woodford wherry microbrewery gone wrong?

[OldSpeckledBadger]

I'd be tempted to move it to another FV to get it off the bulk of the old yeast. I think you'll find it easier to operate on it in a proper FV. Then I'd add yeast vit to see if that gets things going again. If that fails I'd re-pitch with new yeast such as Safeale S-04. Actually, thinking about it again you might be better off skipping the yeast vit and just re-pitching the yeast.

[redskinweasel]

Cheers oldspeckledbadger (cool name by the way) ,

I'll put in an order for some safeale 04 today and syphon the beer over in to the FV. Just checkin, but I am right in thinking I don't want to aerate the mix at this stage - so i'll need to syphon to the bottom of the fv to reduce slashing?

This is the info I got from this site re repitching, let me know if there's anything you'd recommend or if there's anything you'd do different based on experience:

(opt2) Although this should work for most stuck fermentations by activiating fresh healthy yeast and adapting it to its new enviroment gently, if the cause is an improper balance of sugars (generally considered to be the culprit with Muntons and Woodfordes premium kits) option 2, this option will always be the least sucsessful.

Rehydrate some Safale04.

Take 1 pint of beer, put in a pan, add 2 tablespoons of dry malt extract, mix then bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5 mins.

Cover with a sanitise lid/plate and allow to cool (in a sink of cold water helps).

Dry off the bottom of the pan and funnel the contents into a 2L pet bottle, add rehydrated yeast, cap, shake then loosen the cap (to release any gasses created).

Once fermenting (it may take a few hours) you can either add more beer over the next 30 mins or so to attemperate/acclimatise the yeast or just pour it straight into the fermenter.

All items that touch the beer/wort/yeast should be cleand and sanitised. The pan should be spotlessly clean and the boil will be sufficient to sanitise it.[/color]


Cheers

[OldSpeckledBadger]

(cool name by the way) ,

A combination of my favourite beers Badgers are also my favourite animals too.

I'll put in an order for some safeale 04 today and syphon the beer over in to the FV. Just checkin, but I am right in thinking I don't want to aerate the mix at this stage - so i'll need to syphon to the bottom of the fv to reduce slashing?

Yes. Be as careful as possible as you don't want aerate at this point. One thing I've found with the Young's budget syphon I'm using is that it isn't quite long enough so I push an extra length of tubing on the end of the tap.

This is the info I got from this site re repitching, let me know if there's anything you'd recommend or if there's anything you'd do different based on experience:

I'd do it the way you quoted.

[redskinweasel]

Cheers oldspeckledbadger,

The order went in for the yeast and some other goodies yesterday, so it's just a waiting game now. In the mean time I'll rack the beer off the sediment in to the FV in preparation for the yeast arriving - ordered from brewmart which said up to 7 days for delivery (hopefully it won't take that long!).

The only other thing I need to sort whilst I'm waiting is temp control as I can't find anywhere in the house that is between 18 & 26deg all day (I think this may have caused the kit to stick in the 1st place). I guess it's a funny time of year really as 1-2months ago the central heating would've been on permanently and I don't think I would've had this problem. Also with summer fast approaching, I figure I'm probably gonna have the opposite problem soon (nowhere cool enough).

I posted a question on hear the other day about which temp control is best and from reading on here, tropical fish tank heaters seem to be popular. How do you get round the temp problem, and what kit do you use?



Cheers

[OldSpeckledBadger]

I'd wait until the yeast arrives before racking into the FV otherwise you'll have still beer exposed to the air for a long period. Once you re-pitch the yeast, fermentation will make a protective blanket of CO2 on top of the beer.

So far I've been lucky with my fermentation temperature but if I have problems I'll probably go for a fish tank heater.

[redskinweasel]

Good call,

I'll wait for the yeast to get here first. Just doing some experiments with thermometer and fleece blankets to see if I can get in the right ball park without having to buy any more gear just yet.


Hopefully it will go to plan and save me a few quid - just don't wanna splash out for a heater just yet and then use it once coz summer's creeping up fast. Having said that, if I can't get the right temp I'll have no choice but I'm torn between fish tank heater and electrim imersion heater........

decisions decisions........


Cheers

[redskinweasel]

Damn it,

Still can't get the temp in range and have also been through every nook and cranny on hands and knees looking for a possible warm location and it's just a non starter. Even the airing cupboard looks like it's been fitted by bodge-it and leg-it (pipe-central etc)..........

No space there......

But I have found the spot and I'm gonna bit the bullet and buy a heater for when the yeast arrives........(yey!)....

I'll brew/drink this ale yet...etc...etc.......

[redskinweasel]

Excellent, the kit yeast and immersion heater have arrived. Really need to get cracking with this now, but it's probably gonna be Saturday night when I get round to re-pitching the beer in the FV.

On the plus side, I'm goin to a beer festival tomorrow night.......happy days!

Anyway, I ordered a load of other stuff for my next couple of kits (including yeast and DME) and I wondered if anyone could advise the best place to store the yeast and DME e.g. cupboard or fridge?

I have safe ale 04 and the package just says cool dry place, so I thought fridge, but then I read somewhere else not to put it in the fridge?


Any help would be appreciated!


Cheers