The anaerobic process by which yeast convert sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
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3answers
52 views
Stopping fermentation and then bottling
I've tried making a few beers that I think have TOO much alcohol. I'd like to stop the fermentation before all of the sugars have fermented, and I'm wondering what the best way is to do that.
I've ...
2
votes
1answer
65 views
Dropped the temperature as it was getting out of control, did I shock my yeast?
Making an IPA with an OG of 1.069, we pitched at 70°F with good ol' Safale US-05, just dry out of the packet as I've always done with US-05 with good success (I tend to trust it a little too much ...
1
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1answer
54 views
Wine and yeast “clean up”
I have now decided to try my hand at some wine making as SHMBO decided she would also like to enjoy the fruits (haha) of my hobby.
In the instructions for the kit I received (White Riesling) I was ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
Problems with Wyeast London Ale 1028?
I had a brew day yesterday and ran into something a little odd. I smacked a pack of Wyeast London Ale #1028 berfore I started my routine. After everything was said and done with the boil it had been ...
1
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3answers
96 views
105 Day Fermentation?
I am half dozen or so batches into my homebrewing "career" (Saison du Buff, Jasmine IPA and Midas Touch among my highlights) I found a recipe for a darker saison. I made some modifications (chocolate ...
3
votes
1answer
135 views
How little light can spoil a beer?
I build a fermentation chamber that has a small computer fan that is equipped with tiny blue led lights. Is it only UV light that can skunk a beer? What would the effect of this frequently run fan ...
3
votes
2answers
128 views
What is the benefit of long fermentations/leaving beer on yeast for weeks?
I know the 'general' answers: "it allows the yeast to 'clean up' compounds", "it allows the beer to 'condition'", "it allows the flavors to come together", none of which I am satisfied with.
My ...
1
vote
2answers
87 views
SG and OG quite different to values indicated on can label
very quick question: making a kit brew (Coopers Real Ale), which says a typical OG is 1.046 and FG is 1.006. Unfortunately, my OG was 1.038, and my current reading (after about 17 days) is 1.013, and ...
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1answer
108 views
What are the benefits of fermenting under pressure?
I hear that some brewers ferment under pressure. What is the rationale/benefits of doing this?
7
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2answers
112 views
Pressure during fermentation
I imagine other parameters are more important (like temperature or pitching rate). Still, I was wondering if pressure has some effect on the fermentation process (for example on flocculation, ...
3
votes
2answers
70 views
Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager for Bock - too late for diacetyl rest?
I really wasn't ready to do a lager, but I wanted to do a Bock, so I requested California Lager yeast. My supplier failed to make the substitution and sent me home with Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager. I ...
2
votes
2answers
89 views
Why is my attenuation so low?
Here's the recipe:
> Recipe Specifications
> --------------------------
> Boil Size: 7.37 gal Post Boil Volume: 6.38 gal Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal
> ...
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2answers
94 views
Am I bottling too quick?
Leaving aside the risk the fermentation is not completed and possible bottle bombing.
I have made some amber or brown ales, about 1.040 1.050 OG. After a week I bottle it and start drinking after ...
1
vote
1answer
98 views
Low gravity reading after one week
My first home brew batch has been in the primary fermentation for one week and the gravity reading has dropped from 1055 to 1008. Is it going down too quickly?
4 kg pale ale malt
0,5 kg crystal malt
...
2
votes
3answers
112 views
Fermentation - only very small bubbles after 36 hours
This is my first batch so I'm wondering if I am worrying over nothing or if I need to take action. I brewed an all extract IPA kit from Williams Brewing. I feel I was very careful with sanitation ...
7
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1answer
108 views
Does using a fining agent effect the flocculation of yeast?
I'm doing a series of smash beers all using the same yeast same temp same grain. I'm noticing a big variation in flocculation on the current batch (forgot the Irish moss oops) WLP001 by the way. Im ...
4
votes
2answers
92 views
How to avoid blowoff on a 1 gallon jug?
I'm experimenting with 1 gallon batches, and every single time I had a blowoff. So for the batch I brewed today I just put a bucket of sanitized water and a blowoff tube to start with since I know ...
