# Ginger Beer - Stalled?



## shacked (15/6/14)

9 days ago I put together a small batch on ginger beer based on a recipe I saw on Youtube. I converted a 10L jerry can from bunnings into a small FV with a drill hole, airlock, grommet, tap and stick on thermometer. 

*Ingredients: *
390g of root ginger (grated in a sanitised food processor);
390g of Honey; and
1Kg of Light Dry Malt Extract.

*Method:*
I boiled 1.5L of water then added the ginger and boiled for 20 mins.
Added the honey and LDME and boiled for another 10 mins.
Put the pot into an ice bath.
Strained the wort into the cleaned and sanitised FV and topped up to 8L with cold tap water.

Pitched 7g of ale yeast (from a beer kit) at 29C (My mess up: brain fart). I then put the whole FV into a cold water bath (in a small esky) to reduce temp to 20C.

*Issue*
It bubbled away happily for 5 days and then stopped. I've measured the SG on days 7 to 9 and it is stable at 1.020. According to BrewMate the OG was 1.061 and the target FG is 1.012.

It doesn't seem to be fermenting any further but 1.020 seems too high. I've tried the rapid fermentation test by putting a sample into a sanitised corona bottle, sealing with glad wrap and shaking and leaving in a warmer place for 2 days but the SG is still 1.020.

I've tasted a sample and it tastes ok (perhaps a bit dry and a bit too gingery but not 'off').

*Questions*
Did I kill some yeast at the start by pitching too high?
Am I OK to bottle in, say, a week's time?
Should I pitch more yeast?

Cheers!


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## Steven @ Home Make It (15/6/14)

Hi mate
At 1.020 you can trying stirring the mixture a bit
It some times happens with beer
Some agitation once or twice a day and 20 degree temp for a couple of days should help abnd then retest


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## shacked (19/6/14)

Hi mate,

I've given it a bit of a stir and increased the temp but it's still stuck at 1.020. Should I pitch more yeast?

Cheers!


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## Steven @ Home Make It (19/6/14)

too high to bottle
i would try re pitching some yeast

try re hydrating it first
to give it the best chance to get going
and keep it warm as before and test after few days


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## shacked (19/6/14)

Thanks Steven. I rehydrated and pitched some more yeast and have moved it up to 20C. Will check in a week's time and see where we get to.

Cheers!


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## shacked (23/6/14)

After 4 days, there is no more airlock activity and the SG is still stuck at 1.020.

Not sure where to go from here; any ideas?

Cheers!!


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## mrsupraboy (24/6/14)

All I can think is may u have alot of unfermentables in there


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## shacked (24/6/14)

I think I'm just going to underprime each bottle a little bit and use some PET bottles to be safe. Any thoughts? 

Cheers!!


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## Grott (24/6/14)

Hi shacked, something is not right here, you made the brew and it bubbled for 5 days after which the FG is "stuck" at 1020. Now with no other additions (fermentables) you added more yeast and did it bubbled away again, for 4 days. If so, I can't therefore understand why the FG remains still on 1020. Are you sure your reading the hydrometer correctly or can it be faulty? I'd bottle. 
cheers


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## Grott (24/6/14)

Sorry didn't see your last post, PET bottles would be a good idea and under prime slightly.


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## shacked (24/6/14)

Yeah Grott, I'm not sure what's going on. For clarity, after pitching more yeast I didn't get any more airlock activity.

The hydrometer seems to work fine; I've made 10 or so batches of beer with no dramas.

I'm going to bottle it on Sunday - it would have been in the primary for 4 weeks. I'll put the PET bottles in an esky and seal it up... yup... bit paranoid about this one. I hope it tastes good after all this!

Cheers!!


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## mrsupraboy (24/6/14)

I'd be curious if it was Ur dme. I had a beer do that to me to.


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## shacked (24/6/14)

I'd never used honey before in a brew... I'm thinking that might have something to do with all this!


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## Grott (24/6/14)

No, wouldn't say so. I often put 250gms of bush mallee honey in my English Bitters, never a problem. With only 10 litres perhaps 1020 is the right FG?


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## shacked (24/6/14)

The recipe called for Pale Dry Malt Extract and a FG of 1.012. 

I used Light Dry Malt Extract but cross-referenced with BrewMate to get an FG of 1.012 on 8L of wort!


