Messed it up

[jtbrewcrafter]

Hey guys. Brewed new beer Saturday. A holiday ale with ginger, molasses, pumpkin pie spice. It all smelled delicious but with an almost 20 lb grain bill, its bg. SG was 1.090 and I messed up by not making a starter. I pitched wyeast 1272 and then on sunday realized I underpitched and pitched another. As of this morning, I had a nice Krausen layer but still no airlock activity. Will I be ok?

 

[hunter_le five]

Lack of airlock activity means nothing. On some of my fermenters the airlock has never bubbled due to bad seals in the bucket lid, but the beer always came out fine.

If you have krausen, then it is fermenting. Since you added a second packet, you will probably be fine, as long as you oxygenated the wort enough. Just keep an eye on it and watch out for stuck fermentation. 1.090 is a pretty big beer, I bet it will be wonderful around Christmas-time.

 

[jtbrewcrafter]

Heres the recipe if it helps.



Ginger Snap Cookie Ale
All Grain Recipe

Batch Size: 5.25 gal Style: Christmas/Winter Specialty Spice Beer (21B)
Boil Size: 6.72 gal Style Guide: BJCP 2008
Color: 29.2 SRM
Bitterness: 39.5 IBUs
Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.097 (23.0° P)
Mash Profile: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Est FG: 1.014 SG (3.6° P)
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage
ABV: 11.1%

Ingredients

Amount Name Type #
10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
4 lbs Rye Malt (4.7 SRM)
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)
1 lbs Black Strap Molasses (80.0 SRM)
1 lbs Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM)
1.0 oz Warrior [15.0%]
6.00 oz Ginger Root (Boil 10 min)
0.50 oz Pumpkin Pie Spice (Boil 10 min)
1 pkgs American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272)
4.00 oz Vanilla Extract (Bottling 5 min)

 

[jtbrewcrafter]

Thanks for your quick reply. Im hoping you are correct and it turns out well.

 

[psubrewer]

I think your pitching rate is towards the low end but I wouldn't sweat it.

However, I don't think you'll get to 1.014 with this beer. Honestly I would be happy with 1.025 considering the high percentage of crystal malt and the addition of lactose.

 

[jtbrewcrafter]

Yeah. Thanks. Ive noticed that too. Im going to have to do a starter for my next batch.

 

[psubrewer]

Maybe consider a dry yeast next time. US05 for example is a very clean and predictable yeast that is appropriate for a wide range of styles. You can make outstanding beer with dry yeast and you avoid the hassle of making a starter and aeration.

Personally, unless I'm brewing a Belgian I stick with dry.

 

[NewWestBrewer]

Use yeastcalc or mr malty to figure out your best approach. I do 3 gal batches so most often a small starter is all I need but if I do a bigger beer i usually go dry if it fits the style.

 

[logan3825]

Maybe consider a dry yeast next time. US05 for example is a very clean and predictable yeast that is appropriate for a wide range of styles. You can make outstanding beer with dry yeast and you avoid the hassle of making a starter and aeration.

Personally, unless I'm brewing a Belgian I stick with dry.

A Belgian or a Hefe.

 

[CKing]

^WB-06 is a dry wheat yeast, so the Hefe is covered.

 

[logan3825]

My rule of thumb is if the flavor of the beer is driven mostly by the yeast(Belgians or hefe) or the yeast makes the style distinctive(Belgian IPA) I use liquid.

 

[psubrewer]

My rule of thumb is if the flavor of the beer is driven mostly by the yeast(Belgians of hefe) or the yeast makes the style distinctive(Belgian IPA) I use liquid.

^ this

 

[dave8274]

Glad I saw this. I just ordered a Belgian White kit from AHS. I didn't want to ship the yeast while it's still hot outside, so I skipped that and was going to go buy it at my LHBS. The kit recommended White Labs Belgian Wit Ale, Wyeast Belgian Witbier, or Safbrew T-58 dry yeast. I was planning to go with that one just for ease, but I guess I should go with one of the liquid yeasts?

 

[psubrewer]

The kit recommended White Labs Belgian Wit Ale, Wyeast Belgian Witbier, or Safbrew T-58 dry yeast. I was planning to go with that one just for ease, but I guess I should go with one of the liquid yeasts?

I think you would be much more satisfied with the liquid yeast for a belgian wit ale. I personally don't care for T-58 for a wit.