Is it wrong to

warpstone_brewer · February 16, 2012, 6:57pm

Pitch two different types of yeast?

Why is it?

My problem is that I am fairly new to brewing, and have only done small mr beer kits. I jumped head by going to all grain and tripling the batch size. And the yeast pitched (belgian stout) looks like its not doing the job. It looks like its already slowing down after five days. Now I have Irish ale hanging out for my next batch. I love experimenting with crazy ideas, but I think I should ask around to see if putting to different type of yeast in a brew is a huge no no.

My plan is once I moving the wort from primary to secondary Carboy, is to pitch the Irish ale yeast. And do another 7 day sit. One reason is because hops(a lot of them) got pass my filter into primary.
Also I will be doing the next pitching with yeast that i did a starter with.

And I know that your going to ask… What the gravity? Well my meter broke during brewing and Im wait for another one.

So… Is the idea good, bad or “hell kid, try it”

s_scoggin · February 16, 2012, 7:09pm

well, the reason people don’t pitch 2 types of yeast is because one will inevitably out-compete the other (and you wont know which one until you drink some). i wouldn’t do anything until i checked the gravity. if its slowing down after 5 days i would say it is doing its job, and probably finishing out. if you don’t have a hydrometer try tasting the beer, does it taste like a stout? can you detect alcohol? (keep in mind it may not be completely finished). hops in the primary wont cause any problems or affect the yeast

bpbco · February 16, 2012, 7:12pm

To answer your question there’s nothing inherently wrong with pitching 2 different yeasts. Whether there’s much to be gained depends upon the situation I suppose. People say often times with 2 different strands, 1 will dominate and you won’t really get the effect from both. In your situation, if your first yeast was a dud then there’d be nothing wrong with pitching a different style if you had one on hand. That said, I’d be willing to guess that your yeast is doing just fine. 5 days is not really a short time for an ale yeast to start slowing down, most of the work is probably done so you’re seeing less acitivty. I’d wait it out, give it some more time to finish the job and give it a taste in a couple weeks, or take a sample when you get you new hydrometer.

cam0083 · February 16, 2012, 8:38pm

I’d say wait until you get the hydrometer to take a few readings before pitching anything else. Who knows, it could be done, or it could be no where near done but you’ll never know until you test it. There’s no reason to waste a yeast pack if you don’t need to.

shadetree · February 16, 2012, 9:01pm

Racking off the yeast cake and pitching new yeast probably won’t do much for the gravity. Instead, make the existing yeast work harder by ramping the temp ~1F per day into the upper 70s and rouse the yeast once or twice a day, either by swirling the fermenter or with a long spoon (stir gently to not aerate the beer).

warpstone_brewer · February 17, 2012, 12:11am

Thanks guys, I got the new hydrometer today from the local liquor store that just started selling brew supplies.
I will keep ya up on the progress…

cam0083 · February 17, 2012, 3:51am

Wow, liquor store selling homebrew stuff. That’s kinda cool. How’s there selection? Do other places do this, I’ve never heard of it?

nighthawk · February 17, 2012, 4:32am

Our LHBS closed a 4 or so years ago after the death of the owner.

It took about 2 years before a gas station/convenience store/liquor/beer store started supplying the goods. That and a brewer sent a nasty email to LD Carlson asking what the hold up was. The “beer guy” said that kept getting the run around from them.

It’s a fantastic idea. The store hours are great. They open around 6am and close after midnight. 7 days a week. Nothing better when you forgot something on a Saturday/Sunday night brew. Our selection is great. They try to keep the prices in line with the online stores. Easy enough for them as they have the other products to help with the overhead bills.

About pitching 2 yeast, I wouldn’t do it.

itspossible · February 17, 2012, 6:23am

Cam you don’t see it much around our area as NB and Midwest have a stranglehold on the market as far as LHBS goes. But in MN anyway it is an ability that you have if you own an off sale liquor license. Layman’s terms: If you have a MN liquor license to operate a liquor store you can sell home brew goods also if you wish. This is common in off sale liquor licenses many just do not choose to sell the goods as its a lose-lose depending on your location demographics and ability to keep things like grain and yeast fresh when shelf space is typically at a demand in this industry. I know of a few in outskirt MN communities that have done it in the past but when NB came online in the early 2000’s it drove that demand to nil.

warpstone_brewer · February 17, 2012, 2:56pm

Gravity after 6 days… 1.060 from start 1.070. And it tastes like it did on day of brewing. Maybe… Maybe a little hint of alcohol. Will try the temp rising and Swirling the Carboy.

The liquor store one day asked how they could get more of my business, and jokingly I replied with get some home brew stuff. And after a few months I returned and they had a survey at checkout of thing that people would need for home brewing. It’s what got me started, their prices are right around NB. And only the carboys are pricey. I have supported them since then.

Thanks again for all your help.

s_scoggin · February 17, 2012, 6:03pm

[quote=“Warpstone brewer”]Gravity after 6 days… 1.060 from start 1.070. And it tastes like it did on day of brewing. Maybe… Maybe a little hint of alcohol. Will try the temp rising and Swirling the Carboy.

The liquor store one day asked how they could get more of my business, and jokingly I replied with get some home brew stuff. And after a few months I returned and they had a survey at checkout of thing that people would need for home brewing. It’s what got me started, their prices are right around NB. And only the carboys are pricey. I have supported them since then.

Thanks again for all your help.[/quote]

what temperature are you fermenting at? to me it seems like it should have gone lower. do what you said and give it a good swirl a few times and check the gravity again in a week. if the gravity is still at 1.060 then i would consider adding more yeast. dry yeast would be the easiest IMO, or an active starter