Yeast and Fermentation Question.

[Dnolan36]

So this past weekend I brewed only my second batch of homebrew. I brewed an English IPA. However, I am a little concerned about the fermentation. When I bought all my ingredients I did not realize the yeast I got was expired. The yeast is White Labs Dry English Ale (WLP007) that had a best buy date of August 2010. The OG was 1.060 and I was looking to get a FG of 1.014-1.016. I checked my airlock and did not have much activity so I checked the gravity and it is currently at 1.022. I went to my LHBS and he gave me a container of Yeast Energizer from LD Carlson Company and told me I could try that. Do you think this will help my yeast get my beer to the FG that I am looking for? Also, this energizer comes as a powder and did not know if I could just put it straight into the beer or do I need to boil it with some water to sanitize it, cool it and then put it in the fermenter.

Thanks for any feedback you may have.

 

[Smokeater233]

Yeast fuel is great, but it is typically used in the boil. Your beer is on its way - leave it alone. Give it another week and then check the hydrometer readings again.

 

[jonmohno]

Next time check dates it sucks you cant on grains hops or extract though. I tend to wonder if its this, when have weird beer tastes.

 

[pkeeler]

I don't think you can call a fermentation stuck at 4 days. Let it be for a week, and see where it is at. If it is still at 1.022, then I would rack it into a secondary on top of the YE. You can pour the powder in and stir; but racking sometimes wakes up yeast for an extra couple of gravity points by itself. Beer rarely needs any kind of yeast nutrient. But it will come in handy if you ever want to make mead or country wine.

 

[JMSetzler]

Did you make a yeast starter with that 007 vial? That's always a good way to figure out if the yeast is viable or not. FWIW, I have used out-of-date white labs stuff on multiple occasions because my LHBS will give it to me cheap. Sometimes I even look through the stuff to see if I can find one out of date when I'm shopping there.

 

[Dnolan36]

Thanks for your advice. I was a little upset the store did not give me some store credit for the old yeast. But then again I guess I should have checked it. I did not know they had dates on them as this was the first time I had ever bought any. The first beer I brewed was a kit and came with yeast.

I will probably rack it to the secondary in a few days and let it sit again. I was planning on racking it to a secondary anyways in order to dry hop it.

Thanks again.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

I'd be a little wary about the freshness of all the ingredients from that shop if that yeast was expired. Dry English is a big seller at my local shop, it's a pretty popular strain and its about 50/50 if they have it in stock. I can understand when lager strains or exotic ale strains are a bit older, but something like Dry English should turn quickly. You might think about trying another shop or looking online.

THAT BEING SAID, your beer will probably be fine. Just walk away for another week. Just walk away. Don't touch it, don't even look at it. Don't even go in the same room as it.

 

[cvstrat]

Yeah just let it sit. Sometimes beer slows. If it really gets stuck try swirling the carboy gently to rouse the yeast. Also warming it up a degree or two usually jump starts things. You've got a few more days before you need to worry about that tho.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

I will probably rack it to the secondary in a few days and let it sit again. I was planning on racking it to a secondary anyways in order to dry hop it.

DONT YOU DARE rack this to secondary yet.

How will the yeast do their thing if you take the beer off the yeast??????

Just let it be. Let it go for 2-3 weeks. Dont rack to secondary.

Trust me on this one. The yeast MAKE the beer, let them do their thing. Until fermentation is done, like DONE done, just leave it. Leave it until you hit your target final gravity, then let it sit 3 more days. THEN rack to secondary if you want to.

forgive my excitement, ive been drinking :rockin:

 

[Dnolan36]

I did make a starter. However, I completely forgot to do it earlier. I did not start making the starter until midnight on Friday before brewing. It had some activity by the time I pitched it around 3:00 PM on Saturday afternoon.

 

[teddy4xp]

I had the same problem a few months back, mine was a few weeks past its date. It took about 4 days for the fermentation to start. The finished product was a great batch of homebrew. JUST DONT MESS WITH IT! Let your beer go for atleast 2 week, maybe more. Maintain your temps and everything will be fine.

 

[Dnolan36]

Thanks again for all your feedback. It has only been in the fermenter for 5 days. I was planning on letting it sit for a few weeks in the primary. It is great to know forums like this exist for new homebrewers.

 

[Hang Glider]

Even though Strat Thru says don't rack it to secondary



DON'T

but you can "swirl" it a bit to rouse them if you want. Just maybe some of the ones sleeping on the very bottom want to wake up and have another bite or two.

BUT still, wait 2 more weeks, then check, then dry hop.


2 batches - good for you. Now go buy another fermenter and brew another batch, noob!