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ajcmbrown

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Hi all, I am a starter at home brew and I have encountered an issue with my third brew.

It is a Coopers Lager, 23 litres with a pack of Safale US-05 and BE1, this has been in my fermentation fridge controlled by an STC1000 at about 19 degrees.

My original SG reading was .038 and it was fermenting very slowly, after two weeks it has stopped at .018.
Shouldn't this be more like .008 or less?

I have searched these forums but was unable to find this exact problem, could it be anything else but poor yeast? I don't mean the quality, I mean the yeast may have been overheated in my car on the way home at 40 degrees celcius (outside) and unfortunately it had to sit in the car for a couple of hours at maybe 50 degrees.

Could this be my problem?

Should I pitch another yeast in there and see what happens?

Any help appreciated, Tony
 
Pick up the fermenter, and give it a gentle swirl around (without splashing) to get the yeast back into suspension. Check gravity again in a couple of days.
 
you could also try raising the temperate up to say 21 degrees from 19C - I believe most of the active fermentation should be done after 2 weeks so you aren't at risk as much of getting twang since most of the ferment was done at the right temp.
 
wbosher said:
Pick up the fermenter, and give it a gentle swirl around (without splashing) to get the yeast back into suspension. Check gravity again in a couple of days.
I find US-05 is usually happy without a shake, though occasionally it does slow down and appreciate a jiggle. When it happens I do it a few days in a row to keep things going.
 
I might raise the temp and give it a swirl each night for a few days.
 
I forgot to mention that I am using rain water if that makes a difference?
 
ajcmbrown said:
I forgot to mention that I am using rain water if that makes a difference?
I wouldn't think so. Did you boil the full volume or straight from tank to fermenter?
 
Ok, I will boil the next brew, the first two were good though, is it for sterilization or SG? The other thing I have read here is about yeast rehydration, does that make a difference to how active the yeast is?
 
ajcmbrown said:
Ok, I will boil the next brew, the first two were good though, is it for sterilization or SG? The other thing I have read here is about yeast rehydration, does that make a difference to how active the yeast is?
If you are using dry yeast, then yes, it makes a big difference.
I don't have Chris White's YEAST book on hand, as it's with Beerisyummy at present, but Chris' advice is that by direct pitching dry yeast onto your wort you will kill about 50% of the yeast cells.
By rehydrating with a proper procedure (you can find how to do it on the yeast manufacturer's websites) you give your yeast the best chance.
And don't forget that proper aeration is also vital to give the yeast a good start.

Boiling of rainwater is generally a good idea to kill any possible nasties. That's not to say they are always there, but it's a just in case procedure. I do it, but I brew AG so it gets boiled anyway.
 
Thanks for that, what would be the correct method for Safale US-05?
 
Do you have a fan in your fermenting fridge?
If not there can easily be 5oC (or more) difference between the top and the bottom of the fridge, the bottom of the fermenter can be cold enough that yeast down there just goes to sleep.
This is a question that I get in the shop on a regular basis and a little computer fan usually fixes the problem, you will also get the wort closer to the set temperature and narrow the difference between your set point and the real temperature of the brew.
Mark
 
Thanks Warra, although it is illegible unfortunately but it gives me some clues as to where to look.

I hadn't thought of a fan MHB, but that makes sense, and also begs the question.....should the temp probe also be located as low as practical on the outside of the tub to reduce low temps at the bottom of the wort?
 
Hi Warra, I googled the Fermentis site and they have a great tips and tricks pdf, does anyone here use it?
 
You can direct pitch US05 - have done so for last dozen brews.
I have found US05 loves 17 deg c and will ferment out in about 7 - 10 days - when you buy yeast plan to be able to take us straight home and put in the fridge (normal fridge temps) until your ready to use it .
 
"when you buy yeast plan to be able to take us straight home and put in the fridge (normal fridge temps) until your ready to use it ."
Yes very true, the hard lessons that cost you in time effort and money are the lessons least forgotten.
 
warra48 said:
If you are using dry yeast, then yes, it makes a big difference.
I don't have Chris White's YEAST book on hand, as it's with Beerisyummy at present, but Chris' advice is that by direct pitching dry yeast onto your wort you will kill about 50% of the yeast cells.
By rehydrating with a proper procedure (you can find how to do it on the yeast manufacturer's websites) you give your yeast the best chance.
And don't forget that proper aeration is also vital to give the yeast a good start.
I've noticed that when I've pitched from slurry or made a starter from slurry it's a lot more active and seems to finish lower than if I were to go in dry.
 

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