Help with fermenting an IPA

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Lvl5springroll, May 19, 2017.

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  1. Lvl5springroll

    Lvl5springroll Initiate (0) May 19, 2017 New York

    Morning everyone, could somebody explain this to me please: attempted a IPA, started my fermentation in my primary and over two/three days is stopped. I realized I probably fermented to high around 72-75 anyway moved the beer to my basement and let it sit. Earlier this week transferred it to my secondary and the airlock started to bubble again.( 10 days after pitching yeast).
    Now I know an airlock isn't the best indicator but I have been taken gravity readings and it has been dropping. I would assume that it is fermenting again correct? My OG in the first fermentor was 1.070 when I put it in the secondary it was 1.020 and now it's 1.010. My basement is more an ideal place for fermenting so did my yeast somehow reactivate or something? There was a 7 day period between transferring that there wasn't any fermenting.
    Thanks!
     
    #1 Lvl5springroll, May 19, 2017
  2. CarolusP

    CarolusP Zealot (590) Oct 22, 2015 Minnesota

    It sounds like you have a very slow fermentation...perhaps an underpitch? It's likely that the transfer just roused your yeast up and now you are seeing more airlock activity, similar to what swirling the fermenter can do when you have a stuck/slow fermentation.
     
    #2 CarolusP, May 19, 2017
    PapaGoose03 likes this.
  3. Curmudgeon

    Curmudgeon Savant (1,110) May 29, 2014 Massachusetts
    BA4LYFE Society

    What do you use for a fermenter? And what type of fermenter did you transfer into? Better bottle, glass carboy, bucket, etc.? Sounds like you know this already but a lot of times you'll see vigorous fermentation activity for 2-3 days followed by very little "visible" activity. It's still fermenting though.
     
    #3 Curmudgeon, May 19, 2017
  4. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    How much yeast did you pitch, and into how much wort?
     
    #4 VikeMan, May 19, 2017
  5. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    Keep in mind that yeast don't care whether they make good beer or not. The higher than recommended temps that you used might not be ideal for beer but they are well within yeast bioactivity tolerances. Besides airlock activity, was there any evidence that the yeast had stopped at 1020? Did you check the gravity multiple times to confirm that yeast had stalled? My guess is they didn't.
     
    #5 pweis909, May 20, 2017
    GormBrewhouse likes this.
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