Fermentation Advice

Yeast & Fermentation
#1

I started 2 extract kits on the same day (a week ago): Barley Wine Extract Kit[/url] and [url=http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/number-8-extract-kit.html]The Number 8 Extract Kit

The Barley Wine bubbled thru the airlock for the first 3 or 4 days. The #8 is still bubbling 8 days out. I did gravity readings on both after their first 7 days. #8 is rocking a 9.6% abv, but my barley wine only came in at 7.2%.

I started both of these on the same day and used 2000ml yeast starters on each. The #8 looks like it’s going very well, but I’m unsure of the barley wine. I just don’t know what to expect with it. Should I repitch? If so, do I use the same yeast as before? Do I make another yeast starter?

Thanks for any assistance.

#2

can you give a little more information?

OG of each
yeast used
temperature of the wort when yeast was pitched
temperature of beer when fermenting (if not available, ambient temp of the room)

#3

I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me, but these should be close:

Barley Wine OG: 1083
Number 8 OG: 1085

Barley Wine yeast: Wyeast 1945 NB NeoBritannia
Number 8 yeast: Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abbey II

Barley Wine pitch temp: ~75 degrees
Number 8 pitch temp: ~75 degrees

Barley Wine fermenting temp: 68 degrees yesterday
Number 8 pitch temp: 70 degrees yesterday

Both fermenting temps may fluctuate between 68 to 74 degrees

#4

Whoa, way too warm! You should try to maintain low to mid 60’s for those

#5

Really? It lists the optimum temp for the 1945 at 66 - 74 degrees, and 65 - 75 degrees for the 1762.

#6

You mention making a starter, but did you do so for both these beers initially?

#7

It’s almost always better to go with the low end of the range.

#8

That is correct. 2000ml starters each on its own stir plate for about 24 hours.

#9

And just to reiterate the Number 8 brew is going great. At day 7 it measured at 9.6% ABV, and it is still bubbling in the air lock. The Barley Wine is the one I’m worried about. It measured at 7.2% at day 7 and quit bubbling a few days ago. Just wondering what I should do with it (repitch)?

#10

How are you measuring ABV? Normally we focus on gravity to determine if beer attenuates properly.

#11

Plugging in the OG and the newly measured gravity into brewcalcs.com. If you need gravity numbers instead:

Number eight:
02/24: 1.085
03/03: 1.017

Barley wine:
02/24: 1.083
03/03: 1.033

#12

Sounds a lot like my barleywine. OG = 1.089, after 18 days it was down to 1.031. I racked it to secondary and let it sit for 8 months to the day. FG after secondary = 1.026. End product is wonderful. I’m down to my last couple bottles and I wish I would have brewed another batch. :frowning:

Nothing seems to have gone wrong with my brewing, and like I said, the final product is great. Perhaps it’s a limitation on the NeoBrit yeast. Another possiblity is the fermentable content of the ingredients. Number 8 uses Pilsen extract, candi sugar, and corn sugar, while the barleywine uses amber extract. My understanding is that the darker extracts contain more unfermentables and will result in a higher FG.

Whatever the reason, my experience tells me that you have nothing at all to worry about.

#13

Yeah, I just wasn’t sure what to expect with the barley wine. Sounds like I’m in the ballpark then. Thanks!