Stressed Yeast

[scca]

I received a home brewing kit in the mail which included a couple of extract kits. I did not know what it was and waited a week to open it. Unfortunately, the yeast for one of the kits was White Labs Liquid yeast and it sat out at room temperature (70-75 degrees) for that week. I promptly refrigerated.

I brewed/pitched this pale ale 12/30/08 (with the stressed yeast) and it had an OG of 1.058. The kit did not suggest what the OG or FG should be. It took 48 hours to see any activity. The fermentation process was must slower and in no way vigorous which is how I would describe the other 2 batches i have done prior and since. I racked it (before reading the 28 page sticky about when/if to rack to secondary) to secondary 1/3/09 and the SG was 1.028. I tested again 1/7/09 and it was 1.020. I checked today 1/9/09 and it is mabye 1.019 so I think the yeast is probably done? Assuming it goes no lower (I will still give it a few more days) is this a reasonable FG for my brew? If not, what should I do, pitch more yeast?

 

[avidhomebrewer]

Post what you used for fermentables (what you added to the carboy/bucket, like sugars, dry malt extract, liquid malt extract, etc.) and we can give you a better idea of where you are at. Also, what strain of WL yeast did you use?

 

[impatient]

I received a home brewing kit in the mail which included a couple of extract kits. I did not know what it was and waited a week to open it. Unfortunately, the yeast for one of the kits was White Labs Liquid yeast and it sat out at room temperature (70-75 degrees) for that week. I promptly refrigerated.

I brewed/pitched this pale ale 12/30/08 (with the stressed yeast) and it had an OG of 1.058. The kit did not suggest what the OG or FG should be. It took 48 hours to see any activity. The fermentation process was must slower and in no way vigorous which is how I would describe the other 2 batches i have done prior and since. I racked it (before reading the 28 page sticky about when/if to rack to secondary) to secondary 1/3/09 and the SG was 1.028. I tested again 1/7/09 and it was 1.020. I checked today 1/9/09 and it is mabye 1.019 so I think the yeast is probably done? Assuming it goes no lower (I will still give it a few more days) is this a reasonable FG for my brew? If not, what should I do, pitch more yeast?

I would suggest leaving it alone. the gravity changed over two days. some yeasts do not perform as aggressively. Let it go for a week. then take gravity readings over a couple days to see where you are at.

Any how, what were the ingredients so that we can come up with a target TG?

 

[scca]

Post what you used for fermentables (what you added to the carboy/bucket, like sugars, dry malt extract, liquid malt extract, etc.) and we can give you a better idea of where you are at. Also, what strain of WL yeast did you use?

6 lb light malt extract syrup, 1# Crystal 40, 1/2# Vienna Malt, hops, White labs California Ale Yeast. The kit included no suggested approx OG or FG. The yeast was packed with something too keep it cool in transit but was also sent ground from CO which is probably 2 or 3 days to CA. Thanks for the help!

 

[impatient]

6 lb light malt extract syrup, 1# Crystal 40, 1/2# Vienna Malt, hops, White labs California Ale Yeast. The kit included no suggested approx OG or FG. The yeast was packed with something too keep it cool in transit but was also sent ground from CO which is probably 2 or 3 days to CA. Thanks for the help!

Here are the numbers for what you put together. the IBU is probably not right since we don't now the acid on the hops.

General
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category: Specialty Beer
Subcategory: Specialty Beer
Recipe Type: Extract
Batch Size: 5 gal.
Volume Boiled: 6 gal.
Mash Efficiency: 72 %
Total Grain/Extract: 8.10 lbs.
Total Hops: 1.0 oz.
Calories (12 fl. oz.): 209.8
Cost to Brew: $29.55 (USD)
Cost per Bottle (12 fl. oz.): $0.55 (USD)

Ingredients
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
.5 lbs. American Vienna
1 lbs. Crystal Malt 40°L
6.6 lbs. Liquid Amber Extract
1 oz. Fuggle (Whole, 4.9 %AA) boiled 75 minutes.
Yeast: White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------


Vital Statistics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Gravity: 1.053
Terminal Gravity: 1.010
Color: 14.59 SRM
Bitterness: 22.5 IBU
Alcohol (%volume): 5.6 %

So, you TG should end around 10 points. I an reasonably sure, based on what you have provided that the beer is not done, only slow. RDWHAHB

 

[scca]

Original Gravity: 1.053
Terminal Gravity: 1.010


So, you TG should end around 10 points. I an reasonably sure, based on what you have provided that the beer is not done, only slow. RDWHAHB

Well 10 days later and the FG ended up being 1.019 still. Should I pitch more yeast or bottle it and hope for the best? Thanks!

