Only my 3rd batch... yeast doesn't seem to be flocculating

[RockTheGoodAg]

Howdy y'all,

I'm currently fermenting my third batch (first two have gone well) and something's a bit different with this one. With the first two, the fermentation finished and the yeast flocculated within 6 days. On this one (an amber ale with honey, OG = 1.070 and expected FG = 1.017) it's been in primary for 5 full days, the SG is at 1.021, and every time I pull a taste sample, it is full of some sort of sediment. I don't know if it's yeast or something went wrong with the honey, or something else (I added the honey with about 7 minutes left in the boil). The taste samples taste good, they're just filled with this grainy sediment. I've included some pictures for reference.

Any ideas as to what it might be or other advice would be much appreciated. Of course, I'll keep waiting it out, I was just put a bit on edge because my first two batches cleared up much quicker.

Thanks y'all!

 

[Kevin79]

Howdy y'all,

I'm currently fermenting my third batch (first two have gone well) and something's a bit different with this one. With the first two, the fermentation finished and the yeast flocculated within 6 days. On this one (an amber ale with honey, OG = 1.070 and expected FG = 1.017) it's been in primary for 5 full days, the SG is at 1.021, and every time I pull a taste sample, it is full of some sort of sediment. I don't know if it's yeast or something went wrong with the honey, or something else (I added the honey with about 7 minutes left in the boil). The taste samples taste good, they're just filled with this grainy sediment. I've included some pictures for reference.

Any ideas as to what it might be or other advice would be much appreciated. Of course, I'll keep waiting it out, I was just put a bit on edge because my first two batches cleared up much quicker.

Thanks y'all!

That looks like yeast and hop debris to me. With a higher OG of 1.070, its very unlikely for the yeast to clear up after 5 days. They are probably still hard at work. Has the krausen dropped? Is there any airlock activity?

 

[flars]

Take another hydrometer sample in ten days. You will see some clearing, but there will be a lot of dissolved CO2 in the sample. The CO2 will hold yeast and sediments in suspension. As the CO2 off gasses the yeast and sediment will be dropping out. At twenty-one to twenty-five days your beer should be fairly clear and most likely at FG.

 

[Sir-Hops-A-Lot]

I agree with Kevin. It's not done yet. I don't transfer beer from the primary for at least a week. You have a higher gravity beer that you should leave until the fermentation is done. Each time you open to sample it you risk infection.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Take a sample after three weeks. While it can be instructive to taste the beer throughout the fermentation process, it is perfectly normal for the beer to be hazy and rich in "green" off-flavors for a while. Don't worry.

 

[RockTheGoodAg]

Thanks for all the tips, y'all.

For the record, I'm fermenting in a bucket with a spigot, so I don't have to expose the beer as much to take a sample.

Yes, the krausen just dropped yesterday, but there's still some slow airlock activity, and a think layer of froth on the surface of the fermenting wort.

Lesson learned. I'll see where it is in a couple weeks (I'm not using a secondary).

 

[BigFloyd]

Yes, patience Grasshopper.

If after a couple of weeks you want to thoroughly drop the excess yeast out for nice, clear beer (and less bottle trub), look into cold crashing the primary 5-7 days at refrigerator temps.

 

[pablosbrewing]

Thanks for all the tips, y'all.

For the record, I'm fermenting in a bucket with a spigot, so I don't have to expose the beer as much to take a sample.

Yes, the krausen just dropped yesterday, but there's still some slow airlock activity, and a think layer of froth on the surface of the fermenting wort.

Lesson learned. I'll see where it is in a couple weeks (I'm not using a secondary).

I'm assuming you are talking about the white and red spigots on bottling buckets.

Those are kind of a one-use deal when fermenting, unless you have a setup where you can clean and sanitize the spigot while the fermenter is full. Otherwise the few drops of beer left in the spigot will grow bacteria.

Samples probably have lower risk of creating a problem since the flow is coming out of the bucket, but I would not rack out through that spigot when it's done.

 

[BigFloyd]

I'm assuming you are talking about the white and red spigots on bottling buckets.

Those are kind of a one-use deal when fermenting, unless you have a setup where you can clean and sanitize the spigot while the fermenter is full. Otherwise the few drops of beer left in the spigot will grow bacteria.

Samples probably have lower risk of creating a problem since the flow is coming out of the bucket, but I would not rack out through that spigot when it's done.

Not sure where you got this idea, but it ain't really so. All of my fermenter buckets have spigots through which I pull my hydro samples. If I wanted to, I could use them to transfer to the keg as well. I spray plenty of StarSan into the spigot both before and after use. Between batches, they get removed and thoroughly cleaned/inspected. IMO, this creates fewer opportunities for issues than does having to pry off the lid more often.

 

[RockTheGoodAg]

Well, I've only done one batch this way so far (including bottling directly from the spigot) and I didn't have any problems with infection. I thoroughly cleaned and sanitized all parts of the spigot separately before reusing it.

If I run into any issues with it, then I'll modify my procedures accordingly, but I'm limited on new equipment because of a college budget. Haha

 

[brewbama]

... I would not rack out through that spigot when it's done.

I brewed 120 gal last yr alone using the spigot to keg or rack to sec from. I spray the spigot with StarSan. For years I've had no issues whatsoever.

 

[pablosbrewing]

Not sure where you got this idea

From a commercial brewer - we were discussing sampling/racking and sanitary differences in homebrew equipment vs. commerical equipment. Sounds like it isn't as much of an issue as we had thought?