hey guys Im an experienced brewer...but as you all know even an experienced brewer can run into issues that he may need help solving. So heres my problem. I recently made a scotch ale(my first one). It was one of the bigger beers ive ever done with an OG of about 1.089. I dont typically do "big beers." The yeast I used was Mangrove jack's Newcastle dark ale, part of their "craft series." Brewing went great, OG was perfect, hydrated my yeast and had great activity...but I forgot to properly aerate the wort before pitching. I know you might think "how did an experienced brewer forget such a crucial step?" The answer is kids. Anyway, the only oxygen it got was the splashing while transferring from kettle to fermenter. So ferm started great, went really strong for 1 1/2 days...and then pretty much died out. I checked the wort and it was sitting at 1.038(15 points higher than what it was supposed to be). My first solution was to do the "swirl method." That seemed to work as the airlock started bubbling again. After checking the gravity a day later it hadnt gone down. Next I opened up the fermenter, oxygenated the wort with a sanitized spoon, and pitched a fresh new pack of Safale us-05(the reason being that it finishes pretty clean and wouldnt take away flavor from the previous yeast). Again it seemed to work as fermentation seemed pretty vigorous for a day. I checked the gravity about two days later and it was at 1.034. It had gone down...but not nearly as much as I was hoping. Obviously I SHOULD have added some yeast nutrient, and maybe brought the fermenter to a slightly warmer area(my ferm chamber is about 63-65 degrees constantly) to really get it going. So heres my question: Ive swirled, ive added new yeast, and Ive now put the fermenter into a warmer area...but nothing seems to be working. What are my options at this point? Would it be wise to add MORE yeast, and nutrients, now that its in a warmer area? Or will I have to settle with incomplete fermentation and hope that its at least somewhat tasty?
What was your recipe? It's not inconceivable that it's done at 1.034 if you had lots of specialty malts and/or mashed high. Also, for future reference, I would avoid oxygenating after the first 24 hours.
My recipe: 12 lbs marris otter 6 lbs pale ale 2 lbs munich 1/4 lbs roasted 1/2 caramel 120 1/2 caramel 40 1/2 victory 1/4 smoked It should DEFINITELY be lower than 1.034. Target was around the 1.023-1.025 mark. Honestly I would be satisfied with anything under 1.030 at this point though. And yes I know that you shouldn't oxygenate after the first 24 hours...but my circumstances made me think that I didn't really have much of a choice If I were to add more yeast. Figured there was enough work for the yeast to do that it would mitigate some of the diacetyl, and use up most of the added oxygen. At this point I really just dont want to give up on this beer. Will it be bad at 1.034? No...but obviously not my target. Will just brew again and do it right if theres nothing more to be done.
Buy some wy1728. Do an 800ml starter with a gravity of 1.060. Wait 2-3 days for the starter to finish assuming no stir plate. Pitch the entire starter. It should finish the batch and maybe even below 1.020.
Thats ideal...but unfortunately my local homebrew store doesnt carry it in stock, and I would be afraid to order it online given the temperature forecast over the next few days. Any other recommendations on yeast strains?
not 1728. So at this point I initially added 18 grams of the dark ale yeast...then I put in an additional 11 gram sachet of us-05, but dont think it really took off much at all because of lack of nutrients, and low temp. So adding more yeast is still on the table as long as I get a good starter going a couple days ahead of time?
Just ran the recipe through brewcipher. Even with US05 as the primary yeast and a mash temp of 158*, the target FG is still 1.025. @Brew_Betty 's suggestion of making a high-ish gravity starter is probably a good bet. Personally I'd cold crash and decant, but I doubt it will make much if any difference in this case.
i have a conical fermenter so most of my sediment/old yeast can be taken care of pretty easily. Ill give a mid-high gravity starter a shot. Thanks guys!!! Worst case scenario im sure itll still taste OK...I think the recipe itself will probably be solid.
Yes. You could even do a starter with another pack of dry yeast. You want to get the yeast gradually acclimated to the level alcohol currently in your partially finished beer. Pitching dry yeast into a boozy wort is very tough on the yeast. Pitching the yeast in their active state from a starter that is a similar abv to your beer will improve your chances of finishing the batch as originally intended. Pick any yeast you want, but try to choose something that attenuates as well as s-05.
i have several packets of us-05 left...so ill give one of those a try. I re-hydrated it previously and added some DME to kick it into gear...but I only gave it a few hours before pitching. This time ill do a real starter, add some yeast nutrients, and pitch it in a couple days now that my fermenter is in a slightly warmer area. Thanks again guys.
Nottingham yeast will work as well but honestly, I believe the brew will taste fine. But to be sure, I would reduce the bottleing suger by 25%, just being careful.
