Bria
Member
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2018
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 6
Hi all,
Just returned home from the holiday break to keg a batch of oatmeal stout. As I was racking into the keg I gave the beer a sniff, and it is way sweet. This used to happen to me all the time with darker beers until a friend and fellow brewer suggested double-yeasting. That cleared up the issue beautifully - until now. There was good active fermentation in the beginning, and the recipe I'm using (Papazian) directed me to then move the fermenter into cooler temps (35-55F) to "lager" for 3-4 weeks (not a true lager I guess, because it doesn't call for a lager yeast or a super-long secondary fermentation). Since this should be a "smooth stout with medium bitterness," not applesauce, obviously it's either off or hasn't completed fermentation. Here's where my experience as a very casual brewer fails me. Possibly pertinent info: the beer was in my mud room, and the temperatures would have been fluctuating. It could have frozen but I don't think so. And could have been as high as 55-60. This seems like just stuck fermentation to me, but maybe something else is going on?
So my questions:
Can this batch be saved?
Should I pitch some more yeast, or perhaps an energizer, and see what happens?
Should I pop another air lock in the keg and just let it sit for a few more weeks and see what happens?
Or should I just go ahead and throw on the CO2 and hope for the best?
Thanks for your thoughts!
Just returned home from the holiday break to keg a batch of oatmeal stout. As I was racking into the keg I gave the beer a sniff, and it is way sweet. This used to happen to me all the time with darker beers until a friend and fellow brewer suggested double-yeasting. That cleared up the issue beautifully - until now. There was good active fermentation in the beginning, and the recipe I'm using (Papazian) directed me to then move the fermenter into cooler temps (35-55F) to "lager" for 3-4 weeks (not a true lager I guess, because it doesn't call for a lager yeast or a super-long secondary fermentation). Since this should be a "smooth stout with medium bitterness," not applesauce, obviously it's either off or hasn't completed fermentation. Here's where my experience as a very casual brewer fails me. Possibly pertinent info: the beer was in my mud room, and the temperatures would have been fluctuating. It could have frozen but I don't think so. And could have been as high as 55-60. This seems like just stuck fermentation to me, but maybe something else is going on?
So my questions:
Can this batch be saved?
Should I pitch some more yeast, or perhaps an energizer, and see what happens?
Should I pop another air lock in the keg and just let it sit for a few more weeks and see what happens?
Or should I just go ahead and throw on the CO2 and hope for the best?
Thanks for your thoughts!