Stirring Wort
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BendBrewer
Well-Known Member
You could have. Why?
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Did you get bubbles in the wort when you stirred it (did you go gentle, or more aggressive?)??
Conventional wisdom is to NOT stir the wort once you've pitched the yeast in. Doing so opens you up to oxidation, if not worse things. IF you feel the need to rouse the yeast, a gentle swirling of the fermenter is sufficient.
Only way to know the impact of what you did is to let it go the remaining time on the yeast, bottle and try it once carbonated. Depending on what you brewed, I'd not rack to a bright tank, just let it ride on the yeast (it might be able to fix your tampering) until ready for bottles.
BTW, many of us here don't even look at our wort/brews until it's been in primary for at least 2-3 weeks. Many of us are going with long primaries, with no racking to bright tanks. IF we rack to another vessel it's for aging or flavor element additions that work better/best when not on the yeast. Basically, except for lager's, we would disregard instructions once it has you pitch the yeast into the wort... I wouldn't even use a printed schedule for additional flavor additions in a batch. Better to let the brew tell you when it's ready for the next stage/step than to try and force human time scales onto it...
Be patient with your brew and you'll be rewarded with greater home brew.
BTW, ignore the airlock too. If you're using a bucket, it might not have a tight enough seal on it, and CO2 could be escaping from places other than the airlock. A gravity reading is the ONLY way to know if anything is going on inside the brew. IF the SG hasn't moved after 3+ days (72 hours or more), then you would be better off pitching more yeast in than stirring the batch. The airlock is not a magical fermentation meter... It's simply a way for excess gas to escape the fermenter. IF there's not as much excess gas being produced, or it has another way to get out (such as the lid not sealing fully) then the airlock will show little (if any) movement.
Conventional wisdom is to NOT stir the wort once you've pitched the yeast in. Doing so opens you up to oxidation, if not worse things. IF you feel the need to rouse the yeast, a gentle swirling of the fermenter is sufficient.
Only way to know the impact of what you did is to let it go the remaining time on the yeast, bottle and try it once carbonated. Depending on what you brewed, I'd not rack to a bright tank, just let it ride on the yeast (it might be able to fix your tampering) until ready for bottles.
BTW, many of us here don't even look at our wort/brews until it's been in primary for at least 2-3 weeks. Many of us are going with long primaries, with no racking to bright tanks. IF we rack to another vessel it's for aging or flavor element additions that work better/best when not on the yeast. Basically, except for lager's, we would disregard instructions once it has you pitch the yeast into the wort... I wouldn't even use a printed schedule for additional flavor additions in a batch. Better to let the brew tell you when it's ready for the next stage/step than to try and force human time scales onto it...
Be patient with your brew and you'll be rewarded with greater home brew.
BTW, ignore the airlock too. If you're using a bucket, it might not have a tight enough seal on it, and CO2 could be escaping from places other than the airlock. A gravity reading is the ONLY way to know if anything is going on inside the brew. IF the SG hasn't moved after 3+ days (72 hours or more), then you would be better off pitching more yeast in than stirring the batch. The airlock is not a magical fermentation meter... It's simply a way for excess gas to escape the fermenter. IF there's not as much excess gas being produced, or it has another way to get out (such as the lid not sealing fully) then the airlock will show little (if any) movement.
BendBrewer
Well-Known Member
You could have ruined it by using something that wasn't sanitized but I doubt you did that. 4 days and no sign of fermentation? Did fermentation ever take off? What temp is the wort sitting at?
I had very low action in the airlock. I did check the og and it was still on the high side. It's an Irish red ale. I did sanitize the spoon before I stirred. I will leave it in the fermenter for an extra week or 2.
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BendBrewer
Well-Known Member
low temps = slow fermentation. Not saying to ferment warm but make sure you are in the 60s.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Low airlock activity means something was going on that produced enough excess gas that needed to be vented periodically.
"on the high side" for a gravity reading is more than a littl vague... If it dropped at all, then fermentation was happening. If you have NO change in the SG of the wort, then the yeast could have been either NFG, or it still had to reach post-lag.
This is another reason why making a starter makes a lot of sense... Or rehydrating your dried yeast before pitching.
BTW, 4 days is nothing in a brew schedule, IMO... Most of the time, active fermentation is completed within about two weeks of when the yeast was pitched. Assuming the yeast went active within a day of being pitched. Depending on the OG of the brew, going 2 weeks would be a solid minimum time frame. I'm going a minimum of 4 weeks, in primary, for my brews now. As mentioned, I won't even look at them until they're on the yeast for 2-3 weeks.
Give the brew the amount of time IT needs to become great. Don't rush it no matter what provided instructions might tell you. Not only do you need to have a stable SG reading (at least two identical readings spaced 2-3 days apart) in order to determine IF the batch is done fermenting, but you also should taste the sample to determine IF the brew is actually done. Bottling it up too early can lead you to all kinds of issues. Being patient is one of the best things you can do for your brew.
BTW, it's also a good idea to know your yeast. Know what temperatures it works best in. Know if fermenting at different temperatures will give you different results. Know as much as you can BEFORE you pitch the yeast into the wort. There are yeasts that are know to take a long time to start, and then keep on chugging long after most are done.
"on the high side" for a gravity reading is more than a littl vague... If it dropped at all, then fermentation was happening. If you have NO change in the SG of the wort, then the yeast could have been either NFG, or it still had to reach post-lag.
This is another reason why making a starter makes a lot of sense... Or rehydrating your dried yeast before pitching.
BTW, 4 days is nothing in a brew schedule, IMO... Most of the time, active fermentation is completed within about two weeks of when the yeast was pitched. Assuming the yeast went active within a day of being pitched. Depending on the OG of the brew, going 2 weeks would be a solid minimum time frame. I'm going a minimum of 4 weeks, in primary, for my brews now. As mentioned, I won't even look at them until they're on the yeast for 2-3 weeks.
Give the brew the amount of time IT needs to become great. Don't rush it no matter what provided instructions might tell you. Not only do you need to have a stable SG reading (at least two identical readings spaced 2-3 days apart) in order to determine IF the batch is done fermenting, but you also should taste the sample to determine IF the brew is actually done. Bottling it up too early can lead you to all kinds of issues. Being patient is one of the best things you can do for your brew.
BTW, it's also a good idea to know your yeast. Know what temperatures it works best in. Know if fermenting at different temperatures will give you different results. Know as much as you can BEFORE you pitch the yeast into the wort. There are yeasts that are know to take a long time to start, and then keep on chugging long after most are done.
I think I'm ok. OG was 1.042 and today it was 1.012. When I stirred I was very careful not to introduce O2 and I sterilized the spoon. When i opened the fermenter, everything looked fine. I'm thinking that it may have been that I used a different yeast. I have been using Danstar Nottingham, and this time I used White Labs. Maybe a different yeast didnt react as i am used too. I really like brewing ales....actually love ales! Thanks to all for their input!
muthafuggle
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.008? Dude, that beer is ready. Bottle or keg and get on with the fun part...
cincybrewer
Well-Known Member
Aren't you supposed to stir, or shake the wort right after pitching (at least for dry yeast, I don't know much about liquid yeast) in order to create some oxygen for the yeast?
beerkrump
Well-Known Member
It would be bad to introduce oxygen after fermentation has started. It is imperative that oxygen is added before or immediately after pitching.
HItransplant
Well-Known Member
muthafuggle said:
Agree!!
Doubt it'll go any lower...unless of course you mashed in some rice...
