wash didn't start

[snark92]

Hi,
first post.
Have looked for an answer to this, but couldn't find one, hope I'm not taking up space with an old question.
Made my first birdwatchers 2 weeks ago for my first attempt at distilling.
Was all done in 10 days, racked, came out beautifully.
Started the second one on sunday (is now wednesday) and nothing is happening.
Lat night I added 36g of extra yeast (is a 25litre wash) and it started bubbling instantly, problem solved?
Within 2 minutes it had stopped and is still the same today ie. nothing.
Temp at pitching 24C
Temp now 26C
The first one went so easily & I think maybe too quickly, but this one is so totally different.
It does have a ring around the container just above the liquid same as home brew beer, but not as strong or pronounced.
Any ideas most appreciated.

[blanikdog]

Honestly snark - I felt that I should reply with a handle like that. Sheeeeeeet Cool bro.

I can't think of what could be you problem, I have never had a problem with fermentation. Do you have the OG of the current wash? And what is the gravity now? Maybe it has fermented out???

I don't know - owing to never had a ferment failure [Wait for the flak ] - but I reckon we'll get some responses now that I've stirred the hornets nest, and I've forced (or tried to) get some more input for you. I suspect that the problem is that it has fermemted right out.

I have to admit thit I thought it was Ogden Nash.



PS. the trouble with having one of Australias finest winer makers as a mate is that sometimes I come on here late at night feeling really cool. This is one of those nights.

[snark92]

Thanks for the swift reply Blanketdog but you offer no hope for me.
For a laugh, I just threw in another couple of spoons of yeast while I type.
30 seconds starting to bubble
1 min 9:51 going nuts airlock does not stop
9:53 slowing down, now almost stopped
9:54 stopped altogether
It's like a tiny flea circus, feed them (and a couple of spoons is a fair bit)and they will perform.
Just hope they are real workers too.

[blanikdog]

But are you sure there's sugar there to ferment? Adding yeast won't do a thing if there's nothing for it to gobble up. On the other hand, maybe it's too sweet?

Do you check the sg prior to adding the yeast? If so, what is it now? If you don't have a hydrometer, how does it taste? Sweet? Dry??

[Dnderhead]

something is killing you yeast
check the PH
check the amount of sugar
check the temperature
you made a goof somewhere

[marc83]

What were your ingredients used to make up the BW recipe.i know you have said your first went well,so surely a second would be the same,but its either something there or im with blanik.I have had a couple of ferments that have suprised me and finished quite quickly.Clutching at straws without more info.An SG reading would be a bonus.

[ScottishBoy]

You didnt happen to wash out your fermenter, did you?

[Kentucky shinner]

if you used bleach you may have not rinsed the fermenter well enough.

[ScottishBoy]

if you used bleach you may have not rinsed the fermenter well enough.

...but your yeast will be "Whiter than White"!

[WalkingWolf]

...but your yeast will be "Whiter than White"!

and deader than dead as it lay there perfectly white awaiting proper burial.

[rad14701]

Another possibility is that you have a leak which is letting the CO2 escape without you noticing any activity from large bubbles... And what you are seeing when you pitch additional yeast, which is now more than plenty, is due to the nucleation effect that a working wash will have on just about any ingredient added to an active ferment... Heck, toss some dirt in there and you'll get lots of fizzing activity - but just take my word for it and don't try the dirt... To be honest, there is nothing, at least not that I am aware of, that would kill healthy yeast off as fast as you have stated...

Does the wash taste sweet or dry...???

Do you have a hydrometer that you can test the Specific Gravity (SG) with...???

[still crazy]

Just a thought but the comment that your airlock was bubbling like crazy....
When I do my washes I leave the top off the 6 gallon bucket for 3 days covered with a towel.
Stir daily then airlock for the next 3
and on the 7th day ...............

[snark92]

Thank you all for your speedy replies, will try to respond as best I can with my lessons learnt.
Yes I added 5kg of sugar
Didn't take sg prior to adding yeast, but is now at 3032 after 5 days
It tastes disgustingly sweet
Don't have ph tester
Ingredients were exactly as per BW recipe
Yes, washed fermenter with brewcfaft brewclean, same as all before
Didn't try the dirt, so will take your word
!st rule of brewing: don't trust the airlock
After many beer homebrews, I have had a hydrometer but never used it. Never trusted the airlock as told. As I keg the beer, 2 weeks was suggested as the fermentation time to be completely sure. After approx 50 kegs I have thrown out one which could have been anything but did serve to make a wake up for cleaning & sanitizing. So if all works according to instructions, why do I need to know the sg, ph, etc. If I did know these things I would drive myself mad with the science of something that has been naturally happening for thousands of years & perfected by others that have already gone mad.
The wash is in exactly the same container, lid, airlock as the previous brew, which constantly blew through the airlock for 4 or 5 days before slowing up and was still spasmodic until the day it was racked, the 2 times I looked it had bubbles nearly to the lid.
This one has one or three sad looking bubbles just sitting there looking more like stagnent swamp.
People are trying to help so I get out the hydrometer, learn how to read it & test it to 3.032 I think. Problem is I can't stop the bubbles coming from the bottom of the test tube. The fermentation, if I am right, is going on even inside the small sample I took.
So I apologize for wasting your time, but it is hard to believe that 2 washes in a row in the same containers could behave so differently.
I will still be blissfull in my ignorance of sg as the next lesson I learnt was not to try to wash it & the test tube together= broken hydrometer.
When it tastes like dry wine after 2 weeks or more I will consider it ready.
Suggestions from my beer brewing instructions:
!st rule don't trust the airlock
don't panic
be patient
Thank you again & if it doesn't work out you'll be the first to know.

[Dnderhead]

if it is bubbling so badly you cant git a reading .then it is working. and you do not have a problem.

I will agree that hydrometers and ph test are not necessary if you do the same wash/mash over and over but
if you make your own recipes,doing a different one that is unfamiliar or something happens then they can be handy.
for many years I did grain mash with out any . did I git complete conversion? did I under malt? over malt?I really do not know.

[ScottishBoy]

To me this sounds like a slow leak. I take it your brewing in a one of those buckets with the snap on lid? If you are, take the lid off and check to see if there are any tiny strips of plactic that have fallen away from the hooks. It only takes one of these to relase enough CO2 to throw off your reading. You stand a chance at ripping one of those plastic flashes every time you open or close the lid. The problem with the buckets is that they are injection molded and the always leave little flares inside the lid. After you have taken them off and put them on a few times, the flash becomes weak and breaks off, usually sitting across your seal and you dont even know it. Glass Carboys with a nice rubber stopper are the best way to use an airlock.

[rad14701]

Duc[t|k] Tape... Seals those lids first time, every time...

[ScottishBoy]

Duc[t|k] Tape... Seals those lids first time, every time...

I tried using Duck tape once...but I went quackers trying to get the feather edge straight...

[snark92]

Racked it & distilled it on day14
Threw out the first 200mls, kept the next 300 aside, kept the next 2.5l until it started to slow down then added the tails to the first 300mls for next time.
Absolutely perfect ( to me anyway) at 92%.
Thanks for the comments.

[Austin Nichols]

92% is about right from the T500 so you did ok by the sound of it.

Did you stick with the ceramic packing?

Try a Birdwatchers recipe from the T&T section, I've done about six 25 liter BW washes now without a hiccup, just scale it down with a calculator and away you go.

Cheers.