Pitching more yeast after going into secondary?

[pherball]

So i have had my first batch in the secondary for close to two weeks now. I have been concerned since racking it from the primary that the fermentation didn't attneuate fully, from an starting gravity of 1.049 i was at 1.020 after primary fermentation. I didn't panic then, but today before getting ready to bottle, i took another reading and i came up with the same 1.020 reading. So its safe to say that fermentation is done. The only thing in the recipe besides a base pale malt extract was some crystal malt (.5lbs.) so i should have a lower final gravity than this. My question is whether i can pitch more yeast at this point (three weeks after it was originally brewed), and also, with a different strain. The original yeast pitched was London esb 1968 (which, not surprisinglyl, is extremely flocculent--most likely the problem) and i have longon ale yeast. Can i pitch this in to finish the fermentation or should i just bottle and enjoy my apple juice beer.

Thanks

 

[Poindexter]

Can you rack it again to get the yeast stirred back up? I am not sure where to even look up London ESB 1968 yeast, but you only have ~60% attenuation.

 

[TheJadedDog]

Sounds to me like you racked to primary too early. I suppose you could repitch, but I wouldn't know what yeast to tell you to use.

In the future, wait until you have reached your FG BEFORE you rack to secondary.

 

[mrk305]

Maybe your hydrometer is not 100% accurate, but it is reading the same for days in a row. Your beer obviously fermented. The yeast is still in there. I say it is done and would bottle, and I will bet you get a pretty good beer in a couple weeks. After bottling, try one in a week to see how it is progressing.

 

[pherball]

i thought about the possibility that the hydro reading was inaccurate. How much affect will temperture variation of the sample have. I would estimate that there was no great difference in temps though.

I waited almost two weeks before going to the secondary. The problem was with the temps in my closet and the high flocculence in tandem with less than optimal temps. I think by the time i knew what was going on too much of the yeast had settled out, i should have been agitating the thing constantly during the first 48 hours, or bought a heater for my closet.

The question now is whether i can pitch the london ale yeast into the beer even though the original yeast was 1968 esb. Does anyone know if they will fight eachother or something crazy like that, due you have to stick with the same strain.

Thanks

 

[DaleJ]

Here's the yeast details:

http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=22

It looks like you came up just a hair short on the attenuation.

It does have noticeable diacetyl production, so if you stir it up again it'll need a post fermentation rest.

I'd try warming it up and stirring it myself before adding a different strain since it's 90% done.

 

[Kai]

The flocculation on that strain is incredible. It just falls right out of suspension; great for clear beer, poor for attenuation. It even says something along the lines of "additional agitation might be necessary for complete attenuation". So, thoroughly sanitise a long spoon or just about anything, and give it a good stir (being careful not to oxidise). If it hasn't attenuated any further by the time the yeast settles out again in a couple days, you're definitely done. I've always gotten more than 65% with this strain though, in the end.

Kai


Edit: it's also delicious.

 

[pherball]

...so i should have been agitating the carboy, etc.

...and now, what are my options,

can i add more yeast, or would this be stupid,

also since this yeast is so flocculent, perhaps if i stir up some of the yeast while bottling i might get a little more attenuation in the bottle, but such that with enough time it will still settle out and produce attractive beer,

 

[DaleJ]

You'll want to hold it at fermentation temps (64-72) and stir it. See a post above about sanitizing and stirring. Then give it a few more days to finish, and then a few more days after it stops any bubbling. Take another gravity reading to see where you are.

Hold your temps and get that yeast back in suspension and you're likely to be OK.