…a new carboy.
transferring a stuck fermentation off the yeast is unlikely a cure to a stuck fermentation.
a better and safer alternative would be to raise the temperature, and rouse the yeast
How’s that? Are you transferring to a new carboy to mix it up? I like the above method better.
If you had a stuck fermentation and racked to another carboy, you’re likely mistaking CO2 leaving the beer because of the disturbance for signs of renewed fermentation.
Yeah, bubbling does not always equal fermentation. Carboys seal very well, and any escape of gas will be seen as bubbling, whether its from being stirred up a bit by racking, or just changes in temperature. Restarting a truly stuck fermentation ranges from difficult to impossible. Warming and rousing yeast helps, as does pitching a new starter at high krausen. One thing that definitely will NOT help is racking it off the yeast.
How do you know it was stuck to begin with? How long was it in the primary?
…first off, there is no such thing as “stuck fermentation:” the yeast is either dead, or is hibernating. I DID NOT say to rack a hibernating beer into another carboy; I do recall saying, " …leave it alone!"
The second “secondary” carboy is for when I transfer the last batch I brewed; you know, I can’t use the carboy with the hibernating yeast until the beer has reached its target final gravity, at which time it will be bottled.
Therefore, I get to buy another carboy.
[quote=“RevLeonidas”]
…first off, there is no such thing as “stuck fermentation:” the yeast is either dead, or is hibernating. I DID NOT say to rack a hibernating beer into another carboy; I do recall saying, " …leave it alone!"
The second “secondary” carboy is for when I transfer the last batch I brewed; you know, I can’t use the carboy with the hibernating yeast until the beer has reached its target final gravity, at which time it will be bottled.
Therefore, I get to buy another carboy.[/quote]
that’s confusing… there is such a thing as a stuck fermentation - it’s a common term used for yeast that have gone dormant before reaching FG (usually due to a rapid drop in temperature). thus the gravity stalls or is “stuck”. i suppose the term can be slightly misleading, but it’s just semantics… Plus, you’re the one who used the term, so we answered.
you didn’t say to leave it alone, and you shouldn’t leave it alone. you should be raising the temperature in hopes to wake the yeast up - and rousing the yeast if raising the temp doesn’t work.
I think our assumption, with the very brief info that you gave us initially (and the title of the thread)- was the only assumption we could have possibly made
Where do you say “leave it alone!”?
I do agree with a new carboy, though (or bucket).
Where do you say “leave it alone!”?
I do agree with a new carboy, though (or bucket).[/quote]
…the “leave it alone” if from a piece that I did not post on this forum; here’s some of it:
"…a rule with Grizzly Bears: do not disturb during hibernation; if you do, really bad things will happen: like the critter would tear you from limb-to-limb. It’s best to let nature take its course and let the beast gradually wake as it starts to get warm.
It’s a good rule for brewing beer too; do not disturb during hibernation; let it gradually warm-up over days or weeks, and hide it from the sun!
Bucket? As your palate experiences more home-brews the affect of plastic in the brewing process becomes noticeable: plastic scratches and makes good hiding places for bacteria, excess cleaner, etc.
Are you a BJCP judge?
Where do you say “leave it alone!”?
I do agree with a new carboy, though (or bucket).[/quote]
…the “leave it alone” if from a piece that I did not post on this forum; here’s some of it:
"…a rule with Grizzly Bears: do not disturb during hibernation; if you do, really bad things will happen: like the critter would tear you from limb-to-limb. It’s best to let nature take its course and let the beast gradually wake as it starts to get warm.
It’s a good rule for brewing beer too; do not disturb during hibernation; let it gradually warm-up over days or weeks, and hide it from the sun!
Bucket? As your palate experiences more home-brews the affect of plastic in the brewing process becomes noticeable: plastic scratches and makes good hiding places for bacteria, excess cleaner, etc.
Are you a BJCP judge?[/quote]
Hard to understand a reference to a post on another forum on this forum. :roll:
Not a BJCP judge. I use carboys, but know homebrewers who successfully use plastic buckets, as I have in the past and will in the future if I need to buy another fermenter. My palate has experienced home-brews for about 14 yrs., in plastic, glass, and SS.
[quote=“mrv”]
Hard to understand a reference to a post on another forum on this forum. :roll:
Not a BJCP judge. I use carboys, but know homebrewers who successfully use plastic buckets, as I have in the past and will in the future if I need to buy another fermenter. My palate has experienced home-brews for about 14 yrs., in plastic, glass, and SS.[/quote]
+1
[quote=“RevLeonidas”]
Bucket? As your palate experiences more home-brews the affect of plastic in the brewing process becomes noticeable: plastic scratches and makes good hiding places for bacteria, excess cleaner, etc.
Are you a BJCP judge?[/quote]
An oft repeated myth. I’ve used buckets for years and hundreds of batches. And yes, I’m a BJCP National judge if that matters.
why put stuck fermentation in the name of your post if you don"t think it is possible?
If the beer will not reached its f.g. then wouldn’t it by definition be stuck?
[quote=“gdtechvw”]why put stuck fermentation in the name of your post if you don"t think it is possible?
If the beer will not reached its f.g. then wouldn’t it by definition be stuck?[/quote]
Not necessarily. A lot of supposedly “stuck” fermentations are actually fermentations that finished higher than expected due to incorrect expectations or high amounts of unfermentables.
That makes perfrect sense, didn’t think about it that way. I"ve never had a beer in my very short amount of time brewing get “stuck”. Except for when I bought a refratometer and freaked out for about 20 min till i googled stuck fermentation.
I just went crosseyed reading this thread.
I just went crosseyed reading this thread.
[quote=“Denny”][quote=“RevLeonidas”]
Are you a BJCP judge?[/quote]
An oft repeated myth. I’ve used buckets for years and hundreds of batches. And yes, I’m a BJCP National judge if that matters.[/quote] Well, my palate’s experience with phenols, rancidity, soapy-bleachy tastes, contributes to this myth; maybe some of our fellow judges will help me get my taste-buds in order?
…perhaps you could answer a question for me: I’ve been a BJCP Judge since 1996; however, due to medical reasons, My Recognized status had been inactive since 1998. My status has recently been reactivated, so I’d like to “calibrate” my palate before I judge in a few weeks.
Zymurgy magazine has a feature where four BJCP Master level judges score a couple of beers following BJCP’s scoring guidelines. With the Zymurgy sample beers have you ever used these judges scores in comparison to yours for a palate tune-up?
Yes, I have. I’ve also judged alongside those people at the NHC final round. Dave Houseman and I were in almost complete agreement on our scores. I was very close to what Gordon scored. But keep in mind the vagaries and subjectivity of beer judging.
I think that the things you were attributing to buckets could very come from other sources. If I thought that using buckets caused those flavors, I would have switched back to carboys several hundred batches ago.
