[Closed] Home brew - Fermentation heater broke overnight....arrgggh!

the simplest answer would be to bring the bucket into the house. but the answer is yes, it will restart. If it doesn't, just chuck another packet of yeast in once it's up to temperature

If you want to use an aquarium heater, I'd recommend getting a builder's trug (very big bucket), filling it with water & put the heater in that, and then the fermenting bin in the water. Less risk of contamination. You did sanitise the heater before use, didn't you?

It should be fine. May just take a bit longer than usual.

Thanks both. Yes, I sterilised the heater before using it but won't be trying any shortcuts again!

For a 40L bucket how much yeast should I add if it doesn't get going again? Would normal Allinson dried active yeast work or does it need to be something beer special?

Ta

Allinson? Bread yeast? in beer? eeeuuuuwwwww!!!

no you want brewers yeast. Can be bought in 11g sachets from any good homebrew shop, or Wilkinsons at a pinch. Are you sure it's 40 litres not 40 pints? one sachet should be fine for 23 litres (40 pints)

http://www.morleyhomebrewcentre.com/ucommerce/wine-yeasts/c-23/c-129

sorry that's the wine yeast page. I'll try again

http://www.morleyhomebrewcentre.com/ucommerce/beer-yeasts/c-23/c-225

of course, that then raises the question of "Which" yeast...

I use Safale S04 for English bitter; Safale US05 (or West Coast) for American or English Pale Ales; Danstar Nottingham for stouts, porters & other dark ales

some people get a bit more technical and try to get the exact same yeast as the beer they're trying to replicate, but to be honest I'm not that fussy

Yep.....40 pints! Thanks

Bring it back in the house and let it warm gently.

It should restart, if you have an airlock that will let you know when its kicked off again.

If that doesn't work then you can try some brewers yeast.

I use an aquarium heater in a similar way to the method that John Drummer describes above. Much more gentle than having the heater in the beer.

Have a look on [url= http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/ ]http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/[/url]loads of good info and advice.

and I definitely don't recommend the use of a heater belt. That gives too much heat in too small an area. If yeast ferments at too high a temperature you can get all sorts of off flavours. If it's a bit too cold, it just takes a bit longer. and of course, lager yeast prefers it colder

Ok, panic over then. I'll see how things develop in the coming days.

Airlock wise: I've got a U-bend style lock. Both sections are half full of water. Stupid question but when it starts bubbling are they every so often and subtle or is it more of a continuous obvious bubbling going on?

Thanks

it starts bubbling are they every so often and subtle or is it more of a continuous obvious bubbling going on?

It depends.

Sometimes the airlock doesn't bubble when things are fermenting because there can be a slight leak somewhere on the lid.

If you can feel an internal pressure on the lid then that is a sign that things are fermenting and releasing CO2.

Allinson? Bread yeast? in beer? eeeuuuuwwwww

It's not too bad, depends what you do with it afterwards.

IME it gives a very fruity/tangy taste to the beer, that sort of stereotypical 'homebrew' taste. But if you bottle the beer and leave it to condition for a while this diminishes as the yeast continues to convert those heavier alcohols and eventualy you're left with a really nice beer. It's pretty rancid though if you try and drink it straight from the barrel.

Just bring it indoors, forget about heaters/thermostats and leave it to ferment somewhere warm-ish. Mine lives on a camping mat in the kitchen (tiled floor so the foor cools overnight) but the temperature is probably the most consistently 18c in the house. I've done batches in the shed before in Autumn and they were ok wrapped in an old douvet and only took a couple of days longer than expected.

Airlock activity slows as the beer ferments out, so it depends on how far gone it is. I've had the airlock blown clear of liquid by a very vigorous fermentation with liquid yeasts. As long as it starts bubbling (and the lid on the bucket is sealed) then you're fermenting.

Not sure what is wrong with a brew belt, the heat radiates and conducts into the beer through the bucket, I imagine in a fairly diffuse way, set at the right temp it's not going to over heat the yeast.

common cause for the spiral is turning it backwards :d did you send the apprentice out for a left handed pipe cutter ?

EDIT WTF ! clearly the wrong thread - hamsters are borked !

Ok, will try and get it bubbling at room temp but if not will go and pinch my mates brew belt!

nah, just sit it by a radiator. not touching, mind

Happy days!

Bring it back into the house and bring it back up to 18 degrees C slowly. You could also try rousing the yeast by putting the fermenter on a tennis ball and gently (gently is the key) rocking it.

Thanks Bimster....so hypothetically if I was a little heavy handed and I sloshed it about in the sealed bucket whilst bringing it inside that might have buggered up the yeast!

Should I add new yeast now or sit tight with existing? The fermenting bucket looks to have a brown grainy residue around the top inside and on the underside of the lid. Guessing this isn't ideal! It's had about 4 days 16-18degrees and 1 day freezing bloody cold.

Thoughts?

p.s. have just discovered a home brew shop about 8 mins from my house so supplies are there if I need some new yeast.

if I was a little heavy handed and I sloshed it about in the sealed bucket whilst bringing it inside that might have buggered up the yeast!

no not at all, quite the opposite, you might have woken it up

Should I add new yeast now or sit tight with existing?

adding more yeast won't hurt, but I'd leave it a couple of days & see if it recovers. Of course, it might have finished already. Take a reading with a hydrometer, if it's below 1015 it may well be finished; repeat over 3 days & if it stays the same, it's finished

The fermenting bucket looks to have a brown grainy residue around the top inside and on the underside of the lid.

this is normal, it's the residue from the "krausen" head, the foam that sits on top of the fermenting beer.

pps I'm not a delicate gently kind of guy...perhaps I should be to brew beer!

nah, not really. You do need to be patient though 😉

Magic!

News Update: Just checked the hydrometer and it's 1014/15.

I'm assuming that means I might some alcohol on my hands!

Keep testing for the next few days then gang?

yep. if it starts bubbling again, leave it until it stops, and then test again.
if it doesn't, test again over three consecutive days, as above.

Dunno what your OG was but your nearly there.

Warm it up overnight next to a rad or in the kitchen , try to get it to 21 - 22 'c. Do not add more yeast at this late stage in the fermentation cycle. You should have enough live ones to get you 3' of attenuation .

Best not to slosh it around much either . You want the dead cells and trub to stay sunk and out the beer.

If it doesnt warm up then maybe a hairdyer or fan heater , from a distance will do it . If it starts to go again then really insualte it wit a few towels .

When its down to say 1012 put it back in the garage. You dontt want horrible dry unbalanced beer , and yeast does nasty things when it runs out of easy sugars . Best to stop it sooner IMO .

Singletrackmind thanks for advice. When you say put it back in the garage do you mean bottled or still in fermenter until I can get it bottled but using cold to knock out yeast activity?

Ta

Chris

Still in FV.

Dont try to cool it too fast . We work on .3'c per hour over a 48hr period.

This will drop alot of yeast and protein out the beer making it more stable. A nice cold hold for 4 - 8 days after fermentation will make the beer more colloidily stable , easier to bottle and have around the right amount yeast for bottling , which really is naff all.

Bottle it , warm it up to 18 - 22 'C for a week. Then back out in garage for week . Should be more or less ready , although will taste better after 3 weeks

and no isinglass.

Awesome, thanks