet or good?

 

[Brewnoob1]

I tasted the sample and it's still pretty damn sweet to me. So, I think it has pretty far to go if you ask me.

Side note about opening my bucket, I'm actually using the spigot. I'm spraying with sanitizer, taking the reading, and re-spraying with sanitizer. I'm trying to be as safe as possible with taking the readings and not opening it up to O2 and infection.

 

[BrewStooge]

O2 is actually good before the fermentation, it helps the yeast be fruitful and multiply before they actually start eating up the sugars.

Edit: derp, read the rest of the pages before posting. Anyhow, the usual advise for stuck ferms, swirl, raise temp by a couple degrees and check back in a couple days. If it's still stuck then I'd look at adding more yeast.

 

[benbradford]

I would also be careful with using a bottling bucket for fermentation... An easy place for bugs to hide and you are asking for an infection "eventually."

 

[Corey_James]

I have just the opposite problem after yesterday's brew day. I made a modified version of Jamil's evil twin and hit it with a starter. It actually blew the airlock off of the bucket. I had blow off 18 hours after pitching yeast. But as for your problem, I would do what brwestooge said: swirl, raise temp, add yeast as a last resort.