Pitch new yeast?

What went wrong? Was this supposed to happen? Should I throw it out? What do I do now?

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sholbert
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:26 am

Pitch new yeast?

Post by sholbert »

I have a question. I'm jumping the gun a bit here, but still, I figured I'd ask for advice. I'm making a red ale, which I've made before with no trouble. The OG=1.050, using Wyeast London Ale yeast (see full recipe below). I'd estimated the FG at 1.012. After 8 days in the primary, fermentation activity was very low, which was expected. However, the SG=1.019, which is a bit higher than I'd expected. The beer also tasted rather sweet.

Now I realize that the beer will continue to ferment down in the secondary, but based on my experiences with this particular beer, not by much. Could this just be due to underactive yeast? Should I pitch additional yeast into the secondary, then let is ferment more or is that overkill? Thanks in advance for any advice!

INGREDIENTS:

Amount Name
3.00 lbs. Alexander LME - Pale
5.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row)
0.50 lbs. Crystal 60L
0.25 lbs. Roasted Barley
0.25 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.75 oz. Fuggle Pellet 5.00 15.7 60 min.
0.25 oz. Fuggle Pellet 5.00 1.4 15 min.
0.50 oz. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 4.75 2.7 15 min.
0.50 oz. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 4.75 1.7 1 min.
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Mesa Maltworks
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 477
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2001 11:16 pm
Location: Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island

Probably a bit late, but better than never...

Post by Mesa Maltworks »

Hi!

I've been mad busy, so I have not been scanning the unanswered questions like I usually do. By now I expect what ever occurred had occured, but retrospect investigation can sometimes be of value.

"....The OG=1.050, using Wyeast London Ale yeast"

Ok... how much yeast, how old and are you pitching on high krausen?

"After 8 days in the primary, fermentation activity was very low, which was expected. However, the SG=1.019"

Did it take off quickly and ferment vigorously until that point? With that strain in good health, 5-6 days is more typical to get to terminal.

"Now I realize that the beer will continue to ferment down in the secondary, but based on my experiences with this particular beer, not by much."

Why? The ingredients you listed should not yield a beer with a high amount of unfermentables. If you have experienced this before, there is another limiting factor other than wort nutrition.

"Could this just be due to underactive yeast? Should I pitch additional yeast into the secondary, then let is ferment more or is that overkill?"

Well, it wouldn't' hurt to repitch to rescue the effort, but we need to determine the source of the difficulty so it does not occur again. Post what occured in the long run and what you did to get it there. Then we can start a dialog to troubleshoot the causal factors.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Make your next beer (or spirit) a local one!!!!

Eric Watson
Head Distiller & Brewer

Seven Fathoms Rum
Georgetown, Grand Cayman
Cayman Islands
corinne
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 4:07 am
Location: san diego

me too...sort of. did you pitch more yeast?

Post by corinne »

am curious if you pitched more. i'm a newbie (2nd brew) but i'm making an amber ale and screwed up with the yeast. i lost some yeast when i opened the container (i shook the bottle and it exploded when i opened it. hehehe!) i added the remainder but i'm worried that there won't be enough to thoroughly ferment. i'm 1 hour into it and am thinking i should pitch more yeast tomorrow (within 24 hours....trip to the homebrew mart ahoy!). what did you do? what were your results?
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brewmeisterintng
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 384
Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2005 8:47 pm
Location: Clarksville, TN

Give your yeast a head start

Post by brewmeisterintng »

We want to simplify things at times but short cuts on brew day can result in less than desired results. What I am referring to is proper yeast preparation prior to brew day. Let's face it, you wouldn't be brewing if you weren
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