karlos_1984 Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 I did a small biab on the stove last week. Cubed it for 4 days before transferring to the FV, and pitched harvested US-05 yeast. The OG was 1050. 2 days later I had zero signs of fermentation. I used a sanitised spoon and stirred in a packet of kit yeast in attempt to get something happening. Checked again this morning, still nothing. I've given the FV another swirl to try and get something happening. The FV is in my fermentation fridge set to 18 degrees. What else can I do to salvage this beer? I've never had this happen before. It's only a 10.5 litre batch but I'm not getting my hopes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 Have you checked the gravity? How old was the yeast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlos_1984 Posted October 17, 2019 Author Share Posted October 17, 2019 Not yet. Waiting for the trub to settle down after swirling it and I'll take another sample. The reharvested yeast had been in the fridge for a couple weeks. I posted about it on another thread. The kit yeast was prob 12 months old in the packet but it's been in the fridge the whole time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 Yeah got to be really really careful with slurry particulary if not using it in a timely manner. Its very variable in my experience to such an extent that i dont use it anymore for ales. Ill make a starter from the slurry so i have an idea of the number of cells going in. Lagers i still use slurry as i pitch the whole slurry. Overpitches wont affect lagers like they do ales Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 Think you have covered all options to get it going. Maybe it is still in lag phase? Leave it alone & give it a few more days & see it boots up. Thankfully it was a 10 litre batch rather than 20 plus batch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 A couple of weeks shouldn't be a problem for the slurry. When you take the sample, if it hasn't moved then throw the kit yeast in. No use waiting another few days, that's just giving bacteria and other crap more chance to infect it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlos_1984 Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 I've already thrown another kit yeast in this morning. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 @karlos_1984 Fingers crossed for you, it sparks up overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlos_1984 Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 Took a sample, SG is at 1032. Doesn't appear to be anything else sparking up though. FML Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 What Otto said - gravity tells the story. It doesn't have to look like it's fermenting, to be fermenting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 Well, there's no way the kit yeast would have dropped it by 18 points in half a day. That's why I suggested taking a reading before doing anything. It is odd that there weren't any visible signs, but best to check with a hydrometer first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 The only device which will tell you for sure that you have fermentation is the hydrometer it is king ... Measure OG for the baseline then measure again a couple of days after pitching to see if you have action . When there is action put that sample as is with the hydrometer and measuring cylinder in the ferment fridge and just keep checking it to monitor progress. Simples ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlos_1984 Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, MartyG1525230263 said: The only device which will tell you for sure that you have fermentation is the hydrometer it is king ... Measure OG for the baseline then measure again a couple of days after pitching to see if you have action . When there is action put that sample as is with the hydrometer and measuring cylinder in the ferment fridge and just keep checking it to monitor progress. Simples ... This is what I normally do. Just had another thought. I wonder if my mash temp dropped too much, not converting enough sugars? My mash temp was about 67 degrees, but when I checked it after 60 mins it'd dropped down to below 60. Could this be part of the issue perhaps? Edited October 18, 2019 by karlos_1984 Stupid autocorrect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 @karlos_1984 you did say that the OG was 1050 so that shows plenty of sugars ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlos_1984 Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 Yeah well 1050 is what the hydro said. I usually add 5 points to whatever the reading is as it's out of calibration in 20 degree water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 Most of the conversion happens in the first 20 minutes so I doubt there would be any unconverted starch left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlos_1984 Posted October 19, 2019 Author Share Posted October 19, 2019 Would there be any benefit of raising the temp from 18 to 21 degrees then? Seems to have stalled at about 1032. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 Can't hurt. I'd give it a go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted October 20, 2019 Share Posted October 20, 2019 @karlos_1984 Are you winning or has this recalcitrant brew got the better of you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlos_1984 Posted October 20, 2019 Author Share Posted October 20, 2019 Dunno. Hydrometer hasn't moved in 2 days. This brew is 1 of 2 in my fermentation fridge at the moment. The other one is finished and I plan on bottling it tomorrow afternoon. Once the finished brew is out of the fridge I'll raise the temp up to 21 degrees and give this dud one another stir/shake up and see if anything gets going again. It's not looking good though. Bit of a kick in the guts as it's only my 2nd AG attempt and the extra time n effort not paying off just gives ya the shits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaS1 Posted October 20, 2019 Share Posted October 20, 2019 (edited) I am sorry to hear about your troubles, especially after all that hard work with your second all grain batch. What was your pitching temp? Any chance it was below 18C? If so, that might explain the extra long lag time. If the ambient temp in the fridge was 18C, it would take several hours for the wort to hit 18C. US-05 has a long lag time at the best of times. Personally I have stopped using it but, if I were to, I would start it off with the temperature probe attached to the FV and set it to 20C, in an attempt to reduce the lag time, then reduce to 18C at the first signs of fermentation. Cheers, Christina. Edited October 20, 2019 by ChristinaS1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlos_1984 Posted October 20, 2019 Author Share Posted October 20, 2019 Pitched at 18 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSands Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 Curious. Though your mash wasn't ideal I think as others have said 1.050 indicates good conversion and I suspect you've probably ended up with a highly fermentable wort if the mash temperature was at the low end much of the time. BTW, what base grains were used? If for some reason you have ended up with a somewhat unfermentable wort you could try adding alpha amylase. A packet of the enzyme is cheap enough and I can testify that they do work, though you may end up with a drier beer than initially intended. You initially pitched 2-week old reharvested yeast, then later a packet of kit yeast followed by yet another packet of kit yeast. It's very hard to believe it's a yeast problem but if some reason it is, I guess you could also try adding some yeast nutrients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 What was your mash temp and grain bill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaS1 Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 1 hour ago, BlackSands said: ....I guess you could also try adding some yeast nutrients. It would be better to add some aka ghost cells, and also yeast hulls, which absorb excess fatty acids, which may be inhibiting the yeast. You can make your own by boiling a bit of yeast for a few minutes. Use whatever kind you have, whether brewer's yeast or bread yeast. Dose is about 0.5g/L. Cheers, Christina. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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