I think I overpitched by a big margin...problem?

[axg20202]

I just completed my first AG mash (90% various malts, plus some cracked oats) - 16kg total. Gave me 2 x 25 litres to ferment in 2 x 30L buckets. Starting gravity of 1.080. I had a brain fart and instead of pitching 50g bakers yeast (saf gold) total, I put 50g into each fermenter. It has ripped through over the first day, dropping to 1.027 in less than 24 hours, which seems far too fast. It has slowed down to a crawl now. Did I completely mess up?

[NZChris]

You should be ok. Under-pitching is more likely to cause a problem.

[MooseMan]

As Chris says you'll be fine with that, it's way more than you needed for sure, but all it's done is overcome the lag phase and stormed through all the sugar in double time.
Hell, it might even make for a better tasting AG as fast hot ferments can add some nice buttery notes to the flavour.
Let it finish up by itself and I'm sure it'll be a great success.

Let us know what you think of it when it's run.

[axg20202]

Thanks guys. First attempt and not the end of the world however it turns out. It does seem to be sitting at the same gravity for several hours now, but can still see activity so not sure what to make of that.

[axg20202]

I am running at 28oC (occasional drops to 26.5 ish) with temperature control. Maybe this is running on the cool side for the yeast, so the overpitch caused a huge race at the start (pitched at 32oC) but is now much slower? Maybe I should up the temp a few degrees?

[MooseMan]

Bakers does like 30 to be fair, but it will keep clipping along at those temps no problem.

[Demy]

You just need patience...sometimes there is a longer latency phase. If the ph is ok and the other things are ok you just have to wait.

[axg20202]

Indeed. I have no means to test pH, but my tpw fermented out dry with same water and yeast. Not the same thing of course, but I'm hopeful it will get done eventually.

[Swedish Pride]

You're grand.

I usually pitch 120g bakers in 80l, temp in High 30s to touching 40.

Makes for a quick ferment as you've discovered, have had it finish in 3 days.
Makes good flavoursome whiskey.

Your bill sounds nice too, run it right with good cuts and you should have something special in a year

[axg20202]

Cheers. I upped the temp to 30oc and it is very slowly dropping in gravity. My grain bill was 55% golden promise, 25% heavily peated, 10% medium Crystal, 10% cracked oats. Waiting for it to age is going to test my patience to the limit!

[still_stirrin]

Cheers…. Waiting for it to age is going to test my patience to the limit!

So, start another ferment as soon as you empty your fermenter. If you focus on that, and not the aging cask, soon you’ll have product enough to enjoy it without “watching the clock”. In other words, supplement your impatience with honing your brewing and distillation/cuts skills.
ss

[shadylane]

Plus one SS

[MooseMan]

Plus 2

Get a sugarhead started on the spent grain straight away once you've got the liquid off, that will help to keep your filthy mitts off the good stuff!

[shadylane]

I just completed my first AG mash (90% various malts, plus some cracked oats) - 16kg total. Gave me 2 x 25 litres to ferment in 2 x 30L buckets. Starting gravity of 1.080. I had a brain fart and instead of pitching 50g bakers yeast (saf gold) total, I put 50g into each fermenter. It has ripped through over the first day, dropping to 1.027 in less than 24 hours, which seems far too fast. It has slowed down to a crawl now. Did I completely mess up?

This is a calculator but there's also some good reading included.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pit ... alculator/

[Chucker]

Plus 2

Get a sugarhead started on the spent grain straight away once you've got the liquid off, that will help to keep your filthy mitts off the good stuff!

So far I’ve found the sugarhead on the spent grain to be less an expedient than that. So far it has benefitted more from more rest than the parent batch has. Rather than something resembling the original to enjoy in the short term it’s become more remarkable with each passing month. Blended with the parent likker it is presently better sampling than either are singly.
For now it seems like a great way to get a bonus batch out the initial grains for the low cost of some sugar. However, it didn’t sound like the OP fermented on the grain. So I’d expect that the grains have already been composted.
Oh, the possibilities!!

[MooseMan]

Yeah I'm with you on that, I've got one that I did early last year and tucked away in a demi under the bench, and it's bloody lovely!

I even do them on the remains of a YLAY ferment and give half of the spent grain to my mate to do one too. He says it makes a better drink than his own cornflake whisky.

I hope you're reading this axg, keep the grain next time and do a "Gumball" with it.

[axg20202]

I will definitely think about a spent grain Gumball next time. Any ideas why my ferment seems to have stalled at 1.015 after storming along from 1.080 in a day or so. There appears to be some activity still, but it could take a month of Sundays to ferment out dry at this rate. Maybe my SG was too high or this is the dryest I can expect it to get? The wort does seem very dense, so maybe particulate matter is an issue? I decided to take a sample and cold crash it in the fridge, and only a small layer on top is clearing, which might suggest there is just too much 'shite' (grain dust etc) in the wort for it to ferment out further? I'm reasonably confident my choice of bakers yeast can handle a fairly punchy abv based on how it ripped through a sugar wash to dry as a bone in a few days. My runnings had yeast nutrient added too for good measure, so I'm thinking the wort was either too rich in sugars or something else? 1.080 is high but not THAT high. I have no idea what the pH is. My mash and sparges were done using the correct temperatures as per calculators. Any thoughts?

[MooseMan]

Give it time, the sugars in an AG mash are just going to take the yeast a little longer to chew through that's all.
While you are waiting, get another one going is the best policy.