Restarting Fermentation

[Therealhowie]

Hi all! I am brand new to this, so forgive my niavete. I brewed my first batch of Pumpkin Latte Beer (assume ale). Everything had been fermenting fine, but starting yesterday we lost power due to some wild weather (gotta love Oklahoma). I assume the house temp is above 40 but I could be wrong. Running over to the house this morning to wrap my.carboy up, but I assume my yeast has gone dormant. How do I get it going again once things warm up (today external temps in the high 20s, Friday should be back in the 60s). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ya'll.

 

[Abhishek Dewan]

Just shake it up at fermentation temperature , avoid opening the lid. This will make them swim again. Check gravity too, it’ll help.

 

[cactusgarrett]

Swirl (don't shake), enough to get yeast back in suspension, and heat. Those are your best bets without getting more involved. After a few days of warmth, check the gravity to see if it's moved. Sometimes yeast (depending on the strain) are finicky and cooling at the tail end of fermentation will prematurely shut them down, regardless of further warming. If that happens, then you've got a whole issue to look into (stuck fermentation).

First thing's first, though. Heat and swirl. If you can't wait that long, maybe look into a seed germination or reptile heating pad to wrap your fermenter with.

 

[Calder]

Don't shake or swirl. It 'can' help, but you could also create a problem. The yeast will wake up by themselves and get back to work. There are only a few strains that may stall, and they usually require much higher temps.

You didn't say what yeast it was, so don't know what temp it needs. As I said, the yeast will wake up on it's own as the temp rises. Only issue would be if you had frozen the beer.

 

[Therealhowie]

It's a craftabrew.com recipe. I think it is a basic dry ale yeast.

 

[cactusgarrett]

It 'can' help, but you could also create a problem.

What is that?

 

[jrgtr42]

You shouldn't have any problems with the yeast waking up and getting back to work.
|I had an instance sort of like that - I had a batch fermenting, went away for the weekend, and I estimate that my heater in my apartment turned off approximately 1.5 milliseconds after I locked the door Friday, on a cold weekend. When |I got home Sunday my place was at something like 40 degrees. Turned the heat back on and by morning the beer was chugging away happily again.
You CAN swirl or shake it, but that could cause issues with oxidation, even in a closed fermenter.

 

[Miraculix]

How do you know that the yeast has gone dormant? Air lock activity (or lack of it) is not a reliable sign of active fermentation. It is also possible that the yeast just finished the beer.

 

[Therealhowie]

How do you know that the yeast has gone dormant? Air lock activity (or lack of it) is not a reliable sign of active fermentation. It is also possible that the yeast just finished the beer.

Definitely no activity going on. By now the beer is likely 40 degrees. Still no electricity. I ordered a reptile heater and will use it to get it back up to temp. If I still don't see any activity I will use some of the suggestions above.

 

[IslandLizard]

How long had it been fermenting before it got cold? At what temp? That's an important factor of what "state" your beer is in currently.
Is it possible it's done already?

Don't shake or stir, you don't want air to get to your beer. Leave the carboy closed, with an airlock in it. Once it warms up it should resume, if there's anything left to ferment.

 

[Therealhowie]

How long had it been fermenting before it got cold? At what temp? That's an important factor of what "state" your beer is in currently.
Is it possible it's done already?

Don't shake or stir, you don't want air to get to your beer. Leave the carboy closed, with an airlock in it. Once it warms up it should resume, if there's anything left to ferment.

It was fermenting at 70 since Saturday the 24th. Very doubtful that it is done fermenting. Still need to add coffee beans to this batch.

 

[Miraculix]

It was fermenting at 70 since Saturday the 24th. Very doubtful that it is done fermenting. Still need to add coffee beans to this batch.

I had beers finishing quicker than that.

 

[Calder]

What is that?

You could potentially swirl O2 into solution. Even with an active fermentation there is some O2 in the headspace due to entropy, but if the temp dropped, then the fermenter will draw air back in. If you do 'swirl' O2 back into solution it will stay there as the yeast no longer have any use for it. The end result of O2 in the beer is that it will stale quicker; start to taste like cardboard after a while.

 

[Miraculix]

Swirling in o2 in this state is really like asking for trouble. If there are no any gravity readings involved, I would do so now or just let it rest at room temp for another week and if nothing happens, bottle.

 

[TheBluePhantom]

By now the beer is likely 40 degrees. Still no electricity. I ordered a reptile heater and will use it to get it back up to temp.

I have to ask, if there is no electricity, how are you going to power the reptile heater?

i have yeasts stop every year, they go just a bit too cold in the basement and stop. i move them to a warmer part of the house and give them a few hours. think of starters, you cold crash those at 40, then warm them up and pitch. most yeast is pretty durable, unless it is an extreme beer. And really, take a gravity, at 70 you could be done.