# Has Fermentation Stoped/safe To Bottle



## Mattyau (5/11/12)

Hi There

Im in the process of doing my first brew, Its a Brewcraft Ginger Beer

I just used the yeast that came with the ginger beer kit and a brew booster that was supplied with my brewing kit 600g dextrose 200g light malt 200g Maltodextrin/corn syrup
with the og reading it was done about a day after i put yeast in as i didnt have a hydrometer was around 1050 after 7 days SG was around 1.020 i added the extra ginger beer flavoring they provide.
checked again this afternoon 2 days later its still sitting on 1020 maybe 1019 with the extra malts how much higher should FG be over the normal bottle at 1010/1008. taste abit watery with a ginger aftertaste not to bitter, i presume i would of been better making it to around 19-20 liters instead of the 23.
Pitched yeast at 23c has been fermenting at 21-22. Now would i be safe to bottle, or do another reading tomorrow ether way it allows me to soak my bottles in PSR abit longer as they were 2nd bottles id like em as clean as i can get 

Thanks


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## slash22000 (5/11/12)

When FG is stable over 72 hours, it's done.

There is no other way to be sure.


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## bignath (5/11/12)

slash22000 said:


> When FG is stable over 72 hours, it's done.
> 
> There is no other way to be sure.



incorrect.

It would be correct if you included something along the lines of....the fg needs to be within reasonable range of the expected fg.

Sounds like im nitpicking, but i'm not trying to.

Fermentations do stall sometimes, and without that little caveat or something similar, his ferment could stall halfway through, he'd bottle, and next thing you know, one of his family members or mates has been injured by glass shrapnel.

EDIT: 
OP, did the ginger beer kit give any indication of what fg to expect?


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## Mattyau (5/11/12)

Big Nath said:


> OP, did the ginger beer kit give any indication of what fg to expect?



Thanks for the reply unfortunately it didn't give me a expected fg, just said to wait to it had stopped bubbling and assure the fg is the same after 48 hours, im just trying to work out what a expected fg would be with the brew enhancer i used, as the kit called for 1.5kg of dex.

Tho ive noticed it has started bubbling again so i mite just leave it be to it stops. as u mentioned i dont want any glass bombs going off, would scare the shit out of my dog or injure the poor burger.


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## bum (5/11/12)

1020 is way too high for a kit GB but how confident are you that your hydrometer is reading true? 1050 sounds higher than I'd expect the goop, 600g dex, 200g LDME and 200g Maltodextrin to be in a 23L batch. Perhaps it is finished and your hydrometer is out. If your hydrometer is reading correctly then there is no way I'd be bottling at 1020.


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## yum beer (5/11/12)

I agree, calibrate your hydro.

Would expect FG to be 1008-1014.


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## Mattyau (6/11/12)

Thanks for the comments, ill leave it for another few days, ill keep the hydrometer test tube filled with some water next to my fermenter, ill see what that reads first and compensate if its off, more then likely was as i got it off 2nd hand off a friend.


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## BBnB (4/9/13)

I have experienced a similar problem though I started from scratch from a recipe I found on Youtube (Brewtube). This is the first brew I have made from scratch after doing a few Mad Millie cider kits to keep the missus happy (which turned out perfect BTW).

I did 300gms of ginger boiled for about 1 minute, 410gms of honey, 1kg of PME and about 11 ltrs of water and 9gms of brewers yeast. I forgot to take the OG reading (too much cider) but after 3 weeks I am getting a FG of 1020 and it isn't bubbling anymore.

I am off overseas for 2 weeks in 4 days so I am stressing about what to do with the Brew... (I thought it would have been done by now)
I spoke with a mate and he reckons I should bottle it but only put in 1 carb drop per 750ml bottle just incase it starts fermenting again in the bottles

Would anyone agree with this? or have any other suggestions?


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## bum (4/9/13)

Nope.


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## BBnB (4/9/13)

What would you suggest then Bum?


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## warra48 (4/9/13)

I'd leave it till you got back from OS before bottling.
Won't do any harm for the 2 weeks you are away.


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## BBnB (4/9/13)

Thanks Warra,

I'll leave it until I get back. Any benefit to adding more yeast while I'm gone?


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## warra48 (4/9/13)

No.


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## BBnB (4/9/13)

Thanks guys, much appreciated for your help


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## BBnB (20/9/13)

Back from OS and checked the Gravity. It is at 1014. Should I bottle it now or wait for it to go down further?


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## wbosher (20/9/13)

If it's near your expected FG, check it again in a couple of days to make sure it's done. No rush mate.


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## Alex.Tas (20/9/13)

Just wait until you get the same reading over 3 or so days.


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## bum (20/9/13)

1014 seems a pretty high HG for a scratch GB to me (even one using extract (which really makes it not a scratch GB anymore, by whatevs)). Maybe not blow-your-face-off high but still reason enough for concern. Did you have any reliable temp control on it while you were away? Is there a chance it got cold enough to stall on you? Either way, PET should take that pressure fine but it might also turn out a bit shit because it isn't done.


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## wbosher (20/9/13)

I agree with bum. Have you tried plugging your ingredients into Ian's spreadsheet to get an idea of what the FG should be? Not sure if it has GB, but might be worth a quick look.


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## BBnB (20/9/13)

Thanks again for the advice...

I checked the temperature in the mornings before I left for overseas and it never got under 20 degrees
I couldn't find a ginger beer option on Ian's spreadsheet but after further research I will aim for a FG of 1010

It has been fermenting 6 going on 7 weeks but it is obviously still fermenting as it has come down in gravity in the last 2 weeks I have been away. 

Sounds like I will just have to wait longer.......


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## wbosher (20/9/13)

Wow, that's an incredibly long time! Maybe it might pay to give it a gentle swirl if you haven't already.


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## BBnB (20/9/13)

I have only stirred it once about 3 weeks ago when the airlock stopped bubbling and it had a high gravity reading, might give it another stir...


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## wbosher (20/9/13)

Don't stir it, *leave the lid on*. Just pick it up and swirl it around a bit, gently without splashing.


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## BBnB (20/9/13)

Will do....
I'll come back to it in a couple of days..
Thanks


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## BBnB (17/10/13)

Thanks for your help guys but my ginger beer was a fail.... It looked fine but didn't smell good at all so I dumped it - a $20 learning experience. I have since changed my fermenter to a proper screw top one and I installed a tap and an airlock. Hopefully I will have better luck with my next batch. Might try a GB kit next time...


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## JoeyJoeJoe (17/10/13)

Thats a shame mate. Did you have a taste? Some of my brews smell like paint stripper when they first fire up but that bad smell disappears after a while...


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## BBnB (17/10/13)

Wasn't game to unfortunately..... I had my bro (who is reasonably experienced- a lot more than me anyway) take a look at it and told me to chuck it... not to worry though... I'll have another crack. I think the problem was the yeast that I used.... I got it posted to me and I think that half of it died in transit. I'll only use yeast from my LHBS next time... Got an apple cider going now and that always turns out trumps so I'll stick with the kits at this stage...


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