Hi there! So i had everything going good on a caribou slobber fermentation. Krausen built up enough i had to do a blowoff and did everything correctly i think? But after clearing the blowoff and reinstalling the airlock, fermentation just flat quit. The only thing i can think of is the heavy coating of dried krausen on the inner top of the carboy has most of the yeast held in it… Any ideas?
How long was the blowoff on? Intense fermentation usually only lasts 3-4 days, but that does not mean the yeast have run out of things to do.
What temp is your beer fermenting at? What yeast?
Blowoff was probably on for 12 hours or so… Had to go to work when i noticed it needed it… Got home and pulled the blowoff and reinstalled the airlock, brew temp has been at a constant 66 to 68 degrees… Yeast was Danstar Windsor Ale…
You know your yeast were fine, so I would give it the full 2 weeks, check your gravity and then give another week before bottling.
Well im beginning to warm up to the fact that i screwed up somewhere along the way with this one… The airlock still isnt burping and the beer has no convexing movement… Im sure i screwed up with the yeast somehow… As far as Danstar windsor ale yeast, should i have pitched it dry into the fermenter or rehydrated it before pitching?.. Sorry about the noob question im just a little confused here…
If the yeast got started enough to need a blow off, you did not do anything wrong, unless you put it outside or in a freezer to slow it down. Basically, the intense part of fermentation is over. Warm up to the fact that in a couple weeks, the beer should be bottled, allowed to carbonate for 2-3 weeks at about 70 degrees and then consumed. I really do not think you have a problem
Stop worrying about your beer and read a book. Don’t even look at it for 1 week.
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.htmlWell there was no doubt that the yeast fermented most of sugars in this beer, FG was sitting around 1.020 when i bottled… Popped the top on one of them last night and it barely made the slightest hiss when the top came off, poured into a glass like water no carb at all… I’m gonna bet my yeast completely died off in this one… What can i say though im learning the hard way… Haha
Your yeast didn’t die.
They are resilient little creatures. How long has your beer been in the bottles?
Make sure your bottles are being stored somewhere with an average (hopefully constant) temp of at least 70 degrees. Shake them up a bit after you move them to said area.
How did you measure your priming sugar? A kitchen scale is a great investment for a number of reasons, but you can use it to measure priming sugar and dial in your carbonation perfectly.
The yeast is not the problem with the carbonation, bank on it.
The beer has been bottled for 2 weeks… I used 2/3 cup priming sugar in 16oz of water for the priming solution… Ive had the bottles sitting at about the 65-66 degree range… I moved the beer to a warmer area of my house that is about 70 degrees so we’ll see what happens…
Are you certain that your hydrometer is accurate? Have you tested it with distilled water at a temperature measured by a lab grade thermometer?
Many times it takes 3-4 weeks to achieve full carbonation. And give it at least 12 hours in the fridge to absorb the CO2.
Don’t be discouraged.
I haven’t yet checked to make sure my hydrometer is within spec… I would like to bet that it is since its been pretty trustworthy on my last couple brews… But ill check it anyway just to rule out the inaccuracy… But im gonna give this beer a week or two more in the warmer temp to see if it’ll make change… I just really dont want to have to dump this batch…
A group of local brewers (12 or so) gathered 3-4 years ago and did a “hydrometer test night”. 1 maybe 2 were accurate.
There is nothing to say that your hydrometer was accurate for your other beers. WAY to many variables. Was your volume exact. Was the temp exact.
Don’t stress out. This is suppose to be a fun activity. 
OP, I’m curious how your beer turned out. I had an almost identical problem with my Caribou Slobber. I had a blowout over the first night, and when I cleaned it up and reinserted the airlock I had no bubbling. I readjusted the lid and rocked the primary for a minute in case it was an aeration issue, and bubbling resumed. Following morning back to no activity, and performed the same rocking and bubbling resumed again. I really don’t want to continue agitation, but I’m worried about a stuck fermentation. And unfortunately I had not ordered a hydrometer yet, so I can’t go that route. Anyways, I was curious how yours turned out…maybe I have nothing to worry about and should just leave it be.
Freek, fermentation can finish in 24 hours. Especially if your temps are warmer.
Most likely what you are seeing when you rock the fermenter is suspended CO2 coming out of solution. Just like when you swirl a glass of beer more bubbles come to the surface.
As your Mom use to say, “stop picking at it”.
I’m pretty sure you can’t really have have both a blowout and an aeration issue. Maybe slight under-aeration of the “fine, but somewhat less than optimal” kind, but certainly not one that’s bad enough to make the yeast sluggish. It’s practically a contradiction in terms.
Now a blowoff coupled with a fast fermentation. . . that’s a thing that’ll happen. Relax, don’t worry, you’ve just made beer is all. :cheers:
Thanks everybody, I will relax and wait it out. This is my first time brewing in about 4 years (and before that just was just with a MR Beer setup), first time 5 gal batches and closed fermentation, and first time in the warmer temps of Oklahoma vs Connecticut. So I’m glad I found a good community on these forums, it’s been really helpful. Just to be sure on this batch, when I bottle I’m going to fill a 20 oz soda bottle to double check my carbonation without wasting precious beer :mrgreen:
Sorry for the quite long absence on this one i’ve been consumed with all other things not fun this summer… But anyhow this brew did ferment out and carbed in the bottles quite nicely after moving the bottled beer to warmer temperature… My only complaint i have to say about it was that the flavor of the beer was pretty “boozy” with an alcoholic bite to it… Not to sure what caused this off flavor if thats what it is?.. Has anybody else had the same result in flavor from the Caribou Slobber?
Cheers! Jayrath…
I am glad to hear your beer turned out well. I have had this same problem when using WLP 530 on a high gravity beer. The yeast jumps right out of the carboy, and then the beer does not finish. I solved the problem by splitting the batch between 2 carboys so there was lots of head space. You probably blew your best yeast out of the carboy and the rest of the yeast was slowed by the higher alcohol content and/or the amount of sugar that was still not consumed.
I think that the hot alcohol flavors come from a warm beginning to the ferment. It does take a while for some of those alcohol flavors to mellow and meld into the beer, and sometimes, if there is not a lot of hop character, the alcohol flavors are just going to stick out. You may have gotten some of those hot alcohol flavors if you warmed the beer up to encourage fermentation. The Belgian strains work well with higher temps at the end of fermentation, but I don’t think other strains do.
