Messed up big time

[New_to_Brew]

11 days fermenting

Took FG 1.020, didn't take any notice of how high it is

Added priming sugar

Bottled the lot

Woke up my braincells

Cried

Took another reading

Basically the same

Cried some more

Threw everything back into the FV on top of trub

Now sitting in silence, wondering if I made it even worse.

Currently laughing and reflecting

 

[Clint]

What was the recipe?

 

[Agentgonzo]

The likelihood is that it'll be fine. The added sugar and agitation will re-rouse the yeast. This will chew through some/most of the oxygen that got into the beer by bottling. Unless it's a heavily hopped hazy/NEIPA, it probably won't affect it to much - it'll certainly still be tasty. Homebrew is actually very forgiving if you aren't striving for perfection.

1.020 may be as low as it gets, so you may have gone though all of that, only to have it still at 1.020 in a week's time.

As Clint said, what the recipe and what was the yeast? With more info, we can help more

 

[foxy]

The likelihood is that it'll be fine. The added sugar and agitation will re-rouse the yeast. This will chew through some/most of the oxygen that got into the beer by bottling. Unless it's a heavily hopped hazy/NEIPA, it probably won't affect it to much - it'll certainly still be tasty. Homebrew is actually very forgiving if you aren't striving for perfection.

1.020 may be as low as it gets, so you may have gone though all of that, only to have it still at 1.020 in a week's time.

As Clint said, what the recipe and what was the yeast? With more info, we can help more

Once yeast has gone anaerobic they don't revert back to aerobic, so any oxygen in the beer will stay in the beer. But I have another question someone may be able to answer. Dry yeast doesn't need any oxygen at all, but some folk still give the fermenter a good shake. What happens to all that oxygen?

 

[Stu's Brews]

Dry yeast doesn't need any oxygen at all

Why doesn't dry yeast need any oxygen? Surely it behaves exactly the same as liquid yeast once it has hydrated?

 

[foxy]

Why doesn't dry yeast need any oxygen? Surely it behaves exactly the same as liquid yeast once it has hydrated?

No it comes with every thing it needs to get cracking on the yeast. No oxygen required.

 

[New_to_Brew]

The likelihood is that it'll be fine. The added sugar and agitation will re-rouse the yeast. This will chew through some/most of the oxygen that got into the beer by bottling. Unless it's a heavily hopped hazy/NEIPA, it probably won't affect it to much - it'll certainly still be tasty. Homebrew is actually very forgiving if you aren't striving for perfection.

1.020 may be as low as it gets, so you may have gone though all of that, only to have it still at 1.020 in a week's time.

As Clint said, what the recipe and what was the yeast? With more info, we can help more

It is a heavily hopped hazy ipa it's my own recipe I came up with just winging it to be honest.

I feel so stupid but I'm just using this as a learning curve, I certainly won't be making the same mistake again

The recipe was

 

[New_to_Brew]

Sorry about the terminology in my recipe, I'm completely ameteur as you can tell

 

[Stu's Brews]

No it comes with every thing it needs to get cracking on the yeast. No oxygen required.

Interesting - I've not used dry yeast since switching to all grain so never really had to think about it since doing kits. I'm sure all the kit instructions tell you to oxygenate the wort before pitching so I guess it doesn't do any harm as the yeast will still use it to further build sterol and lipid reserves

 

[Stu's Brews]

It is a heavily hopped hazy ipa it's my own recipe I came up with just winging it to be honest.

I feel so stupid but I'm just using this as a learning curve, I certainly won't be making the same mistake again

The recipe was

Don't beat yourself up - we've all made plenty of mistakes along our brewing journey! As you say, it's part of the learning curve and now that you're aware of it you're much better prepared to avoid it next time.

 

[New_to_Brew]

Don't beat yourself up - we've all made plenty of mistakes along our brewing journey! As you say, it's part of the learning curve and now that you're aware of it you're much better prepared to avoid it next time.

Thank you, I know I shouldn't it's just annoying I got all this way to make the most simple mistake

 

[Cwrw666]

Why doesn't dry yeast need any oxygen?

Fermentis say oxygenating the wort is unnecesary with dried yeast. I've never done it anyway apart from the wort falling into the FV from the boiler.

 

[Agentgonzo]

Once yeast has gone anaerobic they don't revert back to aerobic, so any oxygen in the beer will stay in the beer.

That doesn't make any sense. Otherwise repitching yeast, reculturing from bottles etc just wouldn't work.

Dry yeast doesn't need any oxygen at all, but some folk still give the fermenter a good shake. What happens to all that oxygen?

As I understand it, the same as liquid yeast. It gets used by the yeast in aerobic respiration. Just because the yeast doesn't need it, doesn't mean it doesn't use it. Yeast metabolism isn't an all-or-nothing thing. If there is oxygen present, it won't purely respire aerobically, but neither will it purely anaerobically ferment. It'll do some of both deepening on a myriad of conditions that are way over my head.

Why doesn't dry yeast need any oxygen?

Lots more accurate info on the forum and internet, but essentially yeast uses oxygen to build up sterols which it needs to bud/multiply. Dried yeast is grown in such a way that it has all the sterol reserves it needs for a standard batch, so no additional oxygen required.

Without wanting to derail this thread to much (to late), I wonder why they can't do the same with liquid yeast

I'm sure all the kit instructions tell you to oxygenate the wort before pitching so I guess it doesn't do any harm as the yeast will still use it to further build sterol and lipid reserves

Instructions vary. More recent instructions and studies from Fermentis say it's unnecessary (but also that it won't hurt) to oxygenate the wort.

 

[foxy]

That doesn't make any sense. Otherwise repitching yeast from slurry, reculturing from bottles etc just wouldn't work.

