pumpkin brew issues

[skidoobrewer]

this past Friday I brewed some pumpkin beer and aerated after cooling added 2 packs of muntuns dry yeast( it sat for 15min) and almost instantly it looked like the yeast was at work. the temp was around 76 degrees,so the next morn it was going good and I read it should be around mid 60's , so I put it in my dug ceiler and by 6pm that sat it was slowing down,so sunday I checked it was about 70-72 and no visable signs of activaty, no foam on the top, so i added another pack of dry yeast, and tonight (72hrs) my temp gauge is reading 66-68 and no change. I haven't got a gravity reading since I started (og1.50) I will tomorrow.

 

[NewWestBrewer]

Two packs of dry yeast should have been easily enough. That is like 400 billion cells. you pitched a little warm so it might have got to work pretty quickly. It could have been done by Sunday. Is this a 5 Gal batch? With an OG of 1.050 two dry packs might have been way too much yeast. Check you FG.

There are people on here who know whay more than I do but that is what comes to mind.

 

[mdgagne]

Cooling it down may have stalled the yeast. Take a gravity, if it hasn't reached FG, warm it up and swirl the bucket/carboy.

 

[ericbw]

C

 

[ericbw]

Munton's comes in 5 or 6 g packs, so two is ok. But it starts fast and can finish high. That's ok depending on the style and preference. It might be done already.

 

[skidoobrewer]

Two packs of dry yeast should have been easily enough. That is like 400 billion cells. you pitched a little warm so it might have got to work pretty quickly. It could have been done by Sunday. Is this a 5 Gal batch? With an OG of 1.050 two dry packs might have been way too much yeast. Check you FG.

There are people on here who know whay more than I do but that is what comes to mind.

yes it was a 5 gal batch

Cooling it down may have stalled the yeast. Take a gravity, if it hasn't reached FG, warm it up and swirl the bucket/carboy.

that's kind what I was thinking, that it cooled down, but from what I read it suppose to be mid 60's, and I cant believe it would be done on 24 hrs, from what ive been reading on here, most brew takes atleast a week. but idk . I thank everyone for the help

 

[skidoobrewer]

I also added yeast energizer to the wart during the boil.

 

[501irishred]

Why guess and try to correct an issue you may or may not have? Take a reading.

 

[trogdor447]

I wouldnt really stress it - My wheat beer I have going on right now I know its working i throw a flashlight on the bucket and I can see foam up the sides.. But its not bubbling, the pressure is up as the water is in the one side of the vapor lock. Take a reading like others have said!

 

[skidoobrewer]

I will get a reading today after work

 

[twistr25]

It is possible the most active part of the fermentation, where you can see things going on is already over. After that phase, it slowly, and most often, uneventfully, makes it down to FG. You could take a reading now, or just wait till the end of the week. You certainly had plenty of yeast in there and the temps were fine.

 

[skidoobrewer]

I took another look today and I could see things floating and some sinking, and tiny bubbles coming to the surface,the temp strip reads 64-66-68 all are lite up, Im going to wait till saturday morn to do a fg check and maybe transfer to a secondary. but the brew is thick I shined my flash light and I could see about 1 inch into it.

 

[skidoobrewer]

UPDATE Thursday I boiled up about 1/2 cup of brown sugar, with about 2 cups of water it started fermenting real good till this morn, I just did a fg and got 1.010-1.011. should I leave it in the primary for a few more days or im I ok to transfer to secondary, as I sampled the test liquid I think I could add some more pumpkin spice to, can I just boil up some water and add the spice mixture to the secondary and leave for another week? according to my cal my alcohole contant is 5.25% I started at 1. 50og

 

[501irishred]

LOL, RDWHAHB! You don't know that you've achieved FG without back to back "same" readings and/or plenty of time in the primary. You have only been in the primary for a little over a week, with possible fermentation delay up front, and have added fermentable sugars mid stream (was that part of the recipe?). Give it time. If it were mine, my schedule from here might look like:
1. Leave in primary till next weekend
2. transfer to secondary 9/14
3. 9/21Add additional spices if you REALLY feel they are needed (careful - a fully carbonated and properly aged spiced beer will taste MUCH different than your gravity sample)
4. Friday 9/27 move to fridge to cold crash
5. Sat 9/28 bottle/keg

Even this schedule is "rushing" things IMO for a spiced beer, and could be extended further. At the above schedule, I would count on aging in the bottle for at least a month before they would really taste the way they should.

 

[nhindian]

Why did you add brown sugar...?

 

[skidoobrewer]

I added it to see if there was something wrong with the yeast, because it only showed signs of fermented for 24hrs. and I figured a little brown sugar woudnt hurt it.

 

[skidoobrewer]

when its time to do a cold crash,can I bottle it first, and how cold do I got to go?

 

[twistr25]

I added it to see if there was something wrong with the yeast, because it only showed signs of fermented for 24hrs. and I figured a little brown sugar woudnt hurt it.

Better to use your hydrometer to see if there is something wrong with the yeast as opposed to adding more stuff.

You can certainly cold crash it, but again make sure you are at FG otherwise you will stop yeast activity. Do it before bottling though if you can. If not, just bottle and let it condition. You have a defacto cold crashing time when you refridgerate the bottles after they have carbed and conditioned. If you let it sit in primary long enough, i.e. 2 to 3 weeks, it should be pretty well clear.

 

[skidoobrewer]

I just did another fg check and got the same as I did 3 days ago, beer is dark in color but clear, the only thing is it seems to have a harsh alchole taste, I figured I would put it in my celler till the wk end,then bottle and cold crash it.

 

[skidoobrewer]

I'm sampling my home brew right now it's been carbination for a little over a week its there's no real pumpkins taste it's more of a amber beer but its nice and smooth easy drinking