10 replies to this topic

[Big Nake]

Last Friday I made a Czech Lager with 2278, tossed it into the 50° fridge and over the course of the week it steadily fermented.  The fermenter is connected to a keg and then the keg has tubing running into a bucket of sanitizer.  Yesterday I took it out of the fridge and left it at basement temps to finish up... something I always do.  The vast majority of the fermentation is done at that point.  I gave it a swirl and got some bubbles in the bucket and then left it be.  Last night it was calm.  Today it's active... bubble, bubble, bubble.  That's not normal.  Of course my first thought is 'contamination' but I carefully popped the top and took a sniff... smells like fermenting beer with no off-aroma.  What gives?

[djinkc]

Yesterday I unplugged the AC that keeps my fermentation chamber cold. It had been fermenting for almost a week and the temp dropped as usual a few days ago.  This is something I always do.  I have no idea what it's been doing for the last 24 hours.  I don't look at stuff much anymore - I'll get a taste when I keg it.

[Big Nake]

Okay, well I grabbed a sample from the port and the beer tastes like beer... just a bit underattenuated which I suppose makes sense.  But this was a big slug of 2278 on it's second run so I'm surprised that there is still this much activity.  Weird but fine.  

[Bklmt2000]

Since we're on the topic of yeast being wierd, here's my latest encounter:

 

Ordered some WY smackpacks back in June, and Thursday afternoon, I made a starter w/ the oldest pack, 1028 London Ale, which was packed at the end of April 2019.

 

Smacked the pack to release the nutrients, and i let it sit for a good 4 hours (the pack recommended 3) to see how well it inflated.  Well, it didn't inflate very much after 4 hours, but I went ahead and made a starter, dumped in the yeast, and let the stirplate go to work.

 

Not much activity that day, but yesterday (Friday) morning, I could see the wort had become much more milky-looking, and I could see streaks of foam swirling and a tiny krausen ring on the flask, so I think this yeast is ok after all.

 

Took it off the stirplate this morning, and it's now settling in my lager fridge for next week's brewday, an ESB.

[denny]

If it's getting warmer it could just be CO2 coming out of solution

[MyaCullen]

If it's getting warmer it could just be CO2 coming out of solution

agreed, probably just degassing

[Big Nake]

If it's getting warmer it could just be CO2 coming out of solution

I thought so too but it doesn't ordinarily happen here that way. I haven't used 2278 in awhile so maybe a unique strain characteristic.

[positiveContact]

If it's getting warmer it could just be CO2 coming out of solution

 

 

agreed, probably just degassing

 

 

I thought so too but it doesn't ordinarily happen here that way. I haven't used 2278 in awhile so maybe a unique strain characteristic.

 

is it hotter than normal in the space where you leave it out?  it's been pretty hot outside lately.

[denny]

I thought so too but it doesn't ordinarily happen here that way. I haven't used 2278 in awhile so maybe a unique strain characteristic.

 

No, it's physics.  Maybe there was more dissolved CO2 than you normally have.

[Big Nake]

No, it's physics.  Maybe there was more dissolved CO2 than you normally have.

I was just saying that it's out of my experience.  Typically once I take a batch of lager out of the fridge after one week, there would not be this kind of activity.  There is typically NO activity unless I swirl the fermenter.  This thing was bubbling twice a second for about a day after I took it out.  It has calmed down and so have I. 

[denny]

I was just saying that it's out of my experience.  Typically once I take a batch of lager out of the fridge after one week, there would not be this kind of activity.  There is typically NO activity unless I swirl the fermenter.  This thing was bubbling twice a second for about a day after I took it out.  It has calmed down and so have I. 

 

Good on both of you!