Split batch and 1 stopped

[O-Ale-Yeah]

I brewed 8 gallons of beer 4 days ago, pitched the yeast and then put 5 gallons in a 6.5 gallon carboy and 3 gallons in a 5 gallon carboy. They both began bubbling in 12 hours and then 2 or 3 days later the 5 gallon carboy stopped.

I'm going to check the gravity tonight via hydrometer. There's no way a batch can ferment out in 2 or 3 days right? And that wouldn't make any sense right because they are identical batches. I stirred the yeast into the HLT before siphoning into the carboys.

I thought about pitching a new yeast pack or transferring 2 gallons from the 6.5 over to the 5 gallon carboy.

What should I do if the hydrometer reads 1.040? I think there is no chance it will read 1.010

 

[morbster]

How’d you handle the yeast for each batch? Two different packs, one pack, starter/no starter, etc.

 

[Jag75]

I had one finish in 4 days but never 2 or 3 . Guess it's not impossible. Checking it is the only way . I'm gonna guess it's all good though. Hopefully it was mixed in all the way before you seperated it . What vessel was the 8 gallons in when you added the yeast . Which carboy did you pour the beer into first ?

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

It's at 1.013 and tastes like a boozy stout

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

The one on the right is still going though. Should I transfer a few gallons from the larger carboy to the smaller to jumpstart the smaller and get the gravity lower?

 

[morbster]

You’re only 4 days in. I’d leave it be for a while longer. Just because you don’t see activity doesn’t mean it’s not fermenting.

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

Good point. When should I check the gravity again?

 

[morbster]

Personally, I’d leave it a week or two. I try to avoid checking gravity earlier than that because the readings never change my course of action, which is to wait a bit longer for the beer to either drop a few more points or clean itself up.

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

Ok, the only possible difference between the 2 carboys is that I didn't stir the yeast enough before siphoning from the kettle to the carboys.

So what's more likely, the carboy that stopped bubbling after 2 days got more yeast or less?

 

[RM-MN]

Ok, the only possible difference between the 2 carboys is that I didn't stir the yeast enough before siphoning from the kettle to the carboys.

So what's more likely, the carboy that stopped bubbling after 2 days got more yeast or less?[/QUOTE]

Yes.

Bubbling is not a sign that fermentation is going on or not. Your hydrometer reading is used to tell if fermentation is completed or not. With a gravity reading of 1.013 it sure looks like that beer fermented completely. It still needs time for the yeast to clean up byproducts and to settle out before bottling. I like to leave my beers in the fermenter for at least a couple weeks, sometimes 3 to 4 weeks even as that allows more trub to settle out.

If you don't control the temperature during fermentation the yeast can really get the fermentation over quickly, like in 3 days, but in the process they raise the temperature of the beer and at those higher temps they create what is known as fusel alcohol which leads to a boozy taste and if drunk in larger quantities can lead to a wicked hangover with a bad headache. Each different yeast has a different suggested temperature range so you need to know the yeast variety used and try to control the temperature of the fermentation during the first 4-5 days.