Beer

[uavwmn]

My mexican cerveza has been in the primary bucket for 6 days. there is still foam on top. Directions say to rack on day 5 if the foam has receded.
It has gone down but still has a good head of foam on it. (I used a liquid yeast with this kit)


Should I go ahead and rack the beer now or wait until the foam goes down more?

 

[masta]

I typically don't leave beer in the primary more than 7 days so I would go ahead and rack it. Edited by: masta

 

[Dean]

Rack it. Residual proteins in the beer keep the head in the primary sometimes. This is not heavy fermentation foam, so you can rack it easily. It's probably done anyways. Your SG should be somewhere around 1.014 or below, depending on how much yeast you started with.

 

[uavwmn]

Masta and Dean, thank you for the quick response. I used a liquid East Coast ale yeast that was recommended to me by the local beer shop manager. The kit itself came with a powdered yeast of which I did not use.
I racked my beer last night. This morning it has foam in the carboy and the airlock is actively bubbling. SG was 1.012 when I racked.
I am assuming this left over fermentation will subside.

 

[Dean]

yes it will. It also means your ale yeast has excellent attenuation and should take this beer to almost full dry. That's a good thing!

 

[uavwmn]

Dean, I accidently (beer excitement..haha) racked to the primary bucket to bottle beer. Forgot to add the sugar. So I boiled the sugar water THEN gently added it to the bucket and gave it a little stir. Then bottled the beer. This will turn out ok??? I hope??? Smells delicious.

 

[Dean]

Yeah, it will be fine. Usually, you rack onto the sugar water so you don't really have to stir, but stirring is okay too.

 

[uavwmn]

I ordered a liquid yeast and it was mailed overnight. However,I didn't pick it up out of the mailbox until late afternoon. When I opened it the ice pack wasn't cold anymore.

I immediately put the vial in the fridge. Do you think the yeast will be ok? Still alive? Or does it need some type of "yeast kickin' CPR"?

 

[smurfe]

If the yeast did get exposed to temps 95 or higher it should be fine. It may be stressed though. If you are going to use it soon andit's a vial, crack it open and see if it bubbles up. If you have any doubts and have some DME or have a LHBS to get some make a starter. Anyone that makes beer and uses liquid yeast ought to keep some light DME around. It is cheap and comes in real handy in a pinch when you need to make a starter. Unless you are pitching 2 tubes you really ought to be making a starter.
You can use any type clean and sanitized glass jar to make a starter. You don't need a stirplate or a stopper in the jar. Just cover it with aluminum foil and give it a mild shake every now and then. Starters are real easy to make. Just put a couple cups or so of water in a pan and 1/3 to 1/2 cup of DME and boil for 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and let yeast warm to room temp. Add yeast to sanitized jar and cover with aluminum foil and let it go to work. Give to a good shake/swirl to oxygenate the wort and let it work 24-36 hour (around 12 or so with a stirplate). If the yeast is good you will see a mini fermentation in your starter which is actually a mini beer. When ready just dump it in you primary and let it go to work.

 

[uavwmn]

smurfe, I would definitely try to make my own yeast starter. What is "DME" and "LHBS"??

 

[smurfe]

I'm sorry DME = Dried Malt Extract and LHBS = Local Home Brew Shop