Water too hot ?

[niaka4]

Hi everyone, thanks in advance to those who reply.

I've just started a 'Brewcraft' Munich Lager. This is my first attepmt at home brew. I followed the instructions to the letter but...... it seems the water I added was from the hot water tap. It's a long story but the bloke who plumbed in our filter system tapped into the hot water supply and I didn't realise until I noticed the temperature of my drum. So I thought I was using cold water but it's actually from the hot water tank.

So my question is - is it duff ? (sorry a Simpson's thing). The airlock was bubbling away for the first day but the second and third day there's no activity. This is Western Australia and it's very hot here but the temperature on the drum read 38 degrees due to my hot water.

Will the yeast be dead or can I put more in and continue?

Or is my solution to chuck it away and start again?

Needless to say not happy with the water filter people.

Cheers

Nick

 

[david_42]

Since you saw some activity the first day, you need to get a hydrometer to check the specific gravity. At 38C, the yeast might have finished in a day, but there is only one way to be certain and a hydrometer is much cheaper than tossing a batch.

If the gravity is too high, then re-pitch.

 

[niaka4]

Thanks for the reply, I rang our local shop and they've advised to buy more yeast and chuck it in and all should be well. They reckon the hot water killed the yeast.

 

[Nurmey]

Your yeast will not have been killed with 37° C water. It takes a temperature of over 48° C to kill the yeast.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Your brew is fermenting, you don't need more yeast.
The hot start may introduce some off flavor depending on the yeast and recipe, but it will still be a good beer, just different from what it was meant to be.
Don't worry about it, you just may love it. You can call it your "steam lager".

 

[niaka4]

Ha, thanks for that. Maybe I should serve it hot !!

I bottled it today. The hydrometer gave the thumbs up so it's just a case of wait and see. I must admit, the whole bottling took a lot longer than expected, I've used stubbies which meant removing the labels and washing and sterilising 60 of the buggers. Anyhoo got ther in the end so next time they can go straight in the dishwasher.

Thanks everyone for your advice, I really appreciate it.

Cheers (literally)

Nick