Esb Lager Has Chunks In The Wort

[Rocket_fuel]

Gday,

I took a hydro reading of my brew after 5 days as normal and when I pored it into the test tube it had chunks in it, also the air lock has not bubbled at all im pretty sure. I put finnings in yesterday and the chunks are smaller but there still there. will the chunks go and how long should i leave it before bottling if its like this. The previous 2 brews I did were nice and chunk free but were both differnt recipes, so im not sure if its ment to be like this?
any help appreciated cheers guys

 

[Adamt]

Chunks are most likely yeast that havent settled yet, probably because teh brew isn't finished yet.

What was the OG and what is the current reading?

 

[Rocket_fuel]

1050 OG and 1010 FG when finings were added

 

[0M39A]

the first hydro samples i take after a wort has finished fermenting usually have a fair few big chunks of yeast. i just pour it out, then take a clean sample and all is good.

 

[brettprevans]

its an rare occation that I dont get 'chunks' in my SG hyrdo sample. unless the yeast is well and truly compacted I alsways get some (initially anyway). theres no worries, as adamt said it just means the yeast hasnt settled (or has settled on your tap inlet) or it hasnt finished brewing.

I dont know why so many people want their brew to have finished fermenting in 4 days, its far far too quick. slow and steady wins the flavour. hell Ive only just bought one fermentor out of its cool box after 5 weeks for a 3 day rest so I can bottle on the weekend. even my RIS has had 3 weeks and its been at room temp.

 

[Rocket_fuel]

Will the priming stage in the bottle settle these chunks if still present before bottling? Im not to sure but some of the chunks were the size of peas so I thought it might have been sugar! Also on previous brews I have sprikled the yeast over the froth in the wort evenly as coopers recommend, but on the can of esb it says to stir it in so I basiclly poured half the pack into a pile in the middle of wort before sprinkling it around abit and added dry emzymes then gave it a stir? could the yeast have clumped together? Do you guys sprinkle or stir ? thats good to here i can leave it be for a while as i need to empty some bottles first, and i havnt got my self something to keep the wort nice and kool in yet so its currently brewing between 22 and 24 but im working on it.

 

[brettprevans]

you shouldnt get chunks when you bottle (ok maybe in the first bottle) but if its yeast it will just slowly settle and compact. some yeasts compact really well and will refuse to leave the bottom of the fermentor other are like dust and will stir up in the brew if you so much as look at it (ok thats a slight over statement but you get my drift).

you will generally end up with some sediment/chunks in your brew unless you rack. I cant be arsed racking so I generally get some sediment. do I care? no. does it affect the taste of my beer? no. so unless your wanting crystal clear beer with absolutely no sediment (in which case you either need to rack and/or filter) dont worry too much about it. unless of course the chunks are green and looking like an infection (and make sure its not just hops if youve added them and not strained the hops before putting in the fermentor)

I always sprinkle dried yeast as evenly as possible. if its liquid I just put it straight in but try to get a spread for disctibution. does it matter? probably not a lot.

 

[Rocket_fuel]

I hope the brew hasnt finished yet , if it keeps goin it will definatly be rocket fuel!!! I dont mean to seem like im panicing.

 

[brettprevans]

I hope I dont sounds like im preaching. im just in work mode and typing very 'matter of fact'. so apol if im coming across that way.

:huh: im posting on AHB and sprouting about me being in work mode. it boggles the mind

 

[Rocket_fuel]

No probs, no need to apoligise mate! I understand when people are explaining its hard not to get tunnel vision. When i ask a question i bacislly get told too sit back and relax and let the brew do its thing and the reasurance is good too, atleast im not doing anything wrong! Thanks heaps for your help and fast replies

 

[0M39A]

just an idea... could it be hop chunks?

dont the ESB tins come with hops in them?

 

[Rocket_fuel]

im not sure about the hops thing, but this is what i used

1.7kg esb lager
1.25kg dex
filled with water to 22.5 ltr mark
safale s-04 yeast
brew craft dry emzymes

thats it, nothing flash

 

[grinder]

It sounds like the hop pellets that come in all the ESB 3kg fresh wort kits. Don't worry about it there supposed to be there.

 

[Rocket_fuel]

Im not sure how these hops work when added to a brew or hop pellets exept pouring in a k&k tin. does anyone know of a thead that describes all of its differnt forms and uses?

 

[KGB]

Do you have a sediment reducer thing on your tap? There's no way pea-sized chunks could even fit through mine.

 

[Rocket_fuel]

its a coopers kit and yer theres no way it would fit through the sediment filter on the end of the tap so i think its done its own thing it the tap after adding yeast thats y the chunks came out.

 

[Rocket_fuel]

The chunks are all gone and its looking to be a nice brew, og was 1050, sg was 1010 2 days ago, 1006 yesterday and 1003 just then so works out to 5.7% alc vol. 9 days its been in the wort now, ill check it over the next couple of days and wait to see when sg has stopped, fingers crossed it doesnt well off to clean the bottles

 

[Rocket_fuel]

Ive just checked the brew again and its now at 1000 sg. do es anyone know when it should slow up? it just keeps goin, 10 days now !!! plus just curious but if ur brew is infected will the sg continue to fall?

 

[0M39A]

Ive just checked the brew again and its now at 1000 sg. do es anyone know when it should slow up? it just keeps goin, 10 days now !!! plus just curious but if ur brew is infected will the sg continue to fall?

if your beer is infected you can end up with a FG lower than what you would normally expect, due to the infection chewing through the long chain sugars better than what the yeast does, hence why an infection can lead to gushers and even bottle bombs.

are there any other signs of infection? how do your hydrometer samples smell and taste?

 

[Rocket_fuel]

It smells and tastes nice. I only tasted the sample tonite as it looks nice and clear now and yer tastes like beer! Just poured a little samp them and it has a very sweet almost fruity smell. there is a krust around the level where yeast was added and the top has sections of foam bubbles and a few ufi's (unidentified floating ingredients) on top.

The air lock has not done a thing unlike all previous brews and the lid is tight as. the temp has been at 22-24 the whole time. Is the yeast I used ment for that temp range? I reckon the brew is looking good hey but the sg just keeps falling !!! Maybe its that low of a sg because of the 1.25kg dex added, im not sure? what are other common signs of infection?