As I understand it, the same as liquid yeast. It gets used by the yeast in aerobic respiration. Just because the yeast doesn't need it, doesn't mean it doesn't use it. Yeast metabolism isn't an all-or-nothing thing. If there is oxygen present, it won't purely respire aerobically, but neither will it purely anaerobically ferment. It'll do some of both deepening on a myriad of conditions that are way over my head.


Lots more accurate info on the forum and internet, but essentially yeast uses oxygen to build up sterols which it needs to bud/multiply. Dried yeast is grown in such a way that it has all the sterol reserves it needs for a standard batch, so no additional oxygen required.

Instructions vary. More recent instructions and studies from Fermentis say it's unnecessary (but also that it won't hurt) to oxygenate the wort.

It makes perfect sense yeast once they have gone anaerobic they cant go back, doesn't mean they aren't consuming sugar.

Dried yeast just don't need oxygen, they have all the sterols and lipids they need. They won't touch it there is a good article by a home brewer who is also a bio chemist.
The Biochemistry of Yeast - Aerobic Fermentation | MoreBeer
I believe David Heath has made a video about it and the harm it does. But to the yeast.
What I think happens to the oxygen in the wort when dried yeast is used it is driven off by the saturating of dissolved co2 in the wort otherwise the beers would oxidise.

 

[Agentgonzo]

once they have gone anaerobic they cant go back

That would mean that all yeast would be anaerobic by now after generations and generations of anaerobic fermentation. But we know that's not the case

 

[Agentgonzo]

What I think happens to the oxygen in the wort when dried yeast is used it is driven off by the saturating of dissolved co2

That's interesting, and not a theory I've heard before, but quite possible! CO2 is certainly more readily soluble in water than oxygen

 

[Baldbrewer]

Thank you, I know I shouldn't it's just annoying I got all this way to make the most simple mistake

Don't worry about it , there probably isn't one brewer here who hasn't made mistakes we kick ourselves for,
for instance:
bending down to get something from the cupboard below your Braumeister with a sturdy stainless tap and camlock fitting attached and then standing up completely forgetting said obstruction and removing a portion of scalp!
or proceeding to fill fermenter with lovely 1080 stout only to wonder why your safety crocs are filling up with sticky wort!
yes some idiot left the tap open!
It's all a learning process mate, maybe if nothing happens pitch in some fresh yeast and see what happens ? can't be worse that tipping it!
good luck and let us know how it goes

 

[New_to_Brew]

Don't worry about it , there probably isn't one brewer here who hasn't made mistakes we kick ourselves for,
for instance:
bending down to get something from the cupboard below your Braumeister with a sturdy stainless tap and camlock fitting attached and then standing up completely forgetting said obstruction and removing a portion of scalp!
or proceeding to fill fermenter with lovely 1080 stout only to wonder why your safety crocs are filling up with sticky wort!
yes some idiot left the tap open!
It's all a learning process mate, maybe if nothing happens pitch in some fresh yeast and see what happens ? can't be worse that tipping it!
good luck and let us know how it goes

Ouch! Guess I didn't cause myself any physical pain so that's a bonus!

I can see already that the bucket has swelled so I think the yeast has woken up from the priming sugar and agitation caused by me. I sanitised everything thoroughly before bottling so I'm just hoping the exposure to air hasn't ruined it now, we'll see I guess. In the meantime I'm just gonna brew more

When I opened the fermenter I took a big wiff to see what it smelt like and almost burnt my nostril hair off, from what I've read this is CO2 which has been sitting on the surface of the beer, do you think this might have something to do with the high FG reading? Like the yeast didn't have enough oxygen when fermenting?

I'm putting an order in tonight so I'll order an extra sachet of the same mangrove jack yeast just in case

Either way I just hope it's drinkable, if not I'll brew the recipe again as it tasted lovely when I sampled it yesterday, a little sweet but with a lower FG it shouldn't be as sweet if I've done my reading up right

 

[Baldbrewer]

Ouch! Guess I didn't cause myself any physical pain so that's a bonus!

I can see already that the bucket has swelled so I think the yeast has woken up from the priming sugar and agitation caused by me. I sanitised everything thoroughly before bottling so I'm just hoping the exposure to air hasn't ruined it now, we'll see I guess. In the meantime I'm just gonna brew more

When I opened the fermenter I took a big wiff to see what it smelt like and almost burnt my nostril hair off, from what I've read this is CO2 which has been sitting on the surface of the beer, do you think this might have something to do with the high FG reading? Like the yeast didn't have enough oxygen when fermenting?

I'm putting an order in tonight so I'll order an extra sachet of the same mangrove jack yeast just in case

Either way I just hope it's drinkable, if not I'll brew the recipe again as it tasted lovely when I sampled it yesterday, a little sweet but with a lower FG it shouldn't be as sweet if I've done my reading up right

oooh yes be careful sniffing CO2 ! many years ago I saw an italian commissioning engineer fall into a large fruit juice tank when he forgot about the CO2 blanket! boy was he wet and embarrassed and very sticky, we had to dump the whole tank!

 

[Agentgonzo]

When I opened the fermenter I took a big wiff to see what it smelt like and almost burnt my nostril hair off, from what I've read this is CO2 which has been sitting on the surface of the beer, do you think this might have something to do with the high FG reading? Like the yeast didn't have enough oxygen when fermenting?

That big "bubbles up your nose" nostril burn is co2 dissolving in the mucus in your nose and forming carbonic acid in your nostrils. Unpleasant, but not harmful.

The CO2 is a sign of normal fermentation. Yeast doesn't need oxygen when fermenting