 

[beds]

You don't need any more yeast. Did you do a full boil or partial boil? If you did a partial boil, you may just have a bunch of residual sugar that is not going to ferment out. Make sure you are fermenting at the right temperature.

 

[david_42]

Go ahead and bottle. 67% apparent attenuation is reasonable.

 

[scca]

You don't need any more yeast. Did you do a full boil or partial boil? If you did a partial boil, you may just have a bunch of residual sugar that is not going to ferment out. Make sure you are fermenting at the right temperature.

I boiled it for 60 minutes per the instructions that came with the kit. My ferment temperature is ~69 - 73F most of the time (it's in a dark closet but not a basement etc). I think this is slightly higher than the recommended temperature on the kit instructions. I have done 3 different ale batches (amber ale, American pale ale, British IPA) now and all 3 have had a final gravity of about 1.020. I would expect that the final gravities of all 3 would be less. My next batch is will be an Imperial Stout and the recommended ferment temp on the instructions is 68. I'm not clear what the effect is of a higher than recommended ferment temperature. I could move future batches to a crawl space under my house (would be kind of a pain) which averages in the lower to mid 60's this time of year. Which is better, a little too low or a little too high?

 

[beds]

You shouldn't ferment outside of the recommended range. You will risk off-flavours. A lower temperature is the culprit for stuck fermentation, so that's not likely your problem, anyway. When I mentioned a full boil, I meant boiling all of the water with the extract instead of judt boiling whatever you have capacity for and topping the rest up with water. Search this forum for full boil vs. partial boil for more info. If your yeast doesn't have enough nutrients, then it will stop producing. The major factor affecting nutrients for you is aeration of the wort prior to adding the yeast. For you this is likely the step where you stir the bucket of wort vigorously at the time that you add the yeast.

Good luck on the big beer!

 

[ifishsum]

beds, why do you think that doing a partial boil reduces fermentability? Almost all of my batches have been partial boils and never finished high, I've never heard of this.

As to the OP's issue, insufficient aeration could be part of the problem, and direct pitching a vial that was stored improperly could have a lot to do with it as well. Preparing a starter for your liquid yeast is a good habit to get into, and becomes even more important with an older or improperly stored vial, and/or a higher gravity wort. By making a starter you're ensuring that your yeast is healthy, and also increasing the cell count - which will go a long ways toward obtaining maximum attenuation.

I doubt that pitching more yeast would help at this point, but it might be worth a try, maybe a package of Nottingham dry yeast so you're only out a buck or so. The cell count is higher than a vial of liquid as well.

Fermenting a little low is preferable to me than a little high. I like to keep my ales at 62-65 for the first few days of fermentation, and as they slow down I'll move them somewhere a little warmer (68ish) to help them finish up.

 

[beds]

I may be wrong with that partial boil statement. I read that partial boils leave residual sweetness, but don't have any experience. As ifishsum suggests, the dry yeast is a good, inexpensive test. I think that you should aerate if you do that. If you are getting consistently high FGs on beers that should ferment out, then I suspect your process rather than the yeast that was left out.

good luck!

 

[ifishsum]

You do not want to aerate wort that has already fermented...oxygen is only good in the early reproduction phase. Fermentation is an anaerobic process, it will not happen with oxygen in the wort and you're likely to get an off taste (oxidation) that tastes like wet cardboard.

If you do decide to re-pitch, I would re-hydrate the dry yeast for 20 minutes and then add it. A gentle stir with a sanitized spoon is all I'd recommend.