Lazy snail fermentation???

[Suicid]

Hi folks,

Need an advice.
I usually let a batch to sit in fermenter for about 4 weeks (+-) and use as much priming as required by recipe.
After bottling in about 80% I noticed that after couple of month in the bottles beer has much more carb than it should. Especially dark and heavy beers.

Last time with APA i performed a quick exp - did not prime couple of bottles at all. After 1 month I found those bottles carbonated at "a bit less than need to required" level. The rest otherwise were a bit overcarbonated - giving alot of head (lets say 50/50 of volume then pouring chilled).

Infection is not the case, I can assure you.
To me it looks like postfermentation still going on in even non-primed bottles some times after bottling.

Any1 have the same experience? Any suggestions how to fix it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[B2Barleywine]

Do you take gravity measurements to confirm that fermentation is complete? It sounds as though their are still fermentables going into the bottle. My advice would be to pitch an adequate yeast starter and confirm that fermentation is complete by taking multiple gravity readings over the course of a few days when you think it's done. Use these readings to confirm that you've reached you're expected attentuation for your given recipe. Good luck!

 

[porterpounder]

In addition to readings, how are you oxygenating your wort prior to pitching? lack of oxygen in higher OG beers can lead to the yeast pooping out early.

 

[Suicid]

Thanks for your responses, guys!

Do you take gravity measurements to confirm that fermentation is complete?

Yes, I do. I use refractometer many times during the course and usually bottle after gravity set steady for a week or so.

In addition to readings, how are you oxygenating your wort prior to pitching? lack of oxygen in higher OG beers can lead to the yeast pooping out early.

Thats a great catch. I never do any special for oxygenating rather then mixing with a paddle as hell. I see such overcarbs not with the only big beers bu also with a low gravity - might be oxy issue then anyway?

 

[B2Barleywine]

Can you give us an example of a recipe along with the starting gravity and final gravity you attained? Do you use dry or liquid yeast? If liquid, do you make a starter?

Before I had access to O2 I used to shake the hell out of my fermenter to oxygenate. It's hard to say if mixing with your paddle is giving you adequate O2... especially with the high gravity brews.

 

[Suicid]

Can you give us an example of a recipe along with the starting gravity and final gravity you attained? Do you use dry or liquid yeast? If liquid, do you make a starter?

Before I had access to O2 I used to shake the hell out of my fermenter to oxygenate. It's hard to say if mixing with your paddle is giving you adequate O2... especially with the high gravity brews.

For example that one:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=123276

Used dry yeast WB-06, hit final gravity as mentioned after 2,5 weeks, then keep it in fermenter for next 9 days (according to my logs).

Primed with 115gr of dex.

Turned out great, but much overcarbed.

 

[B2Barleywine]

Presuming you had an OG of 1.062 like the recipe calls for, WB-06 should have gotten you to down around the neighborhood of 1.008 FG considering the 86% attenuation listed for that yeast. (FWIW, it seems beersmith mistakenly listed the attenuation for that yeast at 68% not 86%) If you indeed went from 1.062 OG to 1.013 FG that'd be only 78% attenuation... meaning it could've continued to ferment in the bottle. Keep in mind, a refractometer isn't a reliable way to measure gravity once alcohol has been produced. There are formulas that can be used to correct this if you wish. I find a hydrometer to be simpler. Also, you used a different yeast than the recipe calls for which can also lead to a different FG than the recipe calls for.

Considering how long your beer was in the fermenter, it really *should've* been done. If you really want to ensure a fast and full fermentation i'd recommend using o2 to oxygenate, a yeast nutrient in the boil and some sort of way to control ferment temp. If you do all that and start with fresh yeast, you'll hit your numbers every time.

Good luck...