12 replies to this topic

[simonsez]

Well after a little brewing hiatus i finally got down to brewing the second kit from my HWBC local that i purchased in september. well everything went fine during the brewing except that the yeast activator pack seemed dead since it didnt swell much at all after 2 hrs RT. i pitched the yeast and waited 24 hrs and no activity . Called the shop and they advised to wait as sometimes their can be longer lag times with older packs. waited another day as the shop was closed the following day and time wise it was getting close to 60 hours with no activity. went to the store and they gave me a free replacement of which i immediately activated (swelled nicely by the time i got home) and they said that the beer likely is infected but to try and pitch the new yeast. well after 70 hrs or so i pitched the new yeast and by the next morning had nice activity. It has been over 3 days and there is constant airlock activity.now my question to you is: How long have to had a beer sit before a successful pitch and the beer came out fine? Also the aroma comming from the airlock is deliciuos and not foul smelling.Thanks

[Big Nake]

I think it's okay. Your sanitation process may have been tested here, but as long as everything was clean and sanitized properly, you may be just fine. What do you fill your airlocks with? Starsan or Iodophor? If yes to either, so much the better. Almost all of us have tried to brew spontaneously and the yeast is always the toughest part of that. I'm sure at some point I tried to make a beer with just the contents of a White Labs vial and waited 2 or 3 days for activity and all was okay. Ideal? No. Will you make beer? Yes, and my guess is that it will be good considering the airlock aroma is good. Have fun & good luck.

[simonsez]

I think it's okay. Your sanitation process may have been tested here, but as long as everything was clean and sanitized properly, you may be just fine. What do you fill your airlocks with? Starsan or Iodophor? If yes to either, so much the better. Almost all of us have tried to brew spontaneously and the yeast is always the toughest part of that. I'm sure at some point I tried to make a beer with just the contents of a White Labs vial and waited 2 or 3 days for activity and all was okay. Ideal? No. Will you make beer? Yes, and my guess is that it will be good considering the airlock aroma is good. Have fun & good luck.

thanks and i filled the airlock with starsan. im pretty confident that everything was sanitized well. I can also see that the foam residue (krausen) inside as well.Is the aroma a good indicator that the beer is ok or is it possible to have a beer that is ruined smell good via the airlock?

[Big Nake]

thanks and i filled the airlock with starsan. im pretty confident that everything was sanitized well. I can also see that the foam residue (krausen) inside as well.Is the aroma a good indicator that the beer is ok or is it possible to have a beer that is ruined smell good via the airlock?

The aroma you get through the airlock is usually stellar (like I go down to the basement several times a day to take a hit off the airlock) and just one way to tell if a beer is good or bad. If something had already muscled in on your wort before that second Activator kicked in, you may smell sourness, vinegary aromas or worse. The aroma from the airlock changes all the way through primary... it starts with almost nothing, then you get a faint idea, then full-on heaven and later it may not smell as good as it did earlier. But since contamination can (possibly) occur anywhere in the process, you can't necessarily hang your hat on the primary aroma. My guideline... if it smells good coming out of the airlock, you're looking good. Good luck & cheers.

[ncbeerbrewer]

I believe you will be ok as well. Last summer I brewed an Ofest and Bock in the same weekend. I brewed the Bock and held it in a chest freezer for almost 2.5 3 days and pitched yeast into both beers. They both turned out great so I think if you see solid fermentation and the aromas you describe and as Ken states are great then I think you are on your way to a great beer. Let us know how it turns out.

[MakeMeHoppy]

Our club did an experiment on Teach A Friend to Homebrew Day. We brewed a 50 gallon batch of flanders red that was split into 12 batches. Each person took their share home and left the bucket open to get a spontaneous fermentations instead of pitching yeast. 1 batch took off quickly and the rest took days or even a week to show the first sign of fermenting. Based on this you are probably okay. We were trying to get wild yeast/bacteria to start our fermentation and you had your batch protected by an air lock with sanitizer in it.I can also tell you once it did take off there was a distinct sour smell coming from the airlock. I believe that is why Ken asked you about the airlock smell, if you smell sour the beer is definately sour. If is smells normal you are likely okay.

[Big Nake]

Our club did an experiment on Teach A Friend to Homebrew Day. We brewed a 50 gallon batch of flanders red that was split into 12 batches. Each person took their share home and left the bucket open to get a spontaneous fermentations instead of pitching yeast. 1 batch took off quickly and the rest took days or even a week to show the first sign of fermenting. Based on this you are probably okay. We were trying to get wild yeast/bacteria to start our fermentation and you had your batch protected by an air lock with sanitizer in it.I can also tell you once it did take off there was a distinct sour smell coming from the airlock. I believe that is why Ken asked you about the airlock smell, if you smell sour the beer is definately sour. If is smells normal you are likely okay.

MMH: I would hate to hijack this thread, but maybe you could start a thread that describes what happened to those 12 samples of Flanders Red. Did some of them turn out to be vinegar or worse? Interesting story.

[Rick]

6 days before pitching. Wort sat at room temps for 4 days then went into the ferm chamber to cool to 50ºF for 2 days. The Munich Helles came out nice, clean, and malty! I think I got pretty lucky on that one!

[MakeMeHoppy]

MMH: I would hate to hijack this thread, but maybe you could start a thread that describes what happened to those 12 samples of Flanders Red. Did some of them turn out to be vinegar or worse? Interesting story.

We are still fermenting them out and then they need to age. I'll open a thread here sometime in the spring when we start comparing the 12 samples against each other at club meetings.

[siouxbrewer]

Several BYO's back there was an insightful article about aussie homebrewers. One of the things that stuck out was the no chill method. Essentially, the hot wort is drained from the BK into HDPE plastic containers. The lid is screwed on and the wort cools on its own for days/weeks/months in the sealed off environment until it's time to pitch. There have been big debates about this on other forums but the overall consensus is that many home brewers do it and have created award winning beers without DMS, infection, botulism, etc. Maybe not something you are gonna try but it may make you feel a bit better about a late pitch.

[MakeMeHoppy]

Ugh first bad experience with dry yeast. I brewed a stout on Monday as the start of getting stuff ready for your club competitions this year. I rehydrated the yeast as I've been doing for a year and it showed the normal activity. I aerated well and pitched. This morning 48 hours later still no activity. I sprinkled another pack in the carboy and am hoping it takes off soon.I was counting on this yeast doing well as I want to use the cake for a RIS. I may rethink those plans now.

[simonsez]

well I transfered to the secondary this morning after 6 days in the primary and all looks well. good aroma and no funky tastes.merry christmas everyone!

[ncbeerbrewer]

well I transfered to the secondary this morning after 6 days in the primary and all looks well. good aroma and no funky tastes.merry christmas everyone!

Good to hear that it has worked out for you. Have a great Christmas yourself too. Cheers.