I brewed the “Irish Red Extract Kit w/ Specialty Grains” (second batch ever) and used Danstar dry yeast- no starter.
Brewing day went fine, poured the yeast directly into the carboy after filling it etc… 1 DAY LATER- there was 1 inch of young looking krausen sitting atop the batch- air lock bubbling like nothing I’ve seen before.
2 DAYS LATER- The krausen had completely subsided and absolutely no bubbling in the airlock… whats happening? Is this the process of a failing batch? Things I should mention before you give me theories:
Couple things actually:
I noticed today (day 3) I actually used Danstar “Windsor” yeast, not the “Nottingham” that should have come with the kit- my bad, but similar yeast strains i think.
This was the first time I reused a batch of star-san sanitizer (but the fact that there was any fermentation at all would seem to indicate that all my equipment was in fact sterile- I measured ph below 3 so I thought it was good)
The fermometer measured higher than 78 on the carboy and since fermentation is inductive, I can only assume warmer within the carboy.
This could just be normal with dry yeast? Its my first time with it.
Solutions:
-Should I repitch some dry yeast in hopes of restarting the fermentation process?
-I already shook it a bit today to try and oxygenate the batch a little more and bring some yeast back into suspension (though very small yeast cake as of yet)
I’ll let you do the research if the yeast are similar or not. It will be a good beer either way. With dry yeast, the cell count is higher than a pack of liquid. No started needed or recommended.
sanitizers are not able to sterilize. They get close. But there still may be a couple rouge bugs alive. Theoretically fermentation could have started with a wild bug. Doubtful. Relax, have a micro brew
78 is extremely high temp. That is why fermentation is done so quickly. It may taste OK. Or it may need an extended aging to mellow out, 2-3 months.
Here are some ideas to keep your temps down without a refrigerator.
No new yeast is needed. The little guys were so excited with the high temps they did there jobs. Take a hydrometer reading to verify. But leave it alone for at least 2 weeks to let them try and clean up the nasties created with the high temps.
Shaking it was not the best idea. Nothing you can do about it now.
I’m new to using the intrawebs for brewing… I know. Right?
I used a fermentation chamber for years but not like the one pictured in your link, nighthawk. I thought I was very clever using basement cement walls and floor with a small fan inside a single chamber ( a ceramic heater set on “low fan”) made of two layers the extruded exterior foam insulation. I built that with no back wall and no floor so the cool basement (ie ground) wall and floor temps would hold the chamber temps very steady and close to 60 degrees year round. (You go several feet down and ground temps are remarkably steady at @55.) I sealed the back of it using a silocone type sealant. I would cover the chamber with two layers of sleeping bags then surround it with tires for extar insulation. The cover would fit into the walls by cutting the inside layers smaller than the outer one. I stuck a probe thermometer in the top. Cost me almost nothing and worked pretty good.
I’ve since acquired a second fridge and have a Johnson controller on it now. But I might build the chamber in the link to ferment ales while I am lagering or fermenting lagers in the fridge.
78F is WAY too hot. Plain and simple. If the fermometer is measuring 78F, your actual fermentation temp was even higher. That’s why it finished out so quickly. That beer will need some time to mellow… if it does at all. Those high fermentation temps are going to lend some bad flavors, IMO. You gotta find a way to keep your fermentation temps about 10-15 degrees lower.
I bought a used minifridge and a temperature controlled last summer. My beer is so much better since I’ve been able to control ferm temps. That along with proper pitching rates is paramount in making good beer, IMHO.