3
votes
2answers
116 views
Too late to move a brew?
I brewed an IPA yesterday. All went well and it is bubbling away today. However, my friend's brewing fridge/fermenting chamber just freed up and he suggested putting my brew in there. It would ...
3
votes
2answers
240 views
How can I ferment in a corny keg under constant pressure?
I'm thinking about switching from fermenting (primary and secondary) in glass carboys to using Cornelius kegs. Specifically, I'd ferment a 5.5 gallon batch in a 10 gallon carboy.
My goal is to ...
3
votes
3answers
215 views
Relation of CO2/alcohol/yeasts in Ginger Beer
The article making_ginger_beer mentions using bread yeast so you get more carbonation and less alcohol. Isn't carbonation a by-product of the process that makes alcohol? Wouldn't that mean more ...
3
votes
1answer
85 views
How long to keep in blowoff tube?
Today I learned what happens if there's too much yeast and a container too small (I have a 1 gallon batch). So according to instructions I sanitized a hose and connected the hole in the fermentor and ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
What activity to expect when fermenting a lager?
I have a lager in primary fermentation, with the temp in the fridge around 10C. The fridge smells of fermentation and the bubbler is not level, but I have not seen a single bubble escape from the ...
0
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2answers
55 views
Fermentation #2
So earlier I had mentioned the broken spigot on my primary that I managed to siphon into a glass carboy. It had been in primary for 6 days . Earlier I noticed that there was about an inch & 1/2 of ...
2
votes
1answer
79 views
Spigot broke on primary fermentation bucket
After 6 days in primary I went to move bucket and the spigot broke. Managed to keep it in place while attaching a hose and transferring the wort. There was a ring around the top of the bucket where ...
5
votes
2answers
170 views
Will Jalapeno or Habanero peppers adversely effect yeast
I have a recipe in front of me for a Saison of the spicy variety. It calls for the addition of one Jalapeno pepper, seeds included. First off, I do enjoy a fair amount of spice (far more than anyone ...
4
votes
1answer
95 views
House's furnace died while fermenting, what should I do?
I'm doing my first homebrew (using this kit), and started fermentation 6 days ago. I've kept it in my basement, which is usually around 66F. The kit's instructions just tell me to let it ferment in a ...
0
votes
1answer
76 views
Cider molding and wont go away but not getting worse?
I have three ciders going, two "spiced" ciders and one regular/standard whatever the straight apple squeezed cider ("Ryan's" brand if anyone is familiar) is called. This is my first attempt at cider, ...
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3answers
138 views
So I don't know if my primary is done
I started primary 5 days ago. On the second day it had a healthy yeast cake on top. Day three it began to fall and yesterday, so day 4, it went all the way down. The temp is at 70 degrees and is an ...
3
votes
1answer
89 views
cider with brett?
Got a great deal ($! per) on half gallon jugs of Ryan's cider. I bought everything the store had (7 gallons of "spiced" cider and 3 gallons of standard cider). I plan on making three batches with ...
3
votes
2answers
143 views
Rescuing a weak lager fermentation
I'm currently fermenting a spiced dark lager with an original gravity of 1.064. I began fermentation 2 weeks ago today with a White Labs 830 yeast that I made a starter with. The yeast was a bit old, ...
1
vote
1answer
63 views
Making 5-7 l of beer in a 30l bucket
I would like to make a small quantity of beer, using something like this
http://hbd.org/uchima/tech/extract.html
What are the downsides of using a bucket much bigger than the amount of beer?
1
vote
1answer
135 views
How long to ferment for?
I made a coopers IPA can 2 days ago and it's currently fermenting away (bubbles every few seconds) and is at around 21-24 deg c (69-75 deg f) which is what it says as the label.
The can says to ...
0
votes
1answer
122 views
Not much activity after 24 hours
Yesterday I brewed up a batch of an american brown ale. 24 hours after pitching, it doesn't to look to be moving so well. There are hints of a krausen, but not as much as there should be. I don't see ...
0
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1answer
94 views
Can a Bottling Bucket explode?
For some random reasons, I had to siphon my beer from a carboy to my bottling bucket, which doesn't have airlock or something in the lid. The fermentation was already done, so what I understand I ...
