Will It Be Drinkable ?

[Daveonthebay]

Hi Brewers
my first post & its about a stuff up, put down a cascade pale last sunday, can plus 1.2kg of dextrose, had a few beers under my belt so thought what the hell lets add some honey & see how she goes, so into jug goes 120 mls honey boil jug add i guess same amount H2o to desolve honey as rest of brew was done. Added yeast but no visable activity by tuesday, no foam on top or condensation inside lid. Went to local brew shop yesturday bought another pack of yeast & tossed it in, now have some activity, but am i wasteing time with this brew should i just toss it or hang in there ?.

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Hi Brewers
my first post & its about a stuff up, put down a cascade pale last sunday, can plus 1.2kg of dextrose, had a few beers under my belt so thought what the hell lets add some honey & see how she goes, so into jug goes 120 mls honey boil jug add i guess same amount H2o to desolve honey as rest of brew was done. Added yeast but no visable activity by tuesday, no foam on top or condensation inside lid. Went to local brew shop yesturday bought another pack of yeast & tossed it in, now have some activity, but am i wasteing time with this brew should i just toss it or hang in there ?.

What, and miss out on all the fun !! Sit and watch the brew for a week or so and see what happens. Keep taking Specific Gravity readings if you have a hydrothingyometer and bottle when ready. If when you start bottling it smells and tastes like John Howard's socks, then chuck it out. Otherwise, bottle condition and drink in a month's time. Probably turn out all right.
:chug:

 

[brettprevans]

one assumes you took notice of the temp when you pitched the yeast? It wasnt too hot was it? ie did you kill the yeast. Was it under 26C? (ideal temp for an ale would be 18C but anyway)?

its probably fine. If your using kit yeast then it might take a while.

 

[Fents]

only one way to find out if its drinkable...taste the stuff!

 

[Fourstar]

sounds like you had a dead packet of yeast. i think it will brew and attenuate fine, although im slightly concerned with the excessive amount of dex in the brew (50%) you want to keep it down to 10%. 20% MAX. I'd expect to be drinking cider... not beer.


next brew do me a favour a fork out the extra 5 bucks for some DME so your % of dex is closer to 10% or do away with it forever!

getting rid of cane sugars is the best thing you can be doing to stop your beers from tasting like 'john howards socks' (with the exceptions of candi sugar) or bottling for that matter.

 

[blackbock]

Stale yeast is a real problem with some kits. Add to that the fact that they often undersupply the quantity, and it can take some time for fermentation activity to become apparent, especially in higher gravity worts. You did not state the approx lag time in hours, so sun-tue could be anywhere between 1-3 days. I would say it will be fine, as long as you let it complete fermenting and resist the urge to open and smell/stir/taste all the time. You will soon realise if something has gone badly wrong.

 

[rockin49]

Have heard that there's a difference in the type of honey intended for brewing. Perhaps this is the side effect of a type that's not suitable?

Dan

 

[ibast]

sounds like you had a dead packet of yeast. i think it will brew and attenuate fine, although im slightly concerned with the excessive amount of dex in the brew (50%) you want to keep it down to 10%. 20% MAX. I'd expect to be drinking cider... not beer.
next brew do me a favour a fork out the extra 5 bucks for some DME so your % of dex is closer to 10% or do away with it forever!

getting rid of cane sugars is the best thing you can be doing to stop your beers from tasting like 'john howards socks' (with the exceptions of candi sugar) or bottling for that matter.

Bit harsh. I generally agree, but Dextrose is better than sucrose. Dextrose is appropriate if he was after a lighter style of beer, but yeah, go an ultra-brew plus 250g of dextrose for a better result.