[aetoole]

Pitched my Safale 04 too cold by mistake (50 degrees) and as a result got a pretty lame fermentation after 20 hours and now 48 hours later is almost coming to a close . Can I pitch a Safale 05 on top? Did a coffee stout and jacked it up w/ some dried honey and think I should have pitched a 2nd package anyway but didn't but is it ok to mix strains like this?

[euge]

It's ok to pitch 2+ different strains in the short term. Check your gravity and see if there's any more fermenting to be done. But that being said what are you brewing? Many of my active or attenuative fermentations only take a couple days and you might be jumping the gun if you're trying to rescue a beer.

[aetoole]

Here's the recipe for the Extract batch I did of a Peace Coffee Porter Stout (a Northern Brewer beer) that I modified a bit:

US Chocolate Malt          0.50 lb    5.6 %    33.1    In Mash/Steeped
US Black Malt                  0.50 lb    5.6 %    47.3    In Mash/Steeped
Dark Crystal                    0.50 lb    5.6 %    10.4    In Mash/Steeped
Golden Malt Extract          6.00 lb    66.7 %    18.6    15 min before End Of Boil
**Sugar -Dried Honey          1.50 lb    16.7 %    0.6    15 min before End Of Boil My Addition
UK Golding                  5.5 %    1.00 oz    26.7    Bagged Pellet Hops    60 Min From End
Czech Saaz                  3.0 %    1.00 oz    8.8    Bagged Pellet Hops    20 Min From End My Addition
1 package Safale 04 pitched Wed 12/22 at 4:30p

Overall the fermentation was really very quiet and I don't know why I pitched the yeast at such a cold temp--just added the wort to a couple of gals of filtered water I'd had out on the porch forgetting it was so cold out. Nothing like my other fermentations. Would it hurt to pitch a 2nd pack of a diff strain at 48h? I'm so busy w/ Christmas and visiting family that there's little time to take a reading and so easy just to sterilize a pack of dry and toss in. I'm not usually this lazy but I'm pooped from all the work that comes w/ a family visit.

[euge]

Sounds like you just need to wait to take a gravity reading. RDWHAHB You might be surprised to see that it's done. How much yeast did you pitch?

[aetoole]

Just pitched the one pack of Safale 04 on Wed afternoon and the fermentation was very low key and din't ramp up until Thursday afternoon and it was pretty unimpressive. Just don't think I'll get time to do a reading. Quickly entered into Beer Alchemy and it said I should have pitched 2 packs. Maybe I'll just pitch a pack of some 05 I have and see what happens or maybe I will just not worry and have a homebrew...

[ipaguy]

What's your fermentation temp going to be?  Pitching cold isn't going to hurt your yeast, so your fermentation may restart as it warms back up,  especially if you give the fermenter a shake now & then to rouse the yeast.  Still, if you  know you under-pitched in the first place another packet of yeast wouldn't hurt.

[euge]

In this case it might be better to get the yeast actively fermenting before pitching. Not sure about that but if my memory serves me to pitch additional yeast to rescue a fermentation one needs activate it and not pitch direct. Someone with more knowledge will need to verify or refute this though.

Merry xmas.

[aetoole]

Thanks for the advice. I did a little starter today and pitched an active starter. Hope this helps. If not, well the final beer will be a tad sweet. Not all bad really since all beer is good

[dannyjed]

When I use SA04 it seems to ferment very quickly.