Urgent Help!

[Alexpanda]

Dropped a Mezican Cerveza( Mangrove Jacks). Used S-23 yeast, brewing at 15 degrees. It was put down 3 days ago!!! I opened the fridge and it smelt like shit!!! Found which one it was out of the two!!! Only one smells!!! Have I got an infection or is that how it should smell!!! I have uploaded a photo if the top!!

 

[Beertard]

A rotten egg sulfur smell? Is totally normal.

 

[jkhlt1210]

Dropped a Mezican Cerveza( Mangrove Jacks). Used S-23 yeast, brewing at 15 degrees. It was put down 3 days ago!!! I opened the fridge and it smelt like shit!!! Found which one it was out of the two!!! Only one smells!!! Have I got an infection or is that how it should smell!!! I have uploaded a photo if the top!!

ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1402908040.124681.jpg

There is much more experienced brewers than me here... But to me it doesn't look infected just looks like little froth or foam. Can't help with the smell I've never used s 23 but have heard much good about it

 

[jkhlt1210]

Meant to type HAVENT heard much good about it

 

[Spiesy]

What does it taste like?

S23 throws a fair amount of sulphur (rotten eggs), particularly at warmer temperatures.
The lagering period should clear it up.

I'd keep a lid on it, or it might get infected.

 

[bradsbrew]

Doesn't look like there has been much krausen action.

 

[Alexpanda]

The brew has only been down 3 days now. Yes a rotten egg smell is right. It still had a lid on it, in the fridge. Just had too be sure no spider webs etc. I think it's just wierd that one smells and the other one doesn't? They are both exactly the same!

 

[barabool]

Did you share the yeast between the 2?
If you used 2 yeasts it is possibly one yeast is working and the other not.
Give it a bit more time.

 

[TheWiggman]

How much yeast did you pitch and how did you pitch it? If you split a single yeast pack between the two at 15°C and didn't rehydrate, I'd say that's the issue.
Issue being not enough yeast, not an infection.

 

[Alexpanda]

Ok so I pitched two packets of yeast, one in each, they were pitched at 24-25 degrees. I didn't rehydrate as I thought that would be warm enough for the yeast too activate.

 

[dibby33]

Sounds like a classic (I hope anyway!) of RDWHAHB

 

[Alexpanda]

Actually no it wasn't a I hope, it was what my LHBS told me. So I followed what he said.

 

[TheWiggman]

It's not bad advice but you may have underpitched slightly and slowed the process down by not rehydrating. The instructions from the Fermentis web site give you all the details - http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFG_S23.pdf

 

[Bribie G]

By direct pitching you could have killed half the yeast cells in the packet, so could just be experiencing a slow start as described by TheWiggman.
What does the other brew look like?

 

[Alexpanda]

The brews both look the exact same, just one smelt like the rotten egg, the smell has died off a lot today. Wondering when the other one will begin too smell :/ and do you guys recommend rehydrating every time?

 

[CosmicBertie]

Fermenting at lower temperatures can also mean that you dont get much visible activity. Especially if you've directly pitched one yeast pack. It will also, as previously stated, take longer to to become active.

Leave it for a week and then take a gravity reading.

 

[danestead]

The brews both look the exact same, just one smelt like the rotten egg, the smell has died off a lot today. Wondering when the other one will begin too smell :/ and do you guys recommend rehydrating every time?

Rehydrating in sterile (boiled then cooled) water is always recommended. As bribie g said, you may have killed half the yeast by just spinkling it onto your wort. The reason you rehydrate in water rather than wort is something to do with wort being too dense for the yeast to draw water over its membrane, or something along those lines. Im sure it is explained in John Palmers How to Brew and you should also look at the fermentis recommendations on their wevsite like someone else suggested.

 

[danestead]

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html

 

[Alexpanda]

Okay cool thanks for all the replies guys, from now on I will always be rehydrating the yeast, also I'll be leaving the brew down for 15 days and dry hopping one at day 10 with Citra hops. Thanks guys love the help here

 

[danestead]

Okay cool thanks for all the replies guys, from now on I will always be rehydrating the yeast, also I'll be leaving the brew down for 15 days and dry hopping one at day 10 with Citra hops. Thanks guys love the help here

You will love the dry hopping. Yummmm

Do you test your gravity with a hydrometer? You can determine that the brew has finished fermenting by checking that the gravity is stable 2 or 3 days in a row. You should also check that that final gravity is similar to what you would expect for the brew you are brewing because occasionally, for 1 reason or another, fermentation can stall at a gravity higher than expected. In general, 15 days will be fine however that is a very simplistic way to do things. If you are bottling, which im not sure if you are or not, you really want to make sure that your beer has completely finished fermenting prior to bottling because there is some nasty stories on ahb of bottle bombs resulting in people in hospital with cuts etc.