Where did I go wrong?

Hey all,
Kegged a Fat Tire clone, clocked in at 1.030 going into the keg. Started at 1.046.
Used Saf-Brew T-58, fermented @ 59°F (in wine room) 2 weeks primary, 2 weeks secondary. Not sure where I went wrong, but I know this isn’t how this is supposed to be.

Hydrometer or refractometer readings?

Hydro. OG was taken at approx 67°f, second taken at 42*F and temp corrected accordingly.

59* is cold for an ale yeast. Yes it will ferment there. But it will be slow. So you went wrong by transferring it before the yeast finished it’s party.

You could push it back to a fermenter and add yeast back in. Or add yeast to the keg. Put some tubing on the “gas” disconnect and into a jar of sanitizer for a blow off tube.

Cheers m8. Do I need to degas it first? its sitting on 40psi because i was tying to get it ready for Thanksgiving.

If it is somewhat drinkable, have it for Thanksgiving.

IMO, it you de gass it you are likely going to oxygenate it. Causing even more problems.

FWIW, Fat Tire doesn’t use a Belgian yeast. Next time, try something like WY1056 or US05.

I was taking some creative liberties. Additionally, Fermentus claimed that t-58 would do just fine at 59*F, where as other stains would not be able to cope with the temperature. The cellar is the only place in the house with a steady temperature. Everywhere else has swings of +/- 10 degrees.

[quote=“Nighthawk”]If it is somewhat drinkable, have it for Thanksgiving.

IMO, it you de gass it you are likely going to oxygenate it. Causing even more problems.[/quote]

Not at all drinkable. very astringent, no ethanol to balance out the bitterness.

Don’t I need some O2 to get the yeast to work? If I pitch another round of yeast into a liquid saturated with CO2, wont that yeast be stifled until at least some of the CO2 has dissipated?

Not necessarily. O2 is only needed for cell growth. If you pitch enough yeast, you won’t need cell growth, or O2.

Not necessarily. O2 is only needed for cell growth. If you pitch enough yeast, you won’t need cell growth, or O2.[/quote]

I take it a starter would be recommended? I’ll take your advice and use WY1056 if I can get it. LHBS is typically out of several strains of wet yeast, so if they dont have 1056 I’ll go with US05. Would WY1272 work as well?

Not necessarily. O2 is only needed for cell growth. If you pitch enough yeast, you won’t need cell growth, or O2.[/quote]

I take it a starter would be recommended? I’ll take your advice and use WY1056 if I can get it. LHBS is typically out of several strains of wet yeast, so if they dont have 1056 I’ll go with US05. Would WY1272 work as well?[/quote]

Yeah, either of those would work. It takes a LOT of yeast, like a qt. of just slurry, to restart a stuck fermentation. You’d have to stpe up the starter a few times to get enough yeast. You might want to use 2-3 packs of dry yeast, like US05, instead.

Or brew another batch with US-05 and rack the Fat Tire clone on top of the yeast cake after it’s done fermenting. The yeast will be accustomed to alcohol and will be able to work better than a starter, which is accustomed to a small amount of alcohol. But I guess it won’t matter since this beer sounds like it’s crazy low abv at the moment anyway…

Great idea!

Me mates are coming back into town, so we’re going to do a double batch of wheat. I don’t have the fermenter space to do a third batch. The clone is such a low abv, I doubt the cake method would be necessary. Could I do a starter of DME and start a few packs of us05 with that?

http://www.howtobrew.com http://www.mrmalty.com http://www.byo.com http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewingtv/

Here is an excellent place to start also with general questions as the perfect answers have been setup for easy viewing, see the following link:

viewforum.php?f=13 http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/books-media http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/zymurgy

These are just a few of many helpful links.
Regarding the yeast question. I will go one step farther and provide the direct link to Jamil’s yeast calculator on the site listed above.

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

This is also a very good article to acclimate yourself to the science and SOP behind yeast usage in general.

http://www.mrmalty.com/starter_faq.php

Don’t do a starter with dry yeast, it’s not necessary and even harmful to the yeast. Rehydrate and pitch a pack and hopefully it’ll take off. The yeast cake method I mentioned earlier would most certainly work. OR, you could get some amylase enzyme to get the yeast rolling again, too.

Hey lads,
Update here.

Pitched in 2 packs of US-05 right into the keg. attached gas line to keg, left nut end in sani, shook the hell out of it, left in corner for a week or so. Had lots of action for about a week, took a gravity measure a moment ago, yeast didn’t do s#it.
gravity at 1.031.

What now?
more yeast?

You can try adding Beano to consume some of the leftover dextrins. Or add a lager yeast since they eat some different sugars than an ale yeast.