Should I Try again??

[fifis101]

I bought a Sarsaparilla kit recently. After all these years I never even knew they made it. Anyway, it turned out to be a bit of a fizzer. Not much activity, so I turned the temp up and that got it going just a little bit. I gave it extra time in case it was just a slow burner. It tastes alreight but I really think it hasn't brewed much alcohol at all, so I was considering getting it out of the fridge, pitching some fresh yeast and brew it again in the keg. Will this work or will I just ruin it?

 

[philrob]

I've never brewed one of these, but I suspect there's not much in there for the yeast to feed on.
I'd suggest you need to feed your yeast with some yeast nutrient for it to get going.
Others may have better ideas.

 

[Hangover68]

Which kit was it and what did you add to it ?

 

[fifis101]

It was the Colony West branded kit. I can't remember exactly but I'm pretty sure the only thing in the kit was a small 200mlish bottle of essence and the yeast. I added 1kg of raw sugar.
At first I just thought maybe it was an old batch of yeast but the lady at the brew shop told me she sells a lot of it, so I assume this is probbably not the case.
I have made Colony West ginger beer a couple of times over the years in the same way without any issues.

If anyone is interested in the flavour, I found it to be reasonably mild and almost cokeish.

 

[fifis101]

Maybe they're old kits! Yesterday I mixed up a ginger beer. Same brand kit as the Sars and I bought it at the same time. Next day and it still hasn't started brewing.
I can only think of one other time in many many years of brewing that this has occurred and now twice in three brews. I brewed a Canadian blonde after the Sars with no issues.

 

[antoRCB]

It sounds like the yeast in the Sarsaparilla kit might not have been active enough, especially since you’ve had success with other brews like ginger beer and Canadian blonde. If the Sarsaparilla is already brewed and sitting in the fridge without much alcohol development, adding fresh yeast could work, but there are a few things to consider.

Firstly, Sarsaparilla kits tend to have a lower amount of fermentable sugars, so there may not be much for the yeast to consume. Adding more sugar (such as a bit more raw sugar or honey) could give the yeast something to feed on, but you’d also need to ensure that the yeast you pitch is healthy and active. I'd recommend using a yeast nutrient as well, to give the new yeast a boost.

Bringing it out of the fridge, warming it up, and pitching fresh yeast could get things going again, but it’s a bit of a gamble. If there's not enough fermentable material left, you might not get the result you're hoping for. You could risk introducing off-flavors or over-carbonation if fermentation suddenly kicks in too hard in the keg.

Maybe try a small experiment: take a small sample and add a bit of sugar and fresh yeast to it, and see if it starts fermenting actively. If it does, then you could consider scaling that up in the keg. Otherwise, it might be best to just enjoy the Sarsaparilla as it is, even if it’s lower in alcohol than expected.