Mr P's first All Grain Wheat Whiskey.

[rad14701]

In the anaerobic phase the yeast is converting the sugars to alcohols, etc, and there is very little CO2 being produced so you are not going to see much air lock activity.

During the anaerobic phase the yeast convert sugar into CO2 and Ethanol and monitoring the amount of CO2 production is an indication of how aggressively the yeast colony is performing the task... I always see a lot of CO2 activity, sometimes with bubbles shooting several inches out of the wash, all the way to the very end of the fermentation process...

[rtalbigr]

In the anaerobic phase the yeast is converting the sugars to alcohols, etc, and there is very little CO2 being produced so you are not going to see much air lock activity.

During the anaerobic phase the yeast convert sugar into CO2 and Ethanol and monitoring the amount of CO2 production is an indication of how aggressively the yeast colony is performing the task... I always see a lot of CO2 activity, sometimes with bubbles shooting several inches out of the wash, all the way to the very end of the fermentation process...

I wish I was better at documenting my research, but I tend to be rather haphazard. Anyway, check out this link:

http://www.wyeastlab.com/he-yeast-fundamentals.cfm

From this you can see that the majority of the activity occurs during the lag and log phases, when O2 is present. Yes, alcohol is produced during the log phase but the principle activity is budding, growing the colony. With the O2 and most nutrients depleted the yeast enters the stationary phase which is anaerobic. Activity slows dramatically, especially CO2 production. Alcohol is still being produced and other chemical process are occuring. Depending on the wort, the yeast, temperatures, the stationary phase can last up to 10 days (with my meads it can last up to a month). Vigorous production of CO2 does not occur throughout fermentation.

With my AG worts I generally don't get much activity for the first 12-14 hrs. After that I will have vigorous air-lock activity for 24-36 (sometimes 48) hrs. Then is will start to slow. After about 3-4 days I generally will get a few bubbles every minute and that will eventually slow to where there is only enough pressure to hold up the cap. Generally after 6-7 days all activity ceases.

Big R

[rad14701]

rtalbigr, I'm not doubting what Wyeast Labs has written but it does read as contradictory to virtually every other yeast paper I've read... There will always be generation of CO2 during fermentation but amounts will vary depending on several different conditions... One reason for more CO2 being produced at the onset of fermentation can be due to the fact that some strains of yeast, saccharomyces cerevisiae being one of those (bakers, ec1118, and others), can actually perform both aerobic and anaerobic processes at the same time, meaning that it can begin the fermentation phase while still in the multiplication phase, in an oxygen and nutrient rich environment... Anyone who has had a wash go ballistic on them to the point of blowing out the airlock or overflowing krausen has likely experienced this phenomenon...

But we're drifting off-topic here so further in-depth discussion might be better suited for either it's own or a yeast related topic...

[rockchucker22]

I have just never had a ferment that the airlock wasn't active during active ferment?

And temps up around 84 now. Showing good signs of life again. So mid to upper 80s is what I need. I for some reason was targeting low 80s. Duh.

Any updates? If it still seems stalled try a ec-1118 bomb. If that fails I think your water must have excessive folrides or chlorides/chlorine.

[blind drunk]

I find that with the all grain, the abv drops like a lead balloon right from the start and then slows down as the food source diminishes. Then it's over, just like that!!

[Prairiepiss]

At this point I am struggling to keep the temp up. For some reason its flexing on me. My heat pad is either to hot on high and to cool on med. But when I can hold temps above 84 F it bubbles like its happy. Not a real active ferment maybe 1 to 2 bubbles every 10 to 20 sec. But its working. So I'm happy for now.

Hey Rock if it does completely stalls out on me I will pitch some bakers yeast. It seemed to get the job done last batch. When the DADY and EC1118 wouldn't. I'm still lost on that? Or maybe it was working as Big R has mentioned? And I jumped the gun on it? So I really want to let this one go as long as I can. Before I add another yeast.

Next try I will move some stuff around so I can get a new place for the fermenter. Only place I have right now is next to a window. This mite be my whole problem. Well for this yeast anyway. For now the heat pad goes to high at sundown and med at sun rise. At least I think? Man trying this AG stuff can make you feel like a total noob. Not that I'm not still a noob. But damn its been a while since I've been on edge about this stuff.

Rad. I don't mind. I'm learning off of it. And I would say it does pertain to my problems? Maybe? So carry on with the discussion. Please.

[NcHooch]

I think you should put it in a warm, dark closet ... thats where I do most of my fermenting in the winter.

[Prairiepiss]

I think you should put it in a warm, dark closet ... thats where I do most of my fermenting in the winter.

I'm in a trailer. I don't have a warm closet one. 2 of the 3 have 2 outside walls the other has 1. Man I want a real house. Stupid economy.

[rockchucker22]

Mines out in the shed I have one small heater but at night it gets down to the 40f and my ferments slow a bit but keep chugging along. Your next ferment try some bottle water, are you on municipal water or well?

[Prairiepiss]

City water. And that thought has been in the back of my mind. But. When I did the first batch I used the spent grains to make a sugarhead. With the same water. Pitched EC-1118 and it worked like the Dickens. But the EC-1118 wouldn't work in the tests with the AG batch? So I don't really know. I've been thinking about buying a couple 5 gallon water bottles I could try that. Or I could just use my RO water? That would take 3 hours to get 12 gallons.

[blind drunk]

My heat pad is either to hot on high and to cool on med. But when I can hold temps above 84 F it bubbles like its happy.

I can't remember if you mentioned it already but do you have a bunch of blankets or a sleeping bag over the the bucket? That will help stabilize the temperature. When you say too hot, how hot is it?

[Prairiepiss]

I have a coat zipped up around it. With the heat pad under the coat. And it hit 89 f earlier. I'm not real sure if that's to hot. But seems kinda high to me. But I could be wrong?