Should I pitch the second pack?

Discussion on brewing beer from malt extract, hops, and yeast.
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jinjahbiscuit
Steady Drinker
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:00 pm

Should I pitch the second pack?

Post by jinjahbiscuit » Sun Jan 03, 2016 8:27 pm

Hi everyone, Happy New Year!

I put on my Winter Celebration brew on New Years day, it's an extract / grain recipe from bitters and esters. The recipe calls for 2x packs of Wyeast 1056 American Ale yeast.
One pack kicked off quite quickly and was ready to pitch after transferring the wort to my F.V.
However, the second pack took a further day to activate. It's now blown up like a balloon. Should I pitch it? Or just forget it?
A couple of other facts:
My expected OG was 1.065, but I only achieved 1.053. My volumne to the FV was meant to be 19 litres (5 US gallons) but it was actually closer to 24 litres. My mistake.
The brew is bubbling away like a good 'un, took off after about 6 hours, despite my temperature being around 16deg. C. I'm trying to raise it and have improved the insulation. Possibly going to end up with a dark lager!
Any thoughts?

scotsloon
Piss Artist
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Location: Kemnay, Aberdeenshire

Re: Should I pitch the second pack?

Post by scotsloon » Sun Jan 03, 2016 9:50 pm

If its working away and there is clear sign of yeast activity then don't bother adding more yeast. However monitor the SG of the brew as it slows down so you know when the yeast has finished doing its thing. Once you have a steady reading around 1.010 for 3 days then you can be confident that the fermentation has finished and you can bottle/keg your beer.

jinjahbiscuit
Steady Drinker
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:00 pm

Re: Should I pitch the second pack?

Post by jinjahbiscuit » Mon Jan 04, 2016 6:30 pm

Thanks scotsloon for your advice. I'll leave it as you say. Still a bit worried about the low temperature, but I don't think I can do much. Anyway, it's still bubbling away, so hopefully it'll turn out OK.

jinjahbiscuit
Steady Drinker
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:00 pm

Re: Should I pitch the second pack?

Post by jinjahbiscuit » Tue Jan 05, 2016 3:23 pm

The temperature has crept up to 18deg. C. Still bubbling away so hopefully all well.

jinjahbiscuit
Steady Drinker
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:00 pm

Re: Should I pitch the second pack?

Post by jinjahbiscuit » Thu Apr 14, 2016 2:05 pm

I put this in my keg towards the end of January, went away for a month (work ), came back in February and it turned out very nice. Probably not as strong as it should have been, but I dont mind that. I think it's the best I've done so far.

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