0
votes
1answer
89 views
The runaway and the non starter!
So we got a can of Coopers German wheat beer kit, and decided to do 2x10 lites batches, trying slightly different recipes with each one. We boiled up orange zest and corriander seeds and added the ...
2
votes
4answers
200 views
When is fermentation done
So, I'm totally new to homebrewing. About to start my first brew, and it's a complete kit with instructions.
Supposedly, it can't go wrong.
BUT, it says that fermentation is over in 16 days. I assume ...
2
votes
2answers
80 views
Initial Fermentation Temp?
A couple of days ago I brewed some Big Ben Pale Ale from Midwest Supplies. After the boil I poured the wort in to the fermenter atop some cold water already in the fermenter. I checked the temp ...
3
votes
4answers
629 views
Measuring specific gravity without sampling
Is there any way, I can measure SG with a sensor of some kind?
I guess I'm not REALLY after SG, but rather a way to determine that fermantation is done, without sampling.
I would very much like hook ...
0
votes
2answers
187 views
Should I be disappointed?
Just started, so my question is very basic.
I got Coopers Lager Kit, did everything by instructions, temperature has been stable at 22-24C but gravity doesn't go down. OG was 1.039, dropped to 1.020 ...
0
votes
2answers
198 views
High 'finished' gravity
I pitched about a cup of decanted starter S-04 slurry into a 1.061 OG American IPA 8 days ago at 65 degrees. The gravity has been stuck at about 1.028 since pitch day + 48 hours, when the krausen ...
4
votes
1answer
179 views
How much does gravity typically drop after high krausen
I have two fermenters going with about a cup of slurry of S-04. Pitched Sunday morning at 61 degrees ambient, they were showing activity within 5 hours, vigorous activity within 12 hours. Went to ...
2
votes
4answers
212 views
Fermenter Headspace; Suitable (and cheap!) Containers for Split Batches
After Denny's article in the spring issue of Zymurgy, I'm anxious to experiment and split batches for experimentation with yeast pitching rates, strains, fermentation temps, and adjuncts.
I had ...
2
votes
2answers
167 views
Lead in primary fermentation
So, my floating thermometer broke while cooling off my wort and I didn't realize it until about an hour after I had pitched the yeast and fermentation had definitely already started.
At first I ...
1
vote
2answers
192 views
What are the quickest styles from grain to glass
I know typically, hefeweizens and wits are best drunk while 'young', but what are the styles that are most conducive to a quick turnaround? I also know alcohol content is a factor. Have people had ...
2
votes
3answers
184 views
How to proceed when step-feeding a mead
I am in the process of planning my next mead batch, and I wondered if it would be a good idea to step-feed this one since I am planning a high ABV (18%). How would I do this best?
My recipe looks ...
3
votes
5answers
207 views
How to keep sugar from fermentation and carbonization?
We want to made sweet low ABV cider. How to do that?
I understand that yeasts are dying somewhere between 10 and 15% ABV but we want our cider to be between 2 and 5% ABV. We can interrupt ...
2
votes
2answers
288 views
Possible failed ferment: re-boil or campden + re-pitch?
On Saturday I brewed my 89th batch, an all-grain Irish Red Ale, SG 1.049. Pitched Wyeast 1084 from an "Activator" smack pack dated May 2012 that I'd struck around eight hours earlier, then aerated ...
3
votes
2answers
217 views
Is my batch contaminated / infected?
Me again with another question. So there's not been much activity from my brew lately (no bubbling, only 3rd day in the fermenter). I opened up to take the gravity and temperature (1022, 21C), so it ...
0
votes
1answer
111 views
Brewing 10 litres in a 25 litre fermentation vessel?
I'm a novice and have just started home brewing from a complete starters kit. The kit came with 2x25 litre fermentation vessels and a kit that makes 20 litres.
I've been looking at some beer kits ...
5
votes
4answers
257 views
Why is a quiet environment recommended?
I'm brewing beer from a recipe kit, and the instructions say to put the fermenting bucket into a dark, quiet and warm place.
I do understand dark (because of UV) and warm (optimal temperature for the ...
