smmcdermott
Well-Known Member
I brewed up a NB Bavarian Hefeweizen Extract kit on January 3rd. I do a partial boil of around 3.5 gallons and usually have to add 2.5 (or so) to top off. I also added about half of the LME and DME at 60 mins and the rest at 15 mins. Nothing went wrong on brew day, that I can think of at least.
After I cooled the wort to 70 F I pitched the dry yeast (Munich). I didn't rehydrate it because it slipped my mind and I was bottling a beer and transfering another to secondary.
So it took approximately 5 days to start fermenting, which is too long in my book. The temperature where it sits is around 63-67 F and on occasion, gets as low as 60. This is within the recomended temperature for the yeast though (55-66). OK, so it might be one degree higher on occasion.
I then brewed again on Sunday, 1/17, two weeks later. My hydrometer only read 1.030 which is obviously way too high, so I gently shook up the yeast and let it sit again. It started to bubble again within an hour, not vigorously or anything, but a steady 2 bubbles every 3 seconds or so. This went on all night and slowed by morning to 1 bubble every 5 seconds.
Couple of questions:
1) why the long lag time? Surely not re-hydrating the yeast could have this large an effect?
2) What could have caused the stuck fermentation?
3) I know I need to check the hydrometer reading, but do you think the gravity has gotten low enough? Not sure the suggested SG is, but I would like to get around 1.012 if at all possible.
Any suggestions are much appreciated. Just want to make the best beer I can. Thanks for your help.
After I cooled the wort to 70 F I pitched the dry yeast (Munich). I didn't rehydrate it because it slipped my mind and I was bottling a beer and transfering another to secondary.
So it took approximately 5 days to start fermenting, which is too long in my book. The temperature where it sits is around 63-67 F and on occasion, gets as low as 60. This is within the recomended temperature for the yeast though (55-66). OK, so it might be one degree higher on occasion.
I then brewed again on Sunday, 1/17, two weeks later. My hydrometer only read 1.030 which is obviously way too high, so I gently shook up the yeast and let it sit again. It started to bubble again within an hour, not vigorously or anything, but a steady 2 bubbles every 3 seconds or so. This went on all night and slowed by morning to 1 bubble every 5 seconds.
Couple of questions:
1) why the long lag time? Surely not re-hydrating the yeast could have this large an effect?
2) What could have caused the stuck fermentation?
3) I know I need to check the hydrometer reading, but do you think the gravity has gotten low enough? Not sure the suggested SG is, but I would like to get around 1.012 if at all possible.
Any suggestions are much appreciated. Just want to make the best beer I can. Thanks for your help.