Pitching more yeast to bring FG down?

[cynical_writer]

I brewed an extract no boil cereza and the OG was .048 and now two weeks later its .020 which is not strong enough for me. I used the yeast that came with the extract but i have an extra packet of american yeast. if i pitched that now (at 68 F) would that help bring down the FG or is mixing yeasts a bad idea?

[JayShaw91]

Have you gently swirled the carboy? Sometimes that'll get the yeast to get back to work. What's the fermentation temp? Raising that may help, also.

[Mill Rat]

Often the yeast pack on the beer kits is quite well aged. Not something that's good for the yeast. If you dramatically underpitch, (which you did if a good portion of that dry yeast pack had expired) you will often have problems with underattenuation. If swirling the fermenter a bit doesn't get things going again, adding a fresh pack of dry yeast is a good idea. Mixing different yeast types is not often a problem, particularly when one strain like a fairly neutral variety like the American Ale.

[cynical_writer]

Thanks, I have tried swirling the carboy and then i waited another 6 or 7 days and there was no change. ill pitch the new yeast. should I rack it first to remove the old sediment?

[Mill Rat]

As long as it hasn't been close to a month since you brewed this batch, don't worry about the sediment. Otherwise it might be a good idea to rack it. Also, sterilize (boil & cool) some water to rehydrate the dry yeast for 15 minutes or so before you pitch it. This will give them a bit of time to recover before you dump them in a wort that already has some alcohol built up.

[cynical_writer]

Will do. Thanks. its a cerveza i was hoing would be done a few days ago for obvious reasons but oh well, its still a nice summer beer and its finally warming up here...

[cynical_writer]

I boiled about 3 cups of water for around ten minutes then cooled it to about 75 degrees, poured it in a bowl

while it was boiling i sprinkled in some sugar, didnt measure, probably about 2 tablespoons i would guess.

so i let it cool then sprinkled in the yeast, covered it in plastic wrap, and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

is that basically a yeast starter? its dry yeast and i had heard you dont need to do one but, it was bubbling after 15 mins in the bowl. then i dumped that in the caryboy and its sitting now...

anyway, thanks again. hopefully it gets the fg down to a decent level... I would hope 1.008 to 1.012 since the OG was 1.048

[Mill Rat]

You've got it basically correct, the only things I'd recommend, esp. if you're doing a starter for liquid yeast, is to use dme or lme instead of the sugar, as the malt extract has amino acid nutrients that the yeast need for reproduction, which the plain sugar does not have. I'd also recommend using a sanitized whisk to aerate the starter mixture prior to pitching, as boiling removes the dissolved gasses.

[cynical_writer]

So i added more yeast when I first got the response and still nothing seems to be happening...

Am i just being impatient? i could understand why it would take off so slowly i guess...

if i take a hydrometer reading would it have dropped even without a real sign of fermentation, no bubbling airlock, no foam on top (krausen???)

Thanks

[JayShaw91]

Try raising the temp a bit and swirl it again. Other than that, I got no answers for you here, my man. I had a stuck porter last November. Now I serve it to unwelcome guests. Yes, it was that damn bad.

Your beer may not be as bad, but mine was thick like mud and tasted like ass. I hope yours turns out halfway decent.

[cynical_writer]

Well after 48 hours the SG has not dropped a single point...

I did just taste it though, its pretty damn tasty.

Only problem again is the gravity, I'm 22, and I'll just say that to my friend and I, alcohol content is pretty important haha.

Thanks for the help guys.

[cynical_writer]

Its Alive!!! good think layer of foam on top now the the air lock is bubbling like a champ.

the original recipe said ten days in the primary and it will be fine. but with this one I'm thinking with double the yeast I will Need to rack it and let it settle more.

I'm really lookin forward to cracking open a bottle of this at a BBQ later this summer.

[Carl Spakler]

Only problem again is the gravity, I'm 22, and I'll just say that to my friend and I, alcohol content is pretty important haha.


If alcohol is your goal beer is a pretty inefficient vehicle to transfer it to your body. I'd suggest the hard stuff for the 22 YO in you and enjoy a quality beer for the flavor. ;)

[cynical_writer]

I'd suggest the hard stuff for the 22 YO in you and enjoy a quality beer for the flavor. ;)

Why not kill two birds with one stone?