so my yeast decided it wasnt done...

[the_mox]

hey all~

I tried searching on here for a topic relating to this, but couldn't find anything. I'm still relatively new to this whole homebrewing thing, so if this is common, I'm sorry. If this has been covered in another post, please direct me there...

So the beer i currently have in the secondary (an IPA), it would seem, has just started to ferment, again. its been in the carboy for about 13 days (after 6 days in the primary), i checked it this morning to see what it looked like, and to my surprise, the air lock was bubbling, and there was some foam (albeit not very thick) on the surface. Is it normal for a beer to take this long to ferment? Or to start back up again, after it appears to be done? Thanks guys!

 

[DKershner]

Sounds like you need to leave it in the primary longer. Also sounds like you stripped the yeast of some of it's buddies mid-fermentation so they needed to make babies to make up for them.

 

[Yooper]

It's not usual, but it's not that uncommon either. Sometimes simple things like a temperature change can get things going again in a stuck fermentation.

What was the SG when you transferred it?

 

[the_mox]

thats kind of what my thoughts were, but the thing is though, when i transferred it, i hadnt seen any bubbles out of the airlock in 3 days, and there was no foam on top. oh well, all i know is its not getting in the bottle as soon as i thought!

 

[DKershner]

thats kind of what my thoughts were, but the thing is though, when i transferred it, i hadnt seen any bubbles out of the airlock in 3 days, and there was no foam on top. oh well, all i know is its not getting in the bottle as soon as i thought!

As yooper said, hydrometer readings are the way to go. Airlock says near nothing.

And I would recommend primary for 3 weeks if you want to be lazy with the readings like I am.

 

[mithion]

Sometimes fermentations get stuck. If you underpitch or underaerate, the yeast may flocculate to the bottom before it is done. When you transfered to secondary, you stirred some of the yeast back up and probably introduced a bit more oxygen (it's almost impossible not to do that when transferring beer). Although it's not ideal to conduct fermentation this way since the yeast is usually over stressed, it's not the end of the world either. The exact same thing happened on my last IPA. I was using washed yeast (it was my first washed yeast) and I think I messed up and ended up with very low yeast cell count in my mason jar. The beer took longer than expected to finish, but still turned out exquisitely. So in essence, don't worry. You'll make great beer.

 

[weremichael]

Mox,

You should start using your hydrometer to check for terminal gravity. That way you will know when your yeast are done. I don't know what yeast you used, but it is almost always a good idea to use a big healthy starter for your beer (some argue Belgians benefit from underpitching). That way your yeast can get your beer down to terminal gravity in about seven to ten days.

As far as secondary fermenters go, there has been a general backlash against using them. This is primarily due to people better understanding yeast autoalysis. Autoalysis isn't really as big of a concern as it was once considered. This is especially true for homebrews that are meant to be consumed quickly (read IPAs).

Enjoy your IPA.

 

[vtbeerman]

Wild yeast infection from the transfer?

 

[Fletch78]

I've got an Oatmeal Stout in primary going in week 4. There is still bubble action, not much, but I see the occasional blip. White Labs Irish ale yeast, made a starter, temps high 60's. I'm not worried about it. Since I recently had a near-explosion incident with hefeweizen, I have no problem letting it sit for a while.

 

[Monty420th]

I am having an issue that is a little concerning but I am not too worried about it (ignorance is bliss after all). I am a new brewer, only a dozen or so batches to date and I decided to do my first stout (stone bitter oatmeal chocolate stout and I used White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast when I pitched. it has been sitting in the fermenter since late Tuesday night (not a lot of time). so far I am not seeing any considerable action in the airlock.

I had the same problem when I used the liquid yeast to make Ruination, no bubbles for maybe two days and then all the sudden someone let the dogs out and was mad bubbling for the next 5 days.

Is this typical with the liquid yeast? the dry yeast usually begins working the next day, and the one time I used Pacman yeast it started working within 12 hours.

Because of this beer I will probably have that sucker in the fermenter for about a month so I am sure the yeast will do it's job, but I am just concerned that I messed something up in the process (although I am not sure how).

any input on this is VERY welcome

 

[Fletch78]

I am having an issue that is a little concerning but I am not too worried about it (ignorance is bliss after all). I am a new brewer, only a dozen or so batches to date and I decided to do my first stout (stone bitter oatmeal chocolate stout and I used White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast when I pitched. it has been sitting in the fermenter since late Tuesday night (not a lot of time). so far I am not seeing any considerable action in the airlock.

I had the same problem when I used the liquid yeast to make Ruination, no bubbles for maybe two days and then all the sudden someone let the dogs out and was mad bubbling for the next 5 days.



any input on this is VERY welcome

It's been less than 48 hours, nothing out of the ordinary so far. As long as your wort wasn't too hot when you pitched the yeast. Since you didn't make a starter, the yeast is just in the Lag phase, it may very well be fermenting and co2 pressure just hasn't built up enough in the wort to create airlock action yet. Next chance you get, walk over to it and give it a little shake/swirl and see what happens. I would bet that you'll notice a sudden release of CO2 and you might need a towel.

 

[Erythro73]

I am having an issue that is a little concerning but I am not too worried about it (ignorance is bliss after all). I am a new brewer, only a dozen or so batches to date and I decided to do my first stout (stone bitter oatmeal chocolate stout and I used White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast when I pitched. it has been sitting in the fermenter since late Tuesday night (not a lot of time). so far I am not seeing any considerable action in the airlock.

I had the same problem when I used the liquid yeast to make Ruination, no bubbles for maybe two days and then all the sudden someone let the dogs out and was mad bubbling for the next 5 days.

Is this typical with the liquid yeast? the dry yeast usually begins working the next day, and the one time I used Pacman yeast it started working within 12 hours.

Because of this beer I will probably have that sucker in the fermenter for about a month so I am sure the yeast will do it's job, but I am just concerned that I messed something up in the process (although I am not sure how).

any input on this is VERY welcome

With liquid yeast, it's always better to do a starter. Search around the board and you'll see why. It'll reduce lagtime and reduce the probability of you ending with a stuck fermentation and nullify the risk of pitching old, dead yeast.