Beer Update
Thanks to the yeast I used, the ESB (now fully carbonated) went through a bit of a stuck fermentation, or so I thought. I had used Wyeast 1968, London ESB Ale, because, hey, that was the style I brewed up.
What i didn’t know was that the 1968 ferments EXTREMELY quickly. As in, “1.5 days in the primary”. That’s some fast yeast, and it fooled me: I thought I hadn’t extracted enough sugar from the grain, and so I added yeast energizer (essentially a concentrated mix of nutrients yeast loves). That didn’t work, and it wasn’t until I placed a call to my local homebrew supply that I learned what the deal was.
But after a quick burst of activity Sunday afternoon, the latest batch of IPA has been… well, dormant. I had the house thermostat set around 64 degrees since the yeast packet suggested a citrus overtone at a cooler fermentation temperatures, but nothing was happening. So last night before bed, I kicked the heat up to about 69 degrees: this morning, the fermenter was bubbling away like mad. In fact, some of the green beer had bubbled up into the airlock (no worries, it’s still sanitary).
I’m still thinking of adding another couple of ounces of fermentable sugar to see if I can boost the alcohol content, but such an addition is clearly not necessary at this point. i may be able to transfer as early as Thursday at this rate.
