I've been out of brewing for quite a while now. And was a newbie before I fell out of the hobby. I bought an English Brown Ale LME kit over a year ago and had it stored in the closet. Decided to brew it tonight. The kit included a Nottingham dry yeast pack and I decided to make a starter thinking it would help being that the yeast was old. Also I added 2 small jars of chocolate PB2. My questions: After doing research (after pitching) I found that starters are not good for dry yeast. Is it possible I'll be facing a slow/stuck fermentation? Also I noticed a light layer of fat/grease on top of the wort. I'm assuming the PB2? Is this going to affect anything?
Old LME kit and a couple of mistakes
- Thread starter CodyClay
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Your older package of Nottinham may have lost some vitality but dry yeast is very tough and it might not have hurt it at all. Your starter probably did little to help it but it still should be plenty able to finish out your beer.
If you really have grease in your beer it may kill the head when you pour. Any soap residue on your glassware will do that too so washing your serving glasses in the dishwasher with an anti-spotting agent could also be the cause.
If you really have grease in your beer it may kill the head when you pour. Any soap residue on your glassware will do that too so washing your serving glasses in the dishwasher with an anti-spotting agent could also be the cause.
Tried to respond, but my app is acting up. This may be a repeat. It's been about 9 hours and no activity in the air lock. I will give it more time, but thinking I may have to pitch more yeast. Would it change the flavor too much if I used a yeast that's typically used in wine?
Welcome back to homebrewing. Remember, RDWHAHB!
Let it be for at least 48 hours so the yeast has a chance to do its thing. If you made a (successful) yeast starter, there is no good reason why the yeast wouldn't take hold, unless you killed it in some way. Most Brown Ales are lowish gravity, so be prepared for fermentation to be over quickly, 1-3 days. Still, give it another week (or 2) after that to condition out.
Don't judge fermentation solely by the lack of airlock activity.
Let it be for at least 48 hours so the yeast has a chance to do its thing. If you made a (successful) yeast starter, there is no good reason why the yeast wouldn't take hold, unless you killed it in some way. Most Brown Ales are lowish gravity, so be prepared for fermentation to be over quickly, 1-3 days. Still, give it another week (or 2) after that to condition out.
Don't judge fermentation solely by the lack of airlock activity.
Totally agree! Never forget RDWHAHB! But what does it mean?
Also, I'll give it a couple more days and report back.
stlblues5010
Junior Member
Welcome back. I got back into brewing just like you did, brewing an old kit. It worked out fine, I did toss in another pack of dry yeast.
Relax Don't Worry Have A Home Brew.
Welcome back. I got back into brewing just like you did, brewing an old kit. It worked out fine, I did toss in another pack of dry yeast.
Relax Don't Worry Have A Home Brew.
Thank! Just ordered another pack of yeast. Should get it in a couple of days. So if no activity by then, I'm pitchin it!
Update. Just watched it for about 2 minutes. (24 hours after pitching) and saw a single bubble. So there's some hope here. Just a slow start. When the new yeast comes in I'm going to check SG. And possibly re pitch accordingly. I'm still a little worried about the grease layer I saw before closing fermenter. I guess only time will tell if that affects (or infects) anything. I appreciate all of the replies.
My brews often take 24 to 30 hours to get going good. As long as you have activity your yeast are working and adding more later won't make much if any difference in the outcome.
Knkbrand
Well-Known Member
could the layer of grease you saw possibly be hop oils?
PB2 still contains about 10-15% of the original oils found in peanuts. The chocolate version could add even more to that since cacao also contains fats/oils. I think that's the oil you see floating on the top, possibly accompanied by other floating ingredients that are "lighter than wort." Also, active yeast creates krausen, a foamy layer on top of the beer. Altogether, a beautiful sight!
If you didn't kill your yeast by overheating it, it should be fermenting just fine by now.
If you didn't kill your yeast by overheating it, it should be fermenting just fine by now.
Possibly. I didn't think of that. It's been a while since I've brewed anything and I don't remember seeing it before.
Possibly. I didn't think of that. It's been a while since I've brewed anything and I don't remember seeing it before.
