4 Common Mistakes Made in Beer Fermentation

When you get to the fermentation stage of brewing, you might think it’s smooth sailing from then on. Unfortunately, a lot of brewers make this mistake and don’t take fermentation as seriously as they should. There are plenty of reasons your beer can fail during its fermentation, and we want you to be able to avoid them. These are a few common mistakes made in beer fermentation that you don’t want to fall into.

Using Unhealthy Yeast

Yeast is the key ingredient to proper fermentation, but it’s a fickle organism you need to keep a close eye on. If you can’t seem to get your fermentation started, it’s likely because the yeast you decided to use is not up to par regarding health or freshness. If you’ve been waiting for hours upon hours for fermentation to start, it’s very likely that your yeast isn’t up to the task, and you’ll need to pitch healthier yeast to get it started.

Fermenting at the Wrong Temperature

Temperature plays a huge role in fermenting beer and one of the common mistakes you can make during fermentation is not monitoring its temperature as you go. Ale yeast need to be fairly chilled in order to start fermenting. If you’re using lager yeast, you’ll need to keep everything even colder for fermentation to begin. Keep an eye on that thermometer to make sure your brew’s temperature stays consistent throughout fermentation.

Having Insufficient Oxygen

Your wort will have its oxygen boiled out of it before you can put it in your fermenter of choice, but the yeast itself needs oxygen in order to start fermenting. Without enough oxygen, your yeast won’t be able to begin the process. There are a number of ways to introduce more oxygen—mixing, splashing, or automatic aerators—and they’re all crucial for giving your yeast the oxygen it needs.

Fermenting in Unsanitary Tanks

Because your fermenting beer needs to sit for quite some time in the fermenter, it’s vulnerable to contamination if you didn’t properly clean and sanitize your fermenter. You can notice this happening if your brew’s attenuation readings are far above what you’d expect, as this usually means your beer has been contaminated in some way. Always carefully clean and sanitize your equipment between batches for the best results.

Craftmaster Stainless has brite tanks for sale that can help you get the best results out of your wort and yeast. As long as you pay careful attention to the yeast you use and the state of your brewing equipment, you can continue making fantastic products.