Mine recent batch finished at .012. I would say never bottle at .026. What made you think it was done?
Why? Bad day and was not thinking clearly.
Plan on tracking this batch better.
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Hello,
I have been wanting to try this kit. Making a yeast starter is holding me back. I have never made a yeast starter before. Would anyone like to share what they do? or how they make a starter?
Thanks for your help.
I made this kit and used the dry yeast and re-hydrated it. The beer turned out awesome I have it on keg now. I went 2 weeks primary, then I believe 5 weeks secondary I added the bourbon soaked chips + vanilla vodka soaked vanilla beans about 12 days before I racked it to the keg. After seeing some posts I would have waited to add the vanilla until a couple days before racking as the vanilla barely came through, but the beer is still great, best one I have done.
I also have not made a starter yet, only used liquid yeast once so far for a beer with OG of 1.045 so no need for a starter.
Happy brewing!!
Starter Recipe:
The optimal media for cell growth and health require using a malt based media (DME) fortified with nutrients. Gravity should be kept near 1.040 and cultures should be grown at 70°F.
Recipe
0.5 cup DME (100g, 3.5oz)
½ tsp Wyeast Nutrient
1qt.(1L) H2O
Mix DME, nutrient, and water.
Boil 20 minutes to sterilize.
Pour into a sanitized flask or jar with loose lid or foil.
Allow to cool to 70°F.
Shake well and add yeast culture.
Timing of Starter:
Because starters are inoculated at high cell densities, growth is usually maximized within 24-36 hours. The gravity of the starter should always be checked prior to inoculation into wort to assure proper cell growth . Cultures should be used immediately, or refrigerated for up to 1 week before using. Cell viability will decrease rapidly if culture are left at ambient temperatures for extended time.
Stirring and O2:
Agitation aids in removing inhibitive CO2 from suspension as well as possibly adding small amounts of oxygen. Stirring or shaking the starter periodically or using a stir plate will improve cell growth. The use of stir plates has been shown to increase cell growth 25-50% over a non-stirred starter.
Small additions of oxygen periodically throughout the growth of a starter will replenish sterols and improve cell yield.
This is from the Wyeast website. Hope it helps.
You can also refrigerate the finished starter for a day or two until the yeast settles firmly to the bottom, then decant most of the clear wort on top, then swirl around what’s left and pitch into your wort. You don’t have to pour the entire contents of the starter into the wort, just the yeast.
Cheers,
Ron
By the way, this is for liquid yeast. You can do this with dry yeast, but you should rehydrate the dry yeast before pitching to the starter wort.
You can cheat a bit on a starter, too. Northern Brewer sells “Fast Pitch” canned starter. Sanitize a jar, dump in contents of can. Fill empty can with tap water. Dump that in. Stir. Add yeast, cover with sanitized foil. Swirl whenever you think about it. After a day or two, refrigerate, decant, pitch. Quicker than Frenchie’s very good instructions, but not by much.
Haha. Uber, that’s exactly what I did for my last batch. The fast pitch worked great! I should have thought of that. Good catch.
Cheers,
Ron
Here’s how I do it, along with the venerable @denny:
yeast starter
You don’t HAVE to make a starter. You could always buy more yeast and pitch 2 packets.
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Thanks for sharing! I’m going to give the fast pitch a try.
Cheers!!
I have been tracking gravity drop. On Jan 20 1.026 checked today still 1.026. More specifics: brewed Jan 3 OG 1.065 Racked to secondary 1/11 after krausen dropped complete. I believe it should be dropping more. Any thoughts or directions?
Sounds like your fermentation stalled. What yeast did you use and what temperature are you sitting at?
Danstar - windsor ale
House is set at 69 deg when home - 62 at night. Would say it stays mid 60’s. Keep in hall closet in middle of house.
The IPA sitting next to it for the last 3 weeks is progressing very good.
What you think? Have shook up in past. Probable need to raise house temp for a few weeks. Wife would like that to.
You can try warming it to around 70 and see if I starts up again. Maybe it’s done
Another thing you could try is a jump start. Make a starter with some DME and gently pou it in when its actively fermenting. Keep it around 68 deg. I’ve never done it but I have had beer that I thought done start fermenting after bottling more than just from priming sugar. If you do decide to bottle I would shoot for the low end .
I bought an AG kit, will be the first AG I will do. I’m planning a secondary fermentation in a 5 gallon whiskey barrel I bought from Balcones Distillery in Texas. i’m leaving out the oak chips, and bourbon bcuz of the barrel has that already. I’ve currently have a 5 gallon Mr. Beer recipe in the barrel and its turning out as I hoped for. I used for the first time, smoked cherry wood malt in the porter
Follow-up, moved the carboy to a warmer room and dropped down to 1.012 after four weeks. this batch I soak the oak chips in some Makers Mark for 10 days and just put the oak chips in the carboy for a week. Had first taste and it has the light oak aroma and flavor. With light bourbon taste.
Turned out much better then first batch.
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