Re-pitched - still dead

Ironhead · Feb 12, 2008

Trying to brew a robust porter from AHB. OG was .06 and should have been around .057 so I was good there. Pitched the supplied yeast (Muntons Ale #00391) and fermentation took off like a rocket, just like the first batch of german hefe we did. The difference is that when major activity stopped, it stopped all together. Waited anyway for 8 days and took G, it was .024 and should be around .017. Waited till yesterday and took G again, .024 again. Read up on a few posts to learn that quite a few here think the Muntons is pretty weak and maybe need to re-pitch. Went to LHBS in Athens and got Safale US-05. Imediatly started to bubble and swim but after only an hour, it died down to no activity again. Constant 70 F. Is it just time to rack to secondary or is there any hope to raise the ABV to what is should be? What do you guys think.

Rich

Moonpile · Feb 12, 2008

How long has it been since you pitched the Safale?

The bubbling immediately after pitching it was probably CO2 coming out of solution. It might take a few more days.

s3n8 · Feb 12, 2008

While keeping in mind that I have brewed exactly 2 batches, I figured I would chime in with my experience. My first brew was a Brewers Best Cali Ale kit and that came with Nottingham dry yeast. I did not re-hydrate, just pitched dry. I had similar results as you describe, OG was 1.06 and FG was 1.02. I tried swirling, racking to secondary, but did not repitch. I figured I was only a couple points off the high end of the kits FG (1.016 I think).

My second brew was an Imperial Stout from morebeer brewed Sunday afternoon. OG was 1.09

. I used a White Labs liquid vial with a starter (look for a thread titled mason jar starter I think). The fermentation has been going strong since Monday AM. I have high hopes for this one completing to a decent FG. The first brew had died down pretty much within 48 hours.

If the FG turns out how I expect, I think I will be using liquid with starters from now on. I am a believer.

bradsul · Feb 12, 2008

Give the US-05 some more time to work, check the gravity again in a couple days.

videoman · Feb 12, 2008

I would certainly give that Safale a good 3 or 4 days then check gravity again. A lack of bubbles does not necessairly mean inactivity. You invested some coin in the Safale, give it a chance.

If your Gravities don't change after a week I'd bottle and examine other aspects of your brewing procedures for possible answers to the questions.

In regards to liquid or dry yeast... after a couple years of brewing I'm back tracking to the dry for a couple of reasons. First, not all liquid yeast is created equal... now there are alot of folks that will stick pins in my voodoo doll for saying that White Labs liquid yeast doesn't work as well as Wyeast, but I believe that to be true FROM MY EXPERIENCE. Fell short of my gravity points with White Labs, was always in the ball park with Wyeast. God bless the manager of my LHBS, but he will argue the virtues of White Labs... this is just one man's opinion.

And although some may say the Munton dry yeast is weak, I used it with about 12-15 Tru Brew kits and always hit my gravity points. I've been working with the Safale yeast and, so far, have had outstanding results... at more than 1/2 the cost of liquid.

I believe we may find liquid yeasts are a fad, I'm not sure they really produce results that dictate paying twice as much as a good reliable dry yeast. I'm still struggling with this, but I'm leaning on going back to the dry.

Zappa42 · Feb 13, 2008

I am having the same issue with a brew I am working on using White Labs yeast. It has been in the primary now for 12 days. Fermentation (or air lock activity) lasted about 24 hours. I checked it yesterday and it is a 1.016 and should be at 1.011. The starting OG was about at 1.045

The flavor is pretty good I think. What will happen if I just go ahead and move the secondany and bottle after that if the OG stays at 1.016. Will it just have less of an alcohol content or will it affect the flavor later on?

Brentk14 · Feb 13, 2008

I had a similiar situation where it should have gotten to 1.013 and its at 1.02-1.019. I had it in the primary for 2 weeks and then put it in the 2ndary. Could I repitch in the 2ndary or am I now left with a 1.019 brew?

Brewing Clamper · Feb 13, 2008

When re-pitching, I imagine it would be best to pitch a starter. If the original wort was not oxygenated properly, that might have caused the yeast to putter out before being done. Adding more dry yeast isn't going to help much. If you make a starter and aerate the hell out of it, you'll get some good yeast growth, then dump it in and see if it will finish the beer. If it doesn't, chances are you have mostly unfermentable sugars left.