I brewed a gunslingers graf 24 hours ago. I took my OG 1.050 and i forgot to look at the WLP001 packet, it says for 1.050 and higher use 2 packets or a yeast starter and I used neither. just pitched a warmed up packet. The batch has started to bubble timmidly tonight so I’m just wondering if I have to worry about my attenuation, I was really looking forward to a strong drink. The LBS was closed today but i could easily pick up a packet tomorrow and pitch it if I have to. Should I worry about it or not?
Probably fine…how old was it?
I believe mid november? or early december
Yeah it was underpitched. Not much you can do about it now. On a positive note it started! Hopefully you introduced enough O2 to help the yeast multiply and attenuate.
would pitching another pack at this point hurt it?
No but it won’t do any good either. Just a waste of money at this point. What are your ferm temps? This might be an excellent candidate for warming up after the bulk of fermentation is over to assist with attenuation.
1 Like
68f it has about an inch of krausen and an inch of trub now so I guess it’s chugging away fine. this is my first 5gallon batch so i have no point of references. We’re 36 hours in at this point. If I dont hit my FG what do you suggest?
Is 68° ambient or ACTUAL? How long has ACTUAL fermentation been going on? If you 68° is actual after about 72 hours you can start raiding the temps a couple degrees per day until it reaches 72°. Once the bulk of fermentation is complete off flavors are much less likely to be created.
It’s done when it’s done. Not much you can do. This is why a correct pitch of healthy yeast is important.
68 from an lcd slapped on the carboy. First time i saw signs of fermentation was more like 24 hours ago.
This year I pitched one pkt of US-05 in a 6G batch of Graf. She fermented from 1.070 down to 1.012 in a week (although I let it sit for 4 weeks before I had time to bottle). I think you’ll be OK. After all, 50% or so of your fermentables are glucose and fructose from the cider- ie. easy food for the yeast.
By the way, I like to start her in the low 60s for the first 2-3 days, before letting a free rise to mid to upper 60s. I don’t think you want her to get to warm. Cider/Graf with fusels is pretty nasty.
Cool, I’m going to look for a bin And small fan for a swamp cooler soon right now its just in an unfinished part of the basement. How did your graf turn out? Whas it tart at all? Did you pasteurize the bottles?
Swamp coolers are a cheap easy way to control your temps. Remember the first 72 hours of actual fermentation are the most important.
Personally I think you will enjoy the beer. An under pitch may stress the yeast a bit but I doubt you would notice it in a Graff.
I think I just have first batch jitters. I dont have an infection and I have fermentation I should be happy. Thanks though, everyone.
This year’s batch was the best ever. I primed with 1 can fajc and didn’t bother to pasteurize (5.5G batch). Result was perfect amount of carbonation and quite a bit of retained apple character. A fair amount of tartness from the cranberries, but not obnoxious. Overall it’s quite balanced. I thought about submitting it to a competition, but what category? It’s not a fruit flavored beer, not a cider. I submitted some of last year’s batch to a local competition for fun and feedback. They really had no idea what to do with it (were not BCJC judges)
Fajc? I’de like to rack it on raspberries or tart cherries but I’m too lazy, already spent too much on the apple juice this time of year. I do want it tart still though so I might add malic acid to it before I bottle. I guess it depends on how it turns out. Yours sounds great though.
