In the last six plus years that I have been brewing, I found a couple really good ways to kick start a fermentation that hasn’t quite kicked off the way it should. The first, and most obvious in my mind, is warm up the fermenter.

My fermenting in Duluth, MN was done in the basement year round. If you are unfamiliar with the region, it gets pretty cold in the winter, and stays nice and cool in the summer. On those beers that I wasn’t re-using my yeast I would start the primary in the dining room for a couple of days to make sure it took off, then bring it to the basement to finish up. Even a few degrees seemed to help kick start the process. If a beer hasn’t formed a nice cap in a day, the first thing I do is warm it up.

The next thing to do is give the fermenter a gentle swirl a couple times a day. Who knows why it works, but it does. It has only taken me two or three swirls before I see a nice cap going. Note that I say SWIRL, not shake the bejeebers out of it. Swwwiiiirrrllll.

Thankfully I’ve only had a dozen or so trouble ferments that needed some extra help. Of course an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Using the XL smack packs, re-using yeast that is less than a month old, or making starters certainly guarantees a perfect and fast ferment.

Cheers!
Tony