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## Grott (24/6/14)

Got me fooled. Go ahead with the bottling but PET for sure


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## shacked (24/6/14)

Me too!! Better be the best GB ever!!


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## Steven @ Home Make It (24/6/14)

Sorry Shacked
been AWOL with work and the computer decided to Go MIA

To err is human
but to really F%$^$%^d things up you need a computer

agree with the other guys
if you got some bubble activity it sounds unlikely that the reading could be the same

so to eliminate the obvious
did you spin the hydrometer to get rid of the air bubbles
unfermentables possible but unlikely
has the paper moved in the hydrometer 

other possibility if still stuck at 1020
is that yeast that you used 1st and second time round are only rated to to do a certain amount of alcohol (6-8%)
In wine we have an issue with yeast trying to restart with 12-14% alcohol already there

one option is to use ezferm yeast which can handle 16% alc and is normally used for stuck ferments
being a cerevisiae killer it may work better

check other things first

otherwise ezferm yeast is plan B


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## shacked (24/6/14)

Hey Steven,

Computer issues... What a nightmare!

I'm convinced the hydrometer is fine. I tested a coopers toucan just before the ginger beer and it seems to read fine at 1.014. I took a GB sample this morning and left it to settle and measured it again and still got 1.020. 

The new yeast didn't seem to ferment it any further. 

Confused!!


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## shacked (24/6/14)

The yeasts were from coopers tins and the OG according to brewmate was 1.061.


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## Steven @ Home Make It (24/6/14)

Plan b yeast may be the go?


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## shacked (25/6/14)

I guess it's the go. I'll drop into my LHBS on the weekend and get some!


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## Kingy (25/6/14)

I'd add some more yeast and rack it onto 1kg of brown sugar ( bs works great in a ginger) moniter the gravity as it ferments out. Once it's done it's gotta be done.


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## mrsupraboy (26/6/14)

Basic brewing radio either yeast 1 or yeast 2 is worth a listening to. A guy had the same problem on it


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## luggy (26/6/14)

A couple of things:
Did you measure your OG or just rely on brewmates prediction, I just plugged your recipe into beersmith with an OG of 1.048 and an estimated FG of 1.007.

Have you calibrated your hydrometer in distilled water at 20C.

Your OG is thirteen points out by my calculation which would put you FG spot on at 1.007.

Happy to be corrected


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## shacked (26/6/14)

Didn't measure the OG, just relied on BrewMate.

I'm pretty confident the hydrometer works as it's been fine for multiple batches of beer (made at the same time).

Not sure if I should:

1) rack onto some more fermentibles with more yeast;
2) pitch a third batch of yeast in the primary;
3) underprime and bottle in PETs; or
4) kill the lawn with it.

Open to suggestions / votes!


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## luggy (26/6/14)

In future I'd be taking a reading of OG and not relying on brew mate, a lot of factors can influence OG. I'd also calibrate the hydrometer if I were you, accurate measurement is important


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## DannyboyDS (2/7/14)

Couldn't you prove/disprove things systimatically?

For instance you have shown that it's not the yeast by repitching, how have you proven that it hasn't simply run out of sugar? couldn't you take some of your batch into a smaller vessel and add more sugars to see if you get fermentation? yopu would only need 500ml or so in a sanitised jar without adding extra yeast, if after a few days you get nothing then try extra yeast in the jar. You need to take a scientific approach to it.


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## shacked (3/7/14)

Hey DannyboyDS,

I followed the steps outlined in a post on here: 'has my beer stalled'. 

I did the rapid fermentation test with a sanitized corona bottle and some glad wrap. It didn't move the SG. 

Check post #1. 

Cheers!!


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## Steven @ Home Make It (3/7/14)

if you cant get the brew down any further and if you are going to bottle this
,champagne bottles may be the go as well as
under priming and leaving more than normal head space.

Also open them when really cold(less likely to create a fountain when it comes out)
i would halve the maturing time as well so the don't over gas
your standard beer capper has a champagne bell option
that you can buy from most Brew shops
cheers


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## shacked (3/7/14)

Hey Steven,

I bottled a few days ago in 750ml PET bottles with only one carb drop instead of two; and leaving a bit more headspace. I figure I can release pressure by opening the PET bottles if need be.

Hope it tastes good after all this!


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