I've just brewed a batch of quality extract and the primary went like wildfire and i kept it in the fermenter for about 10 days. I've transferred to a barrel which wasnt used for a while, so i had to give it a real good sterilisation with a proprietry homebrew cleanser. I used a spraymalt primer for secondary fermentation, but the beer was just not building up gas. It tastes a little sweet and is clearing in the barel a little too quick for my liking, so i'm wondering if the yeast has died or perhaps the cleanser wasnt all washed out.
As a test to see if the beer was off I poured some into a pint glass and added a fresh yeast to the mixture with a little brewing sugar and that is fermenting wildy within hours.
So what should I do? I thought I'd try swapping the seals on the barrel cap and pitching some of the now fermenting liquid into the barrel to try and revive the secondary ferment. Can you use fresh yest in the secondary ferment? - will it clear?, will it affect taste?, or will I just end up with flat soup?
regards,
Simon