seandamnit
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2013
- Messages
- 29
- Reaction score
- 9
This is my first non-Mr. Beer batch, and it's already been a little disheartening. It's an Irish Red Ale - an extract recipe my LHBS recommended. Was in the primary for 2 weeks, secondary for 1 week, and now 3 weeks in the bottle (@70-80 degrees).
I tried a bottle at 2 weeks...there was just a tiny wisp of carbonation, and the beer was pretty sweet all around. I tried another again today, at 3 weeks, and it has the exact same level of carbonation/sweetness. There is a thin layer of sediment at the bottom that's been there since the first few days. I've only tried my glass bottles, though I do have a few 32oz PET bottles I've yet to crack open.
My fear is that the yeast was either spent or I ruined it to begin with. I did mistakenly pitch the batch a little hot...probably 85-90 degrees...and even though I was assured I probably didn't kill the yeast, the beer didn't ferment to the FG I was expecting (got 1.022, expected 1.016 according to the recipe). The fact that it tastes sweet tells me there's enough sugar, but maybe not enough yeast.
So my questions are:
-Am I just trying this too early? How long should I give it before I know for sure there's a problem?
-If there is a problem, is there a solution? I read on this forum that someone needed to add 1 grain of yeast to each bottle. Is that recommended?
I'd be pretty bummed if I spent all this time and money and have to dump it.
I tried a bottle at 2 weeks...there was just a tiny wisp of carbonation, and the beer was pretty sweet all around. I tried another again today, at 3 weeks, and it has the exact same level of carbonation/sweetness. There is a thin layer of sediment at the bottom that's been there since the first few days. I've only tried my glass bottles, though I do have a few 32oz PET bottles I've yet to crack open.
My fear is that the yeast was either spent or I ruined it to begin with. I did mistakenly pitch the batch a little hot...probably 85-90 degrees...and even though I was assured I probably didn't kill the yeast, the beer didn't ferment to the FG I was expecting (got 1.022, expected 1.016 according to the recipe). The fact that it tastes sweet tells me there's enough sugar, but maybe not enough yeast.
So my questions are:
-Am I just trying this too early? How long should I give it before I know for sure there's a problem?
-If there is a problem, is there a solution? I read on this forum that someone needed to add 1 grain of yeast to each bottle. Is that recommended?
I'd be pretty bummed if I spent all this time and money and have to dump it.