Yeast did not sink and I lost beer

[johnnyboy847]

Hey guys! I just bottled my first centennial blonde with nottingham yeast. I let the beer ferment for 3 weeks and FG was 1.008 so I'm pretty sure it was done fermenting. Brew temperature was 70 degree fahrenheit.

My batch size was 18 liters (4.7 gallons), and I was looking to get at least 16 liters (4.2 gallons) into bottles. But, when I opened the fermenter, all the yeast was at top, about an inch layer. I have not seen this before, is this normal?

I had a really hard time siphoning it into the bottling bucket, and I ended up with only 12 liters (3.1 gallons). Beer itself seems to be just fine, smells and tastes great! But I'm definitely not happy with the amount.

What went wrong if anything?

 

[thisisbeer]

What yeast were you using. Sounds like you should have waited longer before bottling.

 

[finsfan]

Nothing went wrong, sometimes different yeast take longer to flocc to the bottom. If this happen again after 3-4 weeks in primary, I would suggest cold crashing for a few days. That should send all the yeast to the bottom and form a nice thick yeast cake.

 

[Newsman]

What yeast were you using. Sounds like you should have waited longer before bottling.

Or cold-crash.

 

[Foosier]

Some yeasts are "top" fermenters. Some ferment on the bottom. What you are seeing is krausen and "top" fermenting behavior. Granted, I am not sure I have ever seen this with Notty after 3 weeks.

The way to eliminate this it to "cold crash" your fermenter. You do this by putting the fermentr somewhere very cold, but not freezing, around 24 hours. This forces the yeast to go dormant and drop out of suspension. This gives you nice clear beer on top of a compact yeast cake.

 

[kh54s10]

I would have waited a little longer for the krausen to drop, though I have never had one last than long.

It still seems that you should have gotten more than that. Did you transfer a LOT of trub to your fermenter? I don't lose more than 12 ounces to trub. I use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag to contain my hops. Each addition goes into the bag and is swirled around. I then use a colander over the pot and squeeze the wort out. I usually have less than 1/2 inch on the bottom at the end of fermentation.

 

[johnnyboy847]

The yeast was Danstar Nottingham Ale Yeast, and I left it in the fermenter for 3 weeks, could that really not be enough? The original recipe tells to ferment it for only 9 days.

 

[Hello]

Cold crashing and/or waiting is indeed your answer...had you asked prior to bottling.

You already bottled though. Not sure if you should anticipate bottle bombs. Although the recipe said to wait 9 days, the yeast will tell you when it is done. This much I do know.

Dropping to the bottom, and Notty will drop, is how you will know when it wants to be done.

 

[johnnyboy847]

Cold crashing and/or waiting is indeed your answer...had you asked prior to bottling.

You already bottled though. Not sure if you should anticipate bottle bombs.

I ferment in a bucket wich I cannot see through, so I can't really tell where the yeast is before opening the bucket. Are the bottle bombs a real risk? How should I prepare for that?

 

[finsfan]

I ferment in a bucket wich I cannot see through, so I can't really tell where the yeast is before opening the bucket. Are the bottle bombs a real risk? How should I prepare for that?

I wouldnt worry about getting bottle bombs. This is more of an issue if you had bottled before fermentation was complete, but it doesnt sound like that is the case. If you are really worried about it, put all the bottles in a large rubber maid container or something. I personally dont think you have anything to worry about though.

 

[Hello]

I ferment in a bucket wich I cannot see through, so I can't really tell where the yeast is before opening the bucket. Are the bottle bombs a real risk? How should I prepare for that?

I actually do not know if you should anticipate them in this case with your FG being so low. That's a pretty dry beer as it is. Because I planted the seed, I would say keep those bottles far away from everything else. If you have a giant rubbermaid tub, put them in there with the lid on top and out of the way. A closet, a basement, etc will do just fine. Point is to avoid being around if they go off. But again, I wondered if you should worry because I am not actually sure. The yeast looks like it finished fermenting but hadn't had a chance to drop off yet.

In buckets it is hard but there is no reason why you could not have opened the lid, seen what you saw, and not bottled. It would have been okay still. I am using two buckets right now for a blonde ale & I truly miss being able to see things happen as I can in my PET carboys.

 

[kh54s10]

I would have waited a little longer for the krausen to drop, though I have never had one last than long.

It still seems that you should have gotten more than that. Did you transfer a LOT of trub to your fermenter? I don't lose more than 12 ounces to trub. I use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag to contain my hops. Each addition goes into the bag and is swirled around. I then use a colander over the pot and squeeze the wort out. I usually have less than 1/2 inch on the bottom at the end of fermentation.

 

[Newsman]

Notty rarely has a lot of krausen anyway!

 

[thisisbeer]

Or cold-crash.

Im pretty sure if he would have cold crashed that still means he would have waited longer to bottle.

But I was mostly saying he should have waited to ask questions before moving forward.