First Brew Failure! - Salvagable?

[kario]

Howdy all,

My first brew seems to have failed....I'm just not quite sure if it's worth bothering to salvage. Here's the detail:

(note that I did not get a hydrometer initially with my kit as the store was out and told me I won't need it for the first week till they got them in)

Anyways...

Started with well sterilised/rinsed equipment (I'm naturally anal about that)

Wal's Wheat kit with 1kg Country brewers Light Malt extract

Started at 28degC in a 20degC basement room. Brew temp settled down to 22degC over the first 48hrs

Great start, fermenting wildly for first 48hrs

The mix was a little frothy to begin with (the way I was pouring water in)(and being a beginner, only thing on my mind was getting the lid on rather than wait for the froth to die down) and with the warm start and strong fermentation, the froth rose and pushed most of the hops (and it seems much of the yeast) onto the top of the lid.

so....

airlock stops bubbling exactly 48hrs in....so I start reading and find all the advice to disregard the air lock (still no hydrometer at this stage)...so I tried tips lke swirling the bucket etc.

24hrs later....
Finaly realise that most of my yeast is stuck to the lid, so open it up and scrape off the yeast and stick it in the brew and give it a good stir...lid back on.

12hrs later, I can see activity in the air lock, but only like a bubble everycouple minutes or so...hopes up again.
Borrowed a hydromoter and read 1020 at this point (day 3).

Further 12 hrs and no activity (day 4 now). Stuck the bucket in warm water and got the brew temp up to 26degC then took it out.

I get my Hydrometer and take a reading of 1020 end of day 4. Still no activity in the air lock, no foaming, nothing.

Rading today (day 5) 1020. No activity.


SO....where to from here?

My thoughts are to buy some additional yeast and throw it in to see if that gets things going again.

I'm after opinions....is it worth pursuing? Even if I do get it going again, would the fluctuations in temps and fermentation stop/starts, exposure to oxygen etc make it more-than-likely shit beer? If there's a high chance of that, I don't really wanna spend the time and effort to bottle it and wait patiently for it.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[J Grimmer]

it might not be as bad as you make out, it will normally take about 1-2 weeks toferment out.

I would expect that it would get too about 1012-1010, depending on what your brew exactly has in it has in it, the foam will build up and and die down. all is not lost yet.

In relation to temps i would try to go for a consistant temp over fluctuations though this may be easier said than done, yeast depending assuming kit yeast 20-22C is ok. I do not think that it is stuck i have had abrew stuck at 1020 after 2 weeks.

In short it is worth a salvage.

 

[kario]

Thanks J,

So do I bother dropping more yeast in it? Is too much yeast detrimental?

This brew you mention you had sitting at 1020 for two weeks....What happenned after the 'two weeks'? How did it finaly turn out? Was it bubbling your air-lock?
Mine just has no action what-so-ever through the air-lock....no foam.
It's currently sitting at the same as room temp...20degC....hydrometer reading 1020, tastes totally flat and watery.

Cheers

 

[fergi]

Thanks J,

So do I bother dropping more yeast in it? Is too much yeast detrimental?

This brew you mention you had sitting at 1020 for two weeks....What happenned after the 'two weeks'? How did it finaly turn out? Was it bubbling your air-lock?
Mine just has no action what-so-ever through the air-lock....no foam.
It's currently sitting at the same as room temp...20degC....hydrometer reading 1020, tastes totally flat and watery.

Cheers

hi kario, welcome to AHB, keep your temp at 20 deg if you can , you can try giving the fermenter a really good swirl and then see if it kicks off, if not throw another yeast in , its your first brew and you might as well try it then you can see what its like,country brewer kits from what i remember are pretty good for kits,
dont open up the lid anymore though unless you are throwing in another yeast.
it should get down to around 1010.
fergi

 

[kario]

Thanks Fergi,

Unless I hear otherwise here, I'll wait till tomorrow and if my hydrometer reading is still at 1020, I'll dump another 5gms of yeast in it.

 

[J Grimmer]

Thanks Fergi,

Unless I hear otherwise here, I'll wait till tomorrow and if my hydrometer reading is still at 1020, I'll dump another 5gms of yeast in it.

I would do that, the brew i had i needed another yeast to finish it off and some patience.

 

[Gar]

Certainly don't turf it kario, do as others have said, good stir + more yeast.

It's all good experience :icon_cheers:

 

[kario]

Dropped 5gms yeast in it on y'day morning, gave it a stir. SG @ 1020.
Checked last night (12hrs later) and there IS some activity...albeit only a bubble every couple of minutes, but it's beter than it was before......

I'm too impatient for this hobby!
:icon_drool2:

 

[iralosavic]

I lost 6 litres (down to 17L) because the fermenter a mate lent me leaked from the tap. I should really have inspected the o-ring first! The funny thing is, I just thought all the water on the ground when cleaning it, was just from splashing.

I had to quickly (didn't work out so quick) sanitise a cube and transfer it (while it was still leaking), then remove the tap and patch it up with sanitised plumbers tape then pour it back in again. Lesson learnt! I reckon having to pitch some more yeast due to a lackluster attenuation would be a fair bit less stressful

 

[petesbrew]

I'm too impatient for this hobby!
:icon_drool2:

A watched pot never boils, Kario!
Don't worry, we all suffer impatience when we start brewing.

Stop what you are doing and step away from the fermenter. Leave it alone for, say, 5 days.
It's not a race. B)

 

[kario]

A watched pot never boils, Kario!
Don't worry, we all suffer impatience when we start brewing.

Stop what you are doing and step away from the fermenter. Leave it alone for, say, 5 days.
It's not a race. B)

5 DAYS!?!?!?!

only kidding, I understand.........now.

I was just very badly wanting to have brew for xmas...and yes, being the first time, have spent much time just watching it.... :icon_drool2:

 

[petesbrew]

5 DAYS!?!?!?!

only kidding, I understand.........now.

I was just very badly wanting to have brew for xmas...and yes, being the first time, have spent much time just watching it.... :icon_drool2:

5 days is just a guesstimation. Basically letting it sit for an extra week isn't going to kill it.
But I totally understand the deadline situation.

Just go to Dan's or 1st Choice and stock up on some nice imports (and maybe rename the kit as a NYE beer!).
Good luck.
p.s. Yeah I'd expect it to settle around 1010 (give or take 2 points).

 

[iralosavic]

Extract kit yeasts aren't reknowned for strong attenuation, especially if you just pitch the packet straight into the fermenter. I wouldn't be surprised with a FG of around 1015. Like stated above though, it won't hurt to leave it longer and see what happens.

 

[kario]

Thanks fellas....will do.

 

[kario]

Extract kit yeasts aren't reknowned for strong attenuation, especially if you just pitch the packet straight into the fermenter. I wouldn't be surprised with a FG of around 1015. Like stated above though, it won't hurt to leave it longer and see what happens.

OK, so it's now been 13 days since start. current SG is still at 1020 (consistently for the last 6 days).

It's tastes fine, just watery and still very cloudy. I couldn't help myself and cracked the lid, I see the odd tiny bubble every few seconds and some chunky bits of yeast and hops floating on and near the surface.

Where to from here?

 

[kario]

oh, forgot to mention, temp has been a consistent 20-21degC

 

[hoppy2B]

You shouldn't have any problem if you wait till 2 or 3 days before Christmas to bottle it. I normally crack open a bottle 2 days after bottling and it is well enough carbonated.
The several weeks of conditioning necessary will occur in the fermenting vessel rather than the bottle. Don't worry about it.

 

[J Grimmer]

oh, forgot to mention, temp has been a consistent 20-21degC

try raising the temp of your brew to wake up some sleepy yeasts and see how that goes over the next couple of days.

 

[bigandhairy]

Calibrate your hydrometer by putting it in a sample of 20deg tap water. It should read 1000, mine is out by 4 points thusly reads 1004 in tap water. No biggie I just adjust my readings accordingly, but until I figured that out I couldnt understand why beers were finishing higher than I expected when in fact they werent.

bah

 

[yum beer]

No one else is gonna say it, so I will,

Throw it out, start again, buy beer for xmas and take a bit more care with the next batch.
If opening your FV several times hasnt induced an infection, the fluctuating and high temps will give crap flavours..either way i dont see you getting anything
drinkable from this brew.
Put it down to learning and put what you now know into practice on your batch. :icon_